Nonprofit Sector Must Stop Equating Program Size With Value

To the Editor:

Richard Harwood is exactly right that too often “big splash” efforts fizzle out and lead to cynicism — “Ditch Grand Strategies and Focus on How Change Really Happens,” August 12. I’ve seen many well-intentioned philanthropic and nonprofit leaders fall into this trap when funding, designing, and executing programs.

Illustration by Elizabeth Haugh; iStock

I’m an executive director for a youth development nonprofit that serves about 20 kids per year. Grant applications frequently ask how our projects will scale. Nearly always, my answer is that they won’t. We aren’t trying to be the Amazon of program delivery. We want excellence, and to reach it, we must focus on just a few children.

Many grant makers don’t understand this reality. They tend to fund big initiatives and, since resources are scarce, ignore small-scale but effective projects. However, if funders don’t sustain hyper-local nonprofits like ours, many will close, and rebuilding that work will take years.

Groups looking to undermine democracy realized a long time ago that small, steady efforts create change. In order to stoke fear and distrust of science, public education, taxation, and public institutions, they fund any initiative, regardless of size.

Pro-democracy funders must also realize that scale isn’t a measure of quality. Small solutions that engage people and build momentum deserve resources and increased coverage in outlets such as the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Rhiannon Orizaga
Executive Director
ArtWorks for Milwaukee