Concerned that the bias toward project support (that itself emerged from an earlier call for focus and accountability in philanthropy) often leaves grant recipients without resources to operate and respond effectively, some funders have moved to providing core operating support. In cases where the interests of the funder are well aligned with the aims of the nonprofit grantee, this approach can support the grantmaker’s goals while offering the grant recipient reliable and flexible financing that allows it to respond quickly and effectively to new challenges and opportunities. But unlike the “no strings attached" general  operating support often provided by donors to organizations like colleges, symphonies, and museums, grants from organizations like the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation increasingly provide negotiated general operating support: flexible support based on an agreed-upon strategic plan with clear outcome objectives.
Paul Brest, the President and CEO of the Hewlett Foundation, explained the rationale for this approach in a 2003 Stanford Social Innovation Review article entitled “Smart Money."
General support has also been backed by Independent Sector, the national membership association representing nonprofit and philanthropy organizations, as part of their Building Value Together initiative, which “calls on funders to opt for general operating support over project support when feasible and when the goals of the two organizations are ‘substantially aligned.’"
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