Executive summary: Creating standardized grant applications by cause area (CACA) could improve philanthropic efficiency and effectiveness by reducing application costs, improving funder-grantee matching, and encouraging evidence-based decision making.
Key points:
Current philanthropic funding practices are inefficient and costly, with opaque processes and high application burdens relative to grant sizes.
Cause area-specific common applications may be more successful than existing geographic-based ones, as funders within causes have more similar information needs.
Benefits would include reduced application costs, better matching, and increased emphasis on outcome evaluation metrics specific to each cause area.
Key challenges (cruxes) include: funders using difficult applications as intentional screens, need for critical mass adoption, and geographic restrictions by funders.
Proposed next steps are to research existing common applications, consult with trust-based philanthropy experts, and pilot with one cause area (e.g., animal welfare).
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: Creating standardized grant applications by cause area (CACA) could improve philanthropic efficiency and effectiveness by reducing application costs, improving funder-grantee matching, and encouraging evidence-based decision making.
Key points:
Current philanthropic funding practices are inefficient and costly, with opaque processes and high application burdens relative to grant sizes.
Cause area-specific common applications may be more successful than existing geographic-based ones, as funders within causes have more similar information needs.
Benefits would include reduced application costs, better matching, and increased emphasis on outcome evaluation metrics specific to each cause area.
Key challenges (cruxes) include: funders using difficult applications as intentional screens, need for critical mass adoption, and geographic restrictions by funders.
Proposed next steps are to research existing common applications, consult with trust-based philanthropy experts, and pilot with one cause area (e.g., animal welfare).
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.