Many things make me happy to be part of the Irvine Foundation’s Fair Work initiative, but one that stands out is the chance to hear directly from leaders advancing the rights of workers in California. And they often tell me about the value of long-term, flexible funding in strengthening their organization’s impact – a sentiment that echoes throughout the nonprofit sector.  

Known in the industry as “general operating support,” this type of funding provides financial support for whatever an organization needs to achieve its mission. According to Candid, which provides data and insights about the social sector, “nonprofit leaders say that GOS grants have the most impact on strengthening their organizations. And multi-year GOS is preferable but occurs more rarely.” This funding gives nonprofits the flexibility to apply funds in the ways they decide are best for them, encourages creative thinking, and demonstrates a funder’s trust in a leader’s vision.  

Providing general operating support is central to Fair Work’s funding approach because it gives organizations agency and decision-making power while deepening our impact in the field. We’ve seen the benefits of this funding firsthand and hope other funders are inspired to meet a need that leaders identify as crucial to achieving their goals.  

LeadersTrust partnership strengthens nonprofits and benefits workers  

Also central to Fair Work’s strategy is strengthening the individual capabilities needed to think strategically, develop staff, and increase resilience to navigate ongoing challenges. Since 2019, we have invested more than $20 million in regranting, coaching, and technical assistance—as a complement to our direct grantmaking—to strengthen the operations and programming of approximately 60 worker rights groups in California, through a partnership with the LeadersTrust.  

We learned, through an evaluation led by Engage R+D, that our investments helped organizations deepen their engagement of workers and reach into communities, improve leadership and staff skills, and strengthen management systems and practices. And, critically, the flexible, multi-year funding provided was the most important thing that helped leaders feel supported.  

I hope you’ll read the findings of our evaluation to learn more about how organizations utilized multi-year general operating support, individualized coaching, and modest grants specifically for implementing organizational development plans to support workers in new ways.  

Lessons learned for the future 

This evaluation also revealed ways we can adjust our continued partnership with the LeadersTrust for the future, made possible by a grant our board approved in September.  

We learned it was important to clearly articulate what’s available to participating leaders, match offerings to what the organizations need and their level of readiness, and provide spaces for peer learning on topics such as managing, leadership transitions, and other staffing considerations. 

We are encouraged by what we’ve learned with Engage R+D because it reaffirms so much of what we hear from movement leaders. General operating support has very concrete benefits for organizations, and it moves the field of philanthropy to a more equitable place where power is shared between funders and grantees.   

I’ll close with a note of gratitude for the more than 30 organization leaders, capacity coaches, and LeadersTrust staff who took part in interviews and focus groups to help us understand the impact of our support for the LeadersTrust. We are proud of what this group has accomplished so far and look forward to continued partnership to support worker rights leaders and improve conditions for California workers.  

Photo credit: Ted Soqui