Sources of Funding - BoardSource | The Power of Possibility

Sources of Funding

There are many organizations that fund strategic alliances and restructuring. Please click on your geographic region to find grantmakers in your area.* Even if a funder is not listed in your area, research from The Bridgespan Group suggests that funders may be open to funding these opportunities if directly asked by their grantees.

If you are a grantmaker or grantmaker collaboration funding strategic alliances and restructuring and would like to be added to this list, please contact [email protected].

*Please note: BoardSource does not independently review any programs listed and does not guarantee the accuracy of this information. Please contact each organization directly to get the most up-to-date information on its programs.

State Programs

All states listed below have programs that fund strategic alliances and restructuring. We will continue to update this list, so please check back.

California Texas
Hawaii Colorado
Indiana Illinois
North Carolina New York
 Oregon Pennsylvania

Nationwide Programs

The Collaboration Prize

  • The Collaboration Prize shines a spotlight on nonprofit organizations that choose to permanently collaborate in response to challenges or opportunities in order to maximize the impact of their work. The Collaboration Prize will award a grand prize of $150,000. In addition, each of the eight finalists will receive $10,000. The Collaboration Prize is a project of The Lodestar Foundation, a Phoenix-based philanthropic organization.

SeaChange-Lodestar Fund for Nonprofit Collaboration

  • The SeaChange-Lodestar Fund for Nonprofit Collaboration makes grants to encourage and support mergers, acquisitions, joint-ventures, and others types of formal, long-term collaboration between nonprofits. The SeaChange-Lodestar Fund makes three types of grants – seed, exploratory, and implementation – to help cover the one-time out-of-pocket costs associated with exploring or completing a transaction.

The Lodestar Foundation

  • The Lodestar Foundation supports those nonprofits that have made the joint decision to explore and/or implement permanent relationships. They support long-term collaborations in all forms, ranging from joint programming to administrative consolidations (sharing office space and/or services) to mergers and acquisitions to associations and confederations. The Lodestar Foundation offers two types of grants related to collaboration: field-building grants, and exploration/implementation grants.

 

State Programs

California

Region: Los Angeles

The Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative

  • The Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative (NSI) is a foundation collaborative working to support Los Angeles nonprofit organizations interested in exploring and pursuing strategic restructuring, from jointly managed programs and consolidated administrative functions to full-scale mergers or acquisitions.

 

Region: San Francisco Bay Area

Kenneth Rainin Foundation — Impact Grant Program

  • The Impact Grant Program provides multi-year capacity building support to small and mid-size dance, theater and multidisciplinary arts organizations that have received funding through the Foundation’s NEW Program, formerly the Visibility Awards.

Colorado

Region: Colorado Springs

Lyda Hill

  • Lyda Hill is an entrepreneur and philanthropist committed to funding transformational advances in science and nature, empowering nonprofit organizations, and to improving the North Texas and Colorado Springs communities.

Georgia

Region: Atlanta

Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta – Strategic Restructuring Fund

  • The Strategic Restructuring Fund provides funds and/or management consulting services to support nonprofits as they assess, negotiate, design and/or implement restructuring efforts that promote more effective operations and high-performing programs.

Hawaii

Region: State-wide

Hawaii Community Foundation

  • Offers grants and scholarships for organizational capacity building at the beginning of an executive transition process.

Illinois

Region: Chicago

The Chicago Community Trust and Affiliates

  • The Trust makes grants from a fund dedicated to fostering innovative solutions with the potential to transform communities. These grants may be awarded to incubate new organizations, as well as to develop innovative ideas from established organizations.

 

Region: Statewide

Forefront Mission Sustainability Initiative

  • The Mission Sustainability Initiative (MSI) is a new program of Forefront.  Based on experiences in other cities and supported by foundations and private firms, the MSI creates a neutral space  to help nonprofits evaluate the possible benefits of a strategic restructuring, get the help they need to design their new organization, negotiate and implement their partnership, and access funding to help support the process

Indiana

Region: Allen County

The Foellinger Foundation

  • The Foellinger Foundation invests heavily in Capacity Building grants because they help fulfill our mission to support effective leaders and nonprofits. The Foundation offers three types of Capacity Building grants: Transform, Renew, and Inspire.

New York

Region: Central New York

Central New York Community Foundation

  • The Strategic Partnership Fund supports organizations seeking to create new synergies in and between nonprofits that will enable them to enhance program delivery and achieve more effective and efficient use of limited financial and human resources. Our hope is that the financial support offered through the Strategic Partnership Fund will enable these collaborative partnerships to prosper.

 

Region: Hudson River Valley

Dyson Foundation

  • The Dyson Foundation’s Nonprofit Strategic Restructuring Initiative is a staged funding program supporting organizations through the process of exploring the feasibility of restructuring, planning the restructuring, implementing the plan, and supporting the restructured entity.

 

Region: New York City

“NYMAC”: The New York Merger, Acquisition and Collaboration Fund

  • The New York Merger, Acquisition and Collaboration Fund (“NYMAC”) makes grants to encourage and support mergers, acquisitions, joint-ventures, and others types of formal, long-term collaborations between nonprofits predominantly serving New York City. NYMAC makes three types of grants – seed, exploratory, and implementation – to help cover the one-time out-of-pocket costs associated with exploring or completing a transaction.

North Carolina

Region: Chatham County

Triangle Community Foundation

  • The Foundation is made up of hundreds of philanthropic funds which are used in a variety of ways to provide support for nonprofit organizations and scholarships for individuals.

Oregon

Region: Statewide

Meyer Memorial Trust

  • Meyer Memorial Trust provides grant opportunities to organizations that collaborate with other organizations in their community, within the same sector and/or across sectors, recognize the intersection between their organization’s work and broader policies and systems, and leverage additional financial and in-kind resources including partnerships and community support.  Meyer offers several different types of grants, including operating support, capacity building, project, and technical assistance grants.

Pennsylvania

Region: Greater Philadelphia

Nonprofit Repositioning Fund

  • The Nonprofit Repositioning Fund supports long-term, strategic alliances and collaborations to build organizational sustainability and improve program and service delivery. The Fund provides two types of grant support (1) Exploratory Grants of up to $40,000 and (2) Implementation Grants of up to $100,000.

Texas

Region: North Texas

Lyda Hill

  • Lyda Hill is an entrepreneur and philanthropist committed to funding transformational advances in science and nature, empowering nonprofit organizations, and to improving the North Texas and Colorado Springs communities.