British foundations: the organisation and management of grant-making

Abstract

This article describes three ideal-typical cultures of grant-making constructed in the light of data from an exploratory study of British foundations. These three cultures, representing the values and assumptions which inform the way in which foundations approach the task of making grants, have very different implications for the resources required by foundations and for organisational processes and procedures.

The article goes on to discuss some of the organisational and management dilemmas of British grant-making foundations. Five key source of management difficulty in the grant-giving foundation are identified. First, grant-giving foundations face particular difficulties in identifying and assessing the relevance of their priorities; these difficulties stem from the nature of grant-giving and the foundation's relationship with its ‘customer-suppliers’. Second, grant-giving foundations must manage within the constraints imposed by limited choice of and time available from trustees. Third, grant-giving foundations must manage the potential tension between control by donors and trustees. Fourth, grant-giving foundations must work within financial and time constraints. Fifth, the management of grant-giving foundations may be further hampered by lack of adequate feedback. In this article, particular attention is paid to the first three difficulties.