The Smarter Grantmaking Playbook

Take smarter steps in your grantmaking with The Smarter Grantmaking Playbook

Find the answers you seek to more than 50 shared questions captured from the GEO community. Receive a primer on the grantmaking practices that are most supportive of nonprofit success. Turn knowledge into action with practical tools, frameworks and related resources that you can share with your colleagues to collectively move changes forward in your work. And learn from the experiences and lessons learned by your peers who are successfully implementing more effective practices.

The GEO Community works to improve philanthropic practices by elevating grantmaking practices that matter most to nonprofits. GEO created the Smarter Grantmaking Playbook to provide easy-to-digest resources on the core approaches that help organizations adapt and change.

Use the resources below to build your own knowledge and find resources to promote transformational change in your organization.

Strengthen Relationships with Nonprofits

Grantmakers shape more effective solutions by building relationships with grantees based on trust and tapping the knowledge and perspective of grantees and community members. Learn More .

Support Nonprofit Resilience

Grantmakers enable high-performing nonprofits to focus on long-term mission fulfillment by providing support that is flexible, reliable and contextual, enabling grantees to build critical skills. Learn More

Learn for Improvement

Grantmakers use evaluation to continuously learn and improve by partnering with nonprofits to collect and share greater insights about what is or is not working- and why. Learn More >

Collaborate for Greater Impact

Grantmakers achieve greater impact by partnering with other organizations in pursuit of common goals and providing nonprofits with funding for collaborative efforts. Learn More >

  • The Smarter Grantmaking Playbook provides answers to your most pressing questions. Ready to learn more? Explore GEO's resource library for a deeper dive into each of these topics!

  • Want to find opportunities to discuss what you've learned from the Smarter Grantmaking Playbook with your peers? Find upcoming events on all of GEO's core smarter grantmaking approaches here!

Aerial Reese

Questions about the Playbook?

Contact Aerial, our program specialist.

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