“The most difficult way to serve may be the giving away of money.” Robert Greenleaf—who coined the phrase “servant-leadership”—penned this line in the early 1970s in an essay about grantmaking organizations. Greenleaf believed foundations (and by proxy their staffs and trustees) faced no functional “market test.” Meaning, grantees and other partners lacked a useful way to check or debate foundations’ efforts.

This was true for many years; with some foundations, if not many, it remains true today. However, recently, we have noticed a shift in foundation behaviors which I find refreshing. This feels even more important considering that, according to the most recent Giving USA report, foundation support is burgeoning—21 percent of all U.S. charitable giving came from foundations in 2022, up from 19 percent in 2021 and 17 percent the year prior.

To be fair, the figures alone don’t tell the whole story. Candid’s own research shows a more modest outlook, noting that median foundation funding did not keep pace with inflation and 27 percent of surveyed foundations anticipate giving fewer dollars in 2023. However, this author sees the increase in overall foundation giving in recent years as an opportunity for gardening.

Some months ago I called the CEO of a foundation that funds our work at Every Texan. This was outside the usual grant period, so the call was simply to check in. We hadn’t connected beyond email, and I had some thoughts on their evolving portfolio of funding. I expected a brief call—and it lasted 90 minutes. “It’s rare I have these opportunities,” she told me. “Most of our grantees only reach out during application season, and few are this honest with me.”

It struck me how rarely we consider that foundation funders are essentially individual donors behind the walls of an institution. They are people, yet so often we treat them as faceless, deadline-driven monoliths. My personal feeling is foundations haven’t always helped themselves in this regard, but as fundraisers, we have a responsibility—perhaps a right—to be better stewards of the relationships as well.

My wish is for nonprofiteers like us to consider foundations, and their people, more broadly in our overall fundraising strategies. I have a few simple suggestions to get started.

Pick up the phone. Fundraisers have told me they feel uncomfortable connecting with foundation CEOs and program officers outside their regular application or reporting cycles. While foundations may not be used to hearing from nonprofits beyond these routine moments, many will be happy to engage with grantees and prospective grantees. (Caveat: for prospects, some foundations are very clear on their materials and websites that they do not accept cold calls, and we would do well to honor those wishes.) I encourage you to make these calls to foundations that fund you as well as ones that don’t. Conversations with the latter can be especially enlightening, as you can ask for more specifics about why a proposal was declined or even invite their thoughts on other foundations you might approach. For me, on more than one occasion this has led to introductions with other foundation CEOs and program officers that resulted in grants.

Speak good truth. As we watch foundations move toward a more engaging, human approach with the nonprofits they fund—or serve, per Greenleaf—we should share details about any hiccups in their application or reporting processes and other useful bits of feedback. “Your online portal system is terrible” is not good truth, while “Would you be open to some thoughts about improving the application process?” is much better. I have found, with very few exceptions, these organizations want to improve and make life easier for their grantees.

Share your wealth. In boosting engagement with foundations, consider including them in your ongoing, outward stewardship and communications. We often send annual reports and impact reports to individual donors while forgetting about our institutional counterparts. This is a missed opportunity! These partners rarely receive communications or updates like this from us outside their own routine (often required) reporting updates, and it goes a long way in keeping your mission and work in front of them during those off-times.

While I am comfortable with the recommendations above, I realize this may not be true for all fundraisers or organizational leaders, depending on their personalities; power dynamics and other systemic challenges often inhibit or prohibit those suggested behaviors. That said, they can be remarkably simple steps to take, and “simple” can lead to profound and game-changing results.

Evan Wildstein is a nonprofiteer in Houston, Texas, director of community philanthropy at Every Texan, and author of the recently released book, The Nonprofiteer’s Fundraising Field Guide: 30 Practical Ways to Boost Philanthropy Through Servant-Leadership.