Relationships Matter: Program Officers, Grantees, and the Keys to Success

Funder–grantee relationships can be fraught due to the inherent power imbalance between those who have resources and those who need them. But relationships between funders and grantees are crucial to achieving shared goals. To help funders effectively navigate this dynamic, research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) sheds light on what constitutes a strong funder–grantee relationship, what nonprofits say it takes for funders to foster such relationships, and the crucial role that program officers play in the equation.