Giving Compass' Take:

• Dipa Nag Chowdhury shares lessons from the MacArthur Foundation's efforts in community-focused philanthropy in India. 

• How can funders work to share learnings from success and failures? 

• Learn about lessons from place-based philanthropy. 

After more than three decades of grantmaking in the field of Population and Reproductive Health (PRH), MacArthur Foundation’s programme in this field came to a close this year.

As our approach to philanthropy in PRH evolved over the years, we learnt a great deal; we saw success and faced challenges as we deployed different grantmaking approaches. And we believe that some of our observations and reflections may be of practical use to donors in India.

Our learnings are informed by a review of archival documents, strategy memos, internal reviews, external assessments, and more than 50 interviews with representatives of grantee organisations, and former and current staff at the Foundation.

Lessons:
  • Build local leadership and local solutions
  • Customise support depending on the grantee’s capacity
  • Support institution building
  • Allow for failure
  • Set aside capital for high-risk opportunities
  • Exit responsibly

Read the full article about community-focused philanthropy in India by Dipa Nag Chowdhury at India Development Review.