The Insider's Guide to Grantmaking: How Foundations Find, Fund, and Manage Effective Programs

Special Management Challenges of Initiatives

Many of the tasks of managing an initiative are the same as those of managing an individual grant or a cluster of grants. There are, however, a few challenges that distinguish initiative management from other forms.

1.  “Intensivity” versus “extensivity.” When you are managing an initiative you work with fewer grantees than you do when you are managing clusters of grants, but the initiative requires much more intensive work per grantee. In managing initiatives, you do less project development and more project oversight; you have less hands-on contact with grantees and do more work with intermediary organizations.

2.  Coordination versus individual management. Whether you are managing an initiative ...