Grantmakers Shouldn't Play With Matches

Mark Kramer

Making a matching grant seems like the easiest way for a foundation to get the most “leverage” from its giving. By requiring other donors to follow its lead and support a charity, the foundation ends up generating two, three, or even four times as much as it gives away.

Every foundation that matches the grant feels like it has multiplied its own gift too. What’s more, foundation officials can feel that they are having a significant influence on the non-profit world.

But, as their mothers probably told them, you shouldn’t play with matches.

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