Foundations, corporate philanthropy, and donor-advised funds grant more than $140 billion annually and have become far more strategic in their grantmaking efforts over the past decade. This emphasis on strategy shifted the field’s focus toward asking grantees to be intentional about measuring their outcomes and building sustainable programs. As a consequence, the added attention to strategy has resulted in philanthropy becoming more risk averse, leading nonprofits to focus on easier-to-achieve outcomes so they do not fail. Innovation, in turn, takes a back seat to securing funding,…
