I agree with this post. One mechanism that’s really missing in this discussion, is the value of marginal grants. Large grant makers claim to appreciate the value of marginal grants, but in practice I have rarely seen it. Instead, for small org at least, a binary decision is made to fund or not fund the project.
For smaller and upstarting projects, these marginal grants are really important (as highlighted in your story). A donor might not be able to fund an office space, but they can fund the deposit. Or they can’t fund the deposit, but they can fund the furniture. These are small coordination problem, but they make up most of what it means to get small and medium sized organizations off the ground.
I agree with this post. One mechanism that’s really missing in this discussion, is the value of marginal grants. Large grant makers claim to appreciate the value of marginal grants, but in practice I have rarely seen it. Instead, for small org at least, a binary decision is made to fund or not fund the project.
For smaller and upstarting projects, these marginal grants are really important (as highlighted in your story). A donor might not be able to fund an office space, but they can fund the deposit. Or they can’t fund the deposit, but they can fund the furniture. These are small coordination problem, but they make up most of what it means to get small and medium sized organizations off the ground.