Our Approach to Grantmaking
PAX sapiens treats our funding recipients as partners. We intend to establish a collaborative structure that allows us to jointly develop and execute positive, flexible partnerships with the ability to grow over time. To support that, we would like to provide an introduction to our approach to grantmaking so that we are clear about how we operate, and how partners can join us fully informed about our approach.
Multi-stage Process
Starting with a consensus about the issue scope and intended outcomes of the project, we work with partners on a multi-stage development process moving to in-principle activities that might deliver these outcomes, and finally develop a full project plan.
Hand-on Involvement
As a part of this process, we expect to be involved in meaningful collaboration about the methods and design of the project. Where our existing expertise does not allow us to contribute, we may suggest bringing in additional partners with more discrete expertise.
Creative Ideas
The final project plan will be jointly developed based on a principle of mutual respect and understanding. This approach allows PAX sapiens to maximize its funding for new ideas or new projects rather than fully-developed project ideas or continuing operations.
Sustainability via Co-investing
In order to reduce dependencies on sole source of funding and encourage projects to be sustainable, we require a structure of co-investment, whether from other funders or from the core funding of our partners.
Joint project multi-stage management approach to maximize plan flexibility and project development
We prefer a detailed timeline of expected activities, and request a monthly meeting with project leads to understand the developing process. The meeting is meant to discuss adjustments in order to adapt to external conditions change and identified better approaches.
To facilitate this flexibility, project funding is disbursed quarterly and can be changed by mutual agreement between PAX sapiens and the funding recipients.
We also request an annual strategic meeting to review the project, identify potential changes, and set clear goals for next steps.
Long-term and sustainable partnerships
The problems that we work on are complex which require dedicated long-term effort. Accordingly, we do not fund projects intending to be one-off activities or strictly time-limited.
We form partnerships with expectation that leads to longer-term projects, and grow into larger network over time. We acknowledge multidimensional alignments are crucial for our partners to be interested in this kind of growth, which many projects are limited to achieve. However, we do evaluate each partnership with adequate information hoping to develop opportunities for meaningful growth.
For Grant Seekers
PAX sapiens does not accept unsolicited proposals. We identify projects through direct outreach to organizations already doing work on issues or topics identified as a strategic focus.
