About Rethinking Organizations Funding

The ecosystem that finances not-for-profit organizations—ranging from social entrepreneurs to cultural and educational institutions to scientific research organizations and beyond—is going through a dramatic transformation. Funding from governmental sources is declining rapidly; by some estimates, overseas development aid from major donor countries is on track to fall 40-60% from 2024 levels. Increases in private philanthropy are inadequate to offset such massive declines.

Many NGOs may not survive the squeeze. Those who want to need to recognize that they need to think differently about how they fund themselves. This is not a temporary contraction. It is a systemic change, and it calls for systemic responses.

In that spirit, the Tällberg Foundation is launching a working group that aims to develop new concepts of financial architecture and business models for organizations used to relying on the familiar rhythms of grant-writing, donor cultivation, and the check-is-in-the-mail. The organizing principle of the new approach that we plan to explore rests on the premise that NGOs will have to develop new business models that blend philanthropic capital, earned revenue, royalties, co-pays, etc. There is likely to be no single “right” model, but organizations will need to develop new financial, legal, and organizational capacities to sustain themselves.

Our ambition is to develop a practical playbook of new options, strategies, and implications based on case studies, workshops, and peer interactions across the Tällberg network and beyond.