The Rationale for Your Decision: Saying No

• The Categorical No: Some proposals, on their face, simply don’t meet the foundation’s goals or guidelines. They are categorically disqualified. Whatever their substantive merits, in terms of the guidelines they are from the wrong region, for the wrong cause, or request the wrong type of grant. Many grantmakers never see these applications. They’re weeded out by support staff.
• The Policy No: Some proposals do conform to all the foundation’s goals and guidelines, but propose a policy or strategy that the foundation doesn’t favor. Grantseeker and grantor might be united in a cause but differ on their approaches. For example, they might both be committed to reducing youth-gang activity in a given city. But one favors a crime-control model that prosecutes gang members, and the other a developmental model that seeks to offer youth constructive alternatives to gang life. According to most of the grantmakers we spoke to — and grantseekers as well — it’s best to acknowledge the disagreement. Said one grantmaker: “Sometimes you should just say, ‘This is interesting, but I really don’t think this method is going to get you to the result you’re envisioning.’”
• The Personal-Judgment No: Some proposals fit the foundation’s goals and share the foundation’s strategies, but their success or suitability is in doubt for other reasons: lack of confidence in the organization’s capacity, doubts about the competence of its leadership, or worries about its motives or values.