[Teresa Crawford]

H/T to Isabel Sousa for posting this on her Linkedin

You might have missed this article from early December posted on Bridgespan.

Philanthropic Sourcing, Diligence, and Decision Making: An Equity-Oriented Approach

“Sourcing and diligence processes are at the heart of funders’ ability to meet the moment. By “sourcing,” we mean finding and elevating nonprofits and initiatives to fund, while “diligence” refers to the vetting process donors conduct before making a contribution. Together, sourcing and diligence are the means to an important end: providing information for making decisions on giving. But that’s not all—sourcing and diligence processes can also help donors meet and build trust with those who are leading the hard and ongoing work of social change. In addition, they can energize donors about what is possible, helping them see how their support contributes to an arc of impact that is larger than any one individual’s reach.”

“As many experienced donors have shared with us, the biggest risk is not in picking the “wrong” organization or investing in something that takes a different approach than what a donor initially expected. Instead, the biggest risk is getting stuck while trying to find the “best,” striving to know everything about an issue before getting started, or feeling like one needs to have a distinctive and singular role in social change. It would be hard to do anything if these were a donor’s sourcing and diligence goals.?

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