If pizza shops were funded like nonprofits...

Nonprofit: That won’t cover my costs.
Donor: Find someone to make up the difference.

“Just imagine how much more efficient you would be with 20% less than what you should be given,” says the funder.

Common sense: That’s bullsh*t.

Much has been said about unrestricted funding.

About trust-based philanthropy.

About overhead.

So this parody video — What If Pizza Shops Were Funded Like Nonprofits? — hammers the point home better than any words I could add to the mix.

Give it a watch.

(Especially you, funder friends.)

Then give it a share ♻️ to spread this story:

Overhead is investment. Not indulgence.
Overhead is operational. Not optional.
Overhead is pivotal. Not peripheral.
Overhead is a virtue. Not a vice.
Overhead is fuel. Not fluff.

“If you are restricting funding and focusing on overhead, you are actively preventing nonprofits from doing their work,” says Vu Le. 🦄 “You are helping to spread the fires of injustice.”

Because nonprofit leaders deserve more than monetary morsels. A well-fed brand feeds change. And overhead is the oven of opportunity.

So invest in infrastructure, not just ingredients.

Bake whole pies, not slices.

And starve no mission.

(Video credit: Human Services Council of New York)

💪🏽💛

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The Daily Bonus

Unrestricted funding only accounts for 20% of the pie.

And it’s on the decline.

Here’s a quick infographic showing why restricted funding hurts. ⤵

“In the philanthropic sector, conversations about unrestricted funding abound these days. From frameworks like “trust-based philanthropy” to the rallying cry of #ShiftThePower, it might seem like we’re entering a new era of flexible funding.”

“The data, however, tells a different story. Philanthropy data hub Candid indicates that general support accounts for a mere 20 percent of overall funding. Other resources suggest that while flexible funding may have once been on the uptick, it has actually declined in recent years.” — Inside Philanthropy