March 19, 2026 | By: Keerti Kanchinadam
As evaluators, we support foundations to learn and take action. Usually our work helps funders refine strategy, improve programming, and adapt supports. But sometimes we support funders to bring work to a close. Endings can be hard, but the best funders approach the end of a strategy or investment with immense thoughtfulness. Their secret is simple: Honor the relationships.
We all know on a personal level how hard it is to end a meaningful relationship — it’s often a layered process of grieving, honoring what you had, letting go, and imagining a new future for yourself. It's emotional, and can be extremely destabilizing as you untangle your finances, find a new place to live, divide up your cookware and books, and reestablish yourself. Ending a philanthropic funding relationship isn’t a breakup, but the comparison is still useful. It reminds us this is more than a contract; it's a profound moment for navigating power, trust, and safety.
So, what does it look like when a funder exits a partnership thoughtfully? Here are a few actions we’ve noticed from funders who end things well:
Once a funder makes the decision to wind down support, an important first step is to articulate how the foundation will continue to live into its values and actively work to minimize harm during the process. Some key questions to consider when thinking about this are:
What does the funder see as its obligations to funded partners and/or the community during the transition period?
How are its obligations changing from the prior period of active funding?
What does the foundation most want to honor during the transition period?
What boundaries or limits will the foundation apply during this transition period?
Strategies evolve, leadership shifts, the environment changes, and therefore grantmaking priorities will eventually change. It’s essential for funders to communicate shifts as they are occurring even if the details are still in flux. This is one reason why it’s so beneficial to engage funded partners in ongoing learning and evaluation. Doing so, gives funded partners direct insight into how a foundation’s thinking is evolving in real time and makes them less likely to be caught by surprise when a major change happens.
Thankfully, this practice already seems to be the norm rather than the exception. But we have seen this play out in ways that are more and less successful. Transition funding is most successful when it's robust and flexible, giving funded partners space to take stock and plan for the future, however they dream it to be. It is less successful when the funding comes with more rigid expectations.
The reality of a funding transition will be different for each funded partner. Each will have its own unique set of circumstances, priorities, and opportunities and may need different things as they navigate the transition. Now is the time to practice flexibility and to trust that each partner knows best what they need. Funded partners should be allowed to opt-in to what they need and leave what they don’t. Beyond transition funding, funders can offer support like:
Facilitate introductions with other funders
Create one-page impact summaries for funded partners to share with other funders and partners
Use foundation communications platforms to showcase funded partner/initiative work
Provide strategy, development, evaluation, communications, or other consultant supports
Provide robust coaching or capacity building supports
It may seem counterintuitive, but it can be mutually beneficial to continue to engage funded partner voice even as a grant is ending. Doing so can help bring closure to the current relationship. It offers structured opportunities for grantees and funders to reflect on impact together and for grantees to have a say in how the transition unfolds. For example, funded partners can shape the focus of a final evaluation product or may have important insights into how transition funding is structured. Or funded partners may have a perspective on how the transition process went – funders can gather feedback on this, without revisiting or undermining the original decision to sunset the grants. Finally, meaningful engagement throughout the transition process can be one way to ensure the relationships with individuals and organizations endures long after funding ends. After all, we are all still working in the same ecosystems with the same ultimate vision – our paths will most definitely cross again.
The ultimate lesson? When a funder exits a partnership gracefully, they acknowledge that while strategies change and grants end, the relationships forged are forever.