Philea publishes “Unrestricted Funding: A Practical Guide for Funders”
Philea has published “Unrestricted Funding: A Practical Guide for Funders”, a new guide that combines research, case studies and practical tools to help funders adopt more flexible, strategic and impactful funding practices.
Unrestricted funding remains unusual across much of philanthropy. Many funders and grantees agree it strengthens organisations and shifts power towards grantees, yet concerns persist around loss of control, reputational and compliance risk, uncertainty around accountability, and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems built for project funding. This guide takes these concerns as starting points for constructive dialogue rather than obstacles to argue away.
In many cases, the challenge is not a lack of belief in flexible funding, but the perception that existing rules, governance structures, legal frameworks, or organisational cultures do not allow it.
Backed by growing evidence that it strengthens organisational effectiveness and long-term sustainability, this guide focuses on how it can be put into practice and combines definitions, scenarios, tools and insight drawn from Philea members, wider philanthropy and academia. As a living resource, it will continue to evolve, incorporating further examples and hybrid models over time.
This guide has been developed by Philea with Pamala Wiepking, Center for Grantmaking Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and close consultation with Philea members.
Read here: “Unrestricted Funding: A Practical Guide for Funders”
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