Power Relations

The issue of power relations can be particularly tricky. Like it or not, most nonprofit grantees treat funders with a certain deference. Government partners are less likely to do that — which can cause an unsettling feeling for grantmakers who are used to being the ones whose attention is sought. “It can be a great humbling experience,” reflected a grantmaker who worked for many years in community development, “when the shoe is on the other foot. Things happen in government, their priorities change, and the reasons are often opaque. It’s a reminder,” she continued, “that foundations are often just as opaque to nonprofit grantees.”

Takeaways are critical, bite-sized resources either excerpted from our guides or written by Candid Learning for Funders using the guide's research data or themes post-publication. Attribution is given if the takeaway is a quotation.

This takeaway was derived from Working with Government.

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