I asked a bunch of funders who only give unrestricted donations - why unrestricted?
 
Here is my (very encouraging) summary:
 
- The days of paying for “outcomes” are over.
 
- The sector needs unrestricted donations and trust to manage its own money. 
 
Paying for outcomes has forced the sector to become obsessed with the wrong type of growth.
 
- When a company grows its customer base – it grows its income.
 
- BUT when a charity grows its service users - it grows its costs.
 
The idea that year on year growth of income and service users is a sign of success - is and has always been a fallacy, if the organisation behind it is expected to run on hope and fairy dust.
 
The need for “investment into the whole organisation” has never been clearer.
 
To be most effective charities need to grow:
 
- Resilience
- Investment into systems and processes
- People - their development and diversity 
- Impact 
- Connectivity into wider networks
- Reserves
 
The general consensus among the funders I spoke to was:
 
- We all live in a world where the speed of change is now an expectation, so effective charities need to be agile.
 
- The more progressive funders (of all sizes) are focusing on how to help charities become more resilient.
 
- Having project money in the bank with a slither of core costs covered is NOT sustainable.
 
In short, paying for project funding only – is like putting shoes on a baby - it looks good but doesn’t mean it can walk......

#Investment #NotOutcomes #Funding
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