Global Fund for Community Foundations Intentional relationships

At the Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF), staff take an intentional relationship building approach from their very early interactions with potential grantees. For example, in one grant process, which focuses on strengthening institutions, there’s a lot of intentional back and forth with prospective grantees upfront through the letter of intent and then application process. “By the time we’re at the application phase, we’ve discussed different possible funding scenarios, with access to data they’ve shared in their application,” says executive director Jenny Hodgson. “By that point, we have a strong sense of how they see the field, and how they see their own capacity, or where they may have blind spots that require discussion. And since we’ve really built the relationship at this point, we can use data they’ve shared in a constructive way to help them make changes and focus.”