I work with a set of grantmakers who are passionately invested in funding a group of people and related policy and practice issues that are very much under siege at the moment. I could tell you which population, but really it could be one of many right now.

It’s been beautiful to see how some foundations are stepping up to simpler, more rapid grantmaking in response to urgent needs.

Example number one. A few weeks ago, a nonprofit responded to a community crisis. Its staff leader called four funders. Three asked for a brief proposal. The fourth invited the group to speak at a briefing for foundations, adding a short session onto the already planned agenda. In the meantime, the nonprofit began working with two partners. On the day of the briefing (21 days after the original request), one of the funders made the first grant in response.

In the briefing, leaders from two of the three partner organizations explained what they were doing, why, and what it would cost to continue. They were asked to provide a more complete proposal, to cover funding for all three organizations. One funder at the briefing had taken detailed notes of the presentation, and sent those to the grantwriting organization, which then cut and pasted information into the original proposal (it is not elegant) and drafted an undetailed joint budget of about a quarter of a million dollars.

Read the full article about using a disaster mindset by Alice Cottingham at PEAK Grantmaking.