The Unsexy Side of Philanthropy

Administrative details are in our DNA

When you imagine family philanthropy, what comes to mind?

 

Perhaps it’s visiting a new-to-you nonprofit. Meeting an inspiring leader. Cutting the ribbon at an opening ceremony. Gathering the family around the dinner table to talk about your values, ideas, and interests. Or perhaps it’s sending a really big contribution.

 

You know what probably doesn’t come to mind?

  • Reconciling grant payments

  • Reviewing a conflict-of-interest policy

  • Chasing down a signature on a grant agreement

  • Updating a board resolution and maintaining required board meeting minutes

  • Cleaning up years of grantmaking data

  • Drafting a budget that takes into account your operational expenses and funds for granting

  • Making sure the foundation’s records match what the accountant has

  • Filing a state registration or annual report with the appropriate authorities

  • Figuring out whether that payment went out by check, ACH, wire, or carrier pigeon

 

Welcome to the unsexy side of philanthropy.

 

And, as it turns out, it matters quite a bit. Even the simplest, lean foundation still has a back office. Grants have to be processed. Records have to be maintained. Trustees have fiduciary responsibilities. Tax filings have deadlines. Policies should exist somewhere besides the collective memory of the family. None of that makes for a particularly compelling cocktail hour story. But when these things aren’t handled well? Suddenly, they become very interesting.

 

The Grants That Nobody Can Find

Imagine a trustee asking: “How much have we given to that organization over time?” Easy, right? Except the answer might be buried in an old spreadsheet. Or QuickBooks. Or years of tax returns. Or someone’s email. Or a grant-management system nobody uses anymore. And, after twenty minutes of detective work, three different people have produced three different answers.

 

That’s why something as seemingly boring as clean data matters. A well-managed grant portal and organized records can tell a foundation what it funded, why it funded it, how much it gave, what happened afterward, and whether anyone ever bothered to follow up.

 

And it means nobody has to search a former employee’s inbox from 2019.

 

Governance: Boring Until It Really Isn’t

Then there are state registrations and annual reports. Conflicts of interest. Spending authority. Discretionary grants. Trustee responsibilities. Succession. Grant approvals. Privacy.

 

It is tempting for a small family foundation to say, “We don’t need all that. We all know how this works.” And perhaps everyone does. Until a new family member joins the board. Or the person who has managed everything for 20 years retires. Or two trustees remember the “rule” differently. Or somebody wants to fund something that raises a legal question nobody has encountered before.

 

Good governance does not need to turn a foundation into a bureaucracy. In fact, good governance makes decisions easier and operations more efficient. Everyone knows who can decide what, when the full Board needs to weigh in, what information trustees should receive, and what happens next. Nobody gets excited about adopting a grantmaking policy. But everyone appreciates having one when they need it.

 

It’s HARD to Give Money Away

Writing a check sounds easy. Giving away hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars responsibly is not. Someone has to communicate with the nonprofit. Verify the organization. Collect the right information. Prepare the grant. Document approvals. Draft the grant agreement. Get the grant agreement signed on the Friday before a holiday weekend. Process the payment. Track multi-year commitments. Monitor reporting deadlines. Answer grantee questions. Keep trustees informed. Maintain records for accountants and attorneys. Then do that 100 more times and have a little fun along the way.

 

The Goal Is Not More Administration OR BUREAUCRACY

Then, what is the point? It is to make philanthropy feel easier. When the systems work, trustees can spend their time debating whether a $500,000 investment might actually solve a problem instead of wondering whether somebody remembered to send last quarter’s grant payment. Foundations can focus on the joy of giving rather than the mechanics of giving. Foundation leaders can think strategically instead of carrying an ever-growing list of administrative details around in their heads. And nonprofits get a partner who communicates clearly, gives on time, remembers what it funded, and generally has its act together.

 

That may not be sexy.

 

But it IS important.

 

At Hoplin Jackson, we happen to love this stuff. Grant-management systems. Governance manuals. Board books. Payment schedules. Diligence files. Reporting calendars. Historical grant data. Policies. Processes. All the unglamorous infrastructure that lets a foundation operate professionally without losing the joy that makes philanthropy fun in the first place.

 

Because philanthropy should feel meaningful. And sometimes the best way to keep it that way is to make sure somebody else is handling the boring stuff.

 

We’re happy to be those people.

Heather Stohler