Our Impact | Responsive Grantmaking

Overview

In the last several years the nonprofit sector locally and nationally has faced significant challenges. Nonprofit organization leaders and staff have had to react and respond to evolving needs from their communities, often while dealing with direct impacts in their own lives.  

We have seen, and the data confirms, that turnover rates are indeed higher in recent years. According to the 2023 Nonprofit Workforce Survey conducted by the National Council of Nonprofits, “more than half of nonprofits (51.7%) reported they have more vacancies now compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, and nearly three out of ten (28.1%) have longer waiting lists for services.”¹ Anecdotally, we have seen these transitions not only impact service delivery but also relationships with key stakeholders, including funders. When a key leader departs from an organization the process for transferring knowledge, trust, and relationships is not always possible or prioritized. 

The increase in organizational change, combined with an increased need for support from the nonprofit sector due to cultural, political, and economic change and uncertainty create stressors on nonprofit leaders. “The Center for Effective Philanthropy” (CEP) report, State of Nonprofits 2024, found that 95% of leaders expressed concern about burnout. Unfortunately, this seems to be a trend for nonprofit organizations with half of nonprofit leaders feeling more concerned about their own burnout than this time last year. Not only does burnout hurt nonprofit staff satisfaction, making it harder to retain and acquire quality employees, but it impacts the ability for nonprofits to achieve their mission.”² 

Recent and multiple executive orders announced by the White House have created a high degree of uncertainty about the availability of federal funding and how organizations can or cannot carry out their missions. We anticipate this uncertainty related to executive actions will remain for some time, but it is reasonable to expect our region and sector will be affected, both directly and indirectly. According to analysis by Urban Institute, nonprofits in the Triangle (Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Wake Counties) received more than $2 billion in government grants in 2021.³ The philanthropic sector cannot close that gap.  

We do, however, seek to leverage our financial resources, connections with philanthropic individuals and other funders, and relationships with nonprofits to provide support to Triangle nonprofits in this season.  

Grantmaking

We anticipate granting up to a total of $100,000 in the first cycle of this revised Responsive Grantmaking program, in grants up to $20,000. We anticipate continuing this grant program in the Foundation’s fiscal year 2026 (which starts on July 1, 2025) on a rolling basis, while funding is available. Funding will be offered as one-time, project support grants of up to $20,000 each.  The goals and funding examples for this inaugural cycle of the revised Responsive Grantmaking program are outlined below:  

• Program Goals 
  • Support established Triangle nonprofits to maintain their capacity through a period of organizational change so they can continue providing core services and strategize how to best remain agile, innovative, and responsive to community needs moving forward. 
  • Understand and promote promising tools and practices to support nonprofits through a period of significant organizational change. 

• Funding Examples: 
  • Examples of projects that we imagine being competitive for funding through this grant program include but are not limited to: 
    • Hiring consultants to help organizations manage key leadership transitions (e.g. Executive Director, Director of Development, etc.) 
    • Maintaining or strengthening overall organizational capacity through professional development, staff wellness and/or team building activities  
    • Invest in infrastructure or technology improvements that enhance accessibility, optimize processes, and/or offer better data management tools for evaluation, reporting, and story telling 
    • Create new programming strategies that address challenges in the context of organizational change 
    • Build new development strategies that engage the funder support needed in the context of organizational change 
    • Support for strategic, development, succession, merger, or other planning processes 
  • Given the scope of the potential federal funding cuts and our available grantmaking resources, this grant program is not designed to provide ongoing general operating support in place of federal or other funding sources.  

Eligibility

• Nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organizations based in and serving one or more Triangle Counties (Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham)
  • Organizations currently receiving funding from Triangle Community Foundation’s grant programs are also eligible to apply for Responsive Grantmaking funding if they meet program goals and eligibility criteria
• Have a track record (at least 3 years) of service and impact in one or more Triangle Counties (Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham) and meet the program goals of this grant opportunity
• Minimum annual budget of $100,000
• Organizations must meet the Foundation’s non-discrimination policy (see application)
• Only one application per organization, per fiscal year will be considered

Evaluation Criteria

• Clearly identified organizational change
• Clearly articulated project to address organizational change
• Potential for this funding to impact an organization’s capacity through a transition
• Organization’s financial health

We will seek to fund organizations across our impact areas and that, collectively, serve all four counties Triangle Community Foundation serves (Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham)

Information Session

Triangle Community Foundation staff will host a virtual information session on Monday, May 19, 2025 at 3:00pm to review the call for proposals and answer any questions folks might have. Registration is required: https://trianglecf-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/l4NkByulTQugTrea34YJIA

Timeline

This timeline reflects the deadlines and decision-making timeline for this pilot cycle of the re-launched Responsive Grantmaking Program.

Questions?

Contact nonprofitservices@trianglecf.org for assistance!