Across the nonprofit sector, leaders are navigating growing polarization and funding instability — with many operating in survival mode. Data from Candid shows that nearly one-third of U.S. nonprofits rely on government grants, and the potential loss of that support threatens both organizational sustainability and the communities they serve. Alarmingly, 46% have five months or less of operating reserves, and 66% cite funding uncertainty as their top concern, according to the Center for Effective Philanthropy.
In response, a majority of nonprofits are taking action with Center for Effective Philanthropy data showing that 93% are seeking new funders and 86% are focused on deepening relationships with existing ones. This creates a critical opportunity for companies and corporate foundations to step in — not only to help fill funding gaps but to support the long-term, meaningful, measurable impact that nonprofits create.
To better address the new needs and justify or diversify increased funding, corporate and foundation leaders must be able to evaluate the impact of their foundation and granting efforts. Yet, many funders may be overestimating their effectiveness. Forthcoming research from Benevity Impact Labs reveals that while 74% of companies believe they follow granting best practices, just over half say they’re performing as well as they should be. This confidence-performance gap signals a pressing need to better measure what’s working — and optimize what isn’t.
Measuring what works in grants programs
To ensure their strategies meet the moment, corporate funders should measure granting effectiveness across three key areas: operational performance, outcomes achieved and broader business value.
Grant programs: Tracking operational metrics
Grantmaking effectiveness starts with operational health. How efficient are your current processes? Are your dollars going where they can make the biggest impact — and are they aligned with your company’s purpose, pillars and business goals?
Key metrics like total dollars disbursed, grant application volume and approval rates, and average processing time from submission to disbursement provide visibility into the day-to-day operations. Equally important is tracking strategic alignment — such as the percentage of grants tied to priority geographies, equity goals or company focus areas like STEM, climate action or economic mobility.
And now is the time to get that visibility right. According to the 2025 State of Corporate Purpose report, 51% of companies plan to increase their granting budgets this year — signaling a clear need to ensure that more resources are managed with precision, purpose and equity. As volume and complexity increase, so too does the importance of systems that can scale efficiently and align with evolving strategies.
These operational insights act as guideposts — helping to identify friction points, resource constraints or where strategy and execution may be misaligned. Visibility into grant program data is critical for monitoring program performance in real time. Grants management solutions can provide tremendous benefits, streamlining the metrics, providing data in real time, reducing administrative time to produce reports and dashboards and help improve responsiveness to nonprofit partners.
Grant programs: Tracking outcomes achieved
At the heart of effective grantmaking is one critical question: what was the outcome of this funding? But there are two sides to that single question: How did the foundation or grant respond to nonprofit needs and how did it align with company purpose?
Tracking grant outcomes includes keeping the nonprofit experience front and center. For nonprofits, the stakes are high. Limited funding often means limited time — these organizations make daily choices between submitting grant applications, implementation and reporting on grant programs while honoring their commitment to service delivery. As corporate grantmakers seek to build stronger partnerships and more sophisticated reporting, it must be balanced with an effort to help streamline and simplify the nonprofit experience. This is a key trend identified in the 2025 State of Corporate Purpose report, which shows a growing expectation that companies recognize the need to center the nonprofit experience by reducing the administrative burden for grantees and prioritize equitable access.
Leading companies are moving beyond outputs to measure real, grantee-reported outcomes — such as the number of individuals served with meals, jobs secured or youth mentored. Many are also digging deeper to disaggregate beneficiary data by gender, race, age and geography to assess whether their funding is advancing equity in the communities they serve.
Some companies go even further, aligning grant outcomes to business goals (e.g., strengthening small business ecosystems or advancing digital inclusion) and global frameworks like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the ISO 26000 CSR principles. This enables them to demonstrate not only localized community impact, but contributions to systemic progress.
Grant programs: Linking grantmaking to business value
In today’s landscape, companies and corporate foundations must demonstrate how their philanthropy supports enterprise goals — from brand reputation to stakeholder trust and employee engagement.
Grant programs can influence both internal and external perspectives. Internally, when adopted as part of a talent brand and aligned with overall mission and vision, it can help authentically drive loyalty and engagement. Externally, brand reputation is inextricably tied to impact, across purpose and performance.
For many companies, this broader business value is becoming a core KPI to both measure and share:
- Employee Engagement:
- Number of employees engaged in granting through grantee nomination programs or volunteer opportunities
- Definity was able to increase granting, volunteering and donations when they added Benevity’s Grants Solutions by engaging employees and seeing total impact - doubling down on adjusting their granting strategy to one that supported organizations that are important to their employees.
- Sage Foundation allowed employees to find ways to volunteer in grant-led volunteering areas.
- Brand Reputation
- Impact stories and company narratives created that link cause to values or mission
- Strategic markets reflecting increased brand affinity as a result of grantmaking and community investment presence
- Sage Foundation also aligned their granting to strategic corporate initiatives, focused on digital talent and diverse entrepreneurs.
Tech company OnSemi has tapped into the benefits of connecting their granting program to help support the development of their future workforce needs.
Ultimately, effective grantmaking requires more than generosity — it demands strategy, data, and a deep understanding of the nonprofit experience. As companies double down on impact during uncertain times, those who measure what matters — and design with grantees in mind — will build the strongest programs and the most resilient partnerships.
.jpg)
