What do the Buffalo Bills and grantmaking have in common?

It’s finally back… no, not the McRib, I’m talking about football season! As a Bills fan, I’m excited, but like any true Bills fan, sure that disappointment awaits. Se la vie. Whether you enjoy football or not, it dawns on me that there are parallels between a football team and our efforts to benefit our communities and world through our grantmaking efforts, particularly in how to be high achievers.

STABILITY

To play their best, everyone needs to feel secure. A coach on the hot seat or a player who doesn’t feel valued can create problems and destabilize a team, and the odds of success drop. Our grantees operate in much the same way. Long-term funding and unrestricted operational grants allow an organization to focus on their mission without needing to spend all their time asking for funds or scrambling to keep the lights on. It’s hard to win without that stability.

TRUST

No team wins without trust. The players need to trust and believe in the coaching staff, who needs to trust and believe in ownership, and vice versa. Without that trust, morale drops and performance suffers. The same is true for grantees and grantors. Just like a football team, you need to find those performers doing great work and let them do what they do best. Let your coaches coach and your players play. If we identify great organizations and fund their mission, they will deliver on the field.

COLLABORATION

Not only must everyone in an organization trust each other, but it’s equally vital to listen to and collaborate between groups. An environment where ownership listens to coaches and coaches to players has a greater chance at creating a winning culture. As grantors, we know our business, but the nonprofits and organizations we fund know they’re job better than we do. We shouldn’t dictate to a grantee how we think they should go about their programs, we need to listen and involve them in the process and accept their expertise as part of the decision-making and funding process.

Everybody working as one, being heard, with mutual trust and a solid foundation, allows for greater outcomes. Let’s continue moving forward with quality organizations doing good work, and provide them long-term, general funding so they can create the positive changes we want to support. My Bills look like they’ve bought into these principles, and if the first games of the season is any indication, we’ll all enjoy some success in the end.

The Grantmaking tech team and I here at Blackbaud would love to hear from you, so please reply here with your thoughts!