Money Troubles

Acadia is re-categorized as a “Middle Income” country by the World Bank, using flawed data from the most recent census conducted in 2020. As a result, a number of government funders must significantly scale down their budgets in Acadia because they are only allowed to fund in “Low-income” and “Lower-middle” income countries.

Private foundation donors are considering similar shifts – several have indicated that they will withdraw direct support for civil society groups and re-directing their funds to bilateral projects with the Acadia government in the coming year. This means that XYZ Foundation may have reduced funding from private foundations for work in Acadia.

XYZ foundation has been approached by many organizations seeking to fill funding gaps. If XYZ foundation does not fill these funding gaps, grantees may be forced to close down or to shift their programs away from your priorities. The shift in designation and the retreat of other donors is making your Board nervous and they are asking you to make some decisions about the grantmaking work in Acadia.

What are your next steps?

Increase Investment

The work in Acadia is extremely important and XYZ should do its best to move more resources to the field to continue to support grantees. You decide to increase investment in Acadia and will increase your grantmaking budget in the country so that XYZ can fill the gaps left by those who are leaving. XYZ foundation has enough funds to increase grant making in 2025 but the budget for 2026 is up in the air.

Stay the Course

The work in Acadia is important but XYZ alone cannot mobilize enough resources to fill the gaps left by other donors. You decide to stay the course in Acadia and continue to invest in your existing grantees but without expanding the portfolio. XYZ foundation has enough funds to maintain this portfolio for the next two years.

Say goodbye?

Given the fundraising landscape and the shifts in donor priorities, you decide that XYZ will sunset its investment in Acadia and provide exit grants for existing grantees.