Funders Often Surprise - The Misconception Around Transition Funds and Capacity Building

Nonprofits facing a leadership succession may be surprised at the supportive attitude many foundations take during such an event.

OVERVIEW
Under the umbrella of Capacity Building, a number of organizations may realize support from aligned foundations in the form of Transition Funds. Foundation leaders will often view an organization's success as a mission critical requirement worthy of support. As put by one foundation leader, "Transition planning is often seen by organizations as a luxury whereas foundations see it as smart." In contrast, many of these same non-profits that are facing the leadership succession will misguidedly think that foundation support would not necessarily be available. If you've had a different experience, recall the old axiom that when you've met one foundation, you've met one.

TYPES OF TRANSITION FUNDING
A number of transition funding scenarios exist, following a few of the more frequently seen examples:

1. Executive Search Firm Fee - foundations that are aligned with an organization's mission will occasionally, or even frequently, fund executive search fees.
2. Interim Executive Services - i.e., when an interim Executive Director involves a disparate salary expense as compared to the exiting leader
3. Transitional Concurrent Employment - when the nature of a succession is so critical that ideally the organization will employ the exiting leader simultaneously with the incoming leader for a number of months.

TAKEAWAY
Organizations should not miss the opportunity to consult with foundation partners during leadership successions to identify possible support opportunities.