Funders are often described—and describe themselves—as being able to take risks that neither the private sector nor the government can or will take. However, no industry standard currently exists for defining, assessing, and managing risk in philanthropy. Few grantmakers assess risk during the application process and even fewer have processes in place to manage risks to impact after a grant is made. Without being aware of the parameters of risk, one can’t adequately plan or manage risk—let alone take risk. This gap materially contributes to sub-optimal planning, implementation, and transparent and/or trusting interactions between funders and grantees. 

While managing risk is a shared responsibility, funders are in a unique position to foster an environment that allows nonprofits to be more transparent about possible risks to impact and more trusting of funders as partners for impact. 

In this webinar, Maya Winkelstein of Open Road Alliance introduces the topic of risk management in philanthropy, as well as a toolkit that was produced in 2016 that can be adopted or adapted for considering risk practices more fully in grantmaking work.

Viewers will:

• Hear about the latest research and case studies about the state of risk in philanthropy
• Learn best practices for risk management in grantmaking
• Explore risk-adjusted grantee-funder communication

Grants Management Professional Competency Model

Cross-Cutting Competencies

• Strategic Management: Promote organizational mission and goals and inspire colleagues to achieve them.

Lifecycle of a Grant Competencies

• Planning and Pre-Grant: Design and implement the review process to support an informed grant decision.
• Award and Monitoring: Monitor grantee activity to support grantee success and determine compliance with grant agreement.
• Post-Grant: Review grantmaking to determine success in meeting goals and objectives.