Funding for the Long Haul: How Many-Year Grants Strengthen Nonprofit Jobs & Impact - with Betsy Leondar-Wright

In this episode, you’ll learn how many-year grants can bolster nonprofit people and programmatic impact. Host Rusty Stahl sits down with Betsy Leondar-Wright, Ph.D., the lead researcher at Fund the People, to discuss our brand-new report, Long-Haul Grantmaking.Betsy brings decades of nonprofit leadership, social justice activism, and academic research to the conversation, and she shares how her personal experiences with underfunded, unstable nonprofit jobs shaped her passion for this work. Together, Rusty and Betsy explore the vital question: what happens when funders commit to long-term, flexible support for nonprofits with an emphasis on supporting employees?Drawing from a case study of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund’s Endeavor Fund, which made seven-year unrestricted grants to seven Bay Area nonprofits, Betsy highlights transformative impacts for organizations and their staff. From stronger internal systems and fairer pay, to improved work-life balance, healthier collaboration, and greater program impact, the research shows how funding stability, paired with financial incentives to focus on job quality, directly translates to healthier, more effective nonprofits. Betsy also shares moving examples of staff and program participants whose lives have been improved by this approach—from frontline workers gaining access to healthcare and rest, to immigrant entrepreneurs modeling better job practices in their own small businesses.This conversation offers funders and nonprofit leaders alike practical insights into how funding can shift from a cycle of scarcity to a model of sustainability. Listeners will also learn about an upcoming interactive webinar (October 10, 2025, 10am PT / 1pm ET) where Betsy and special guests will dive deeper into the findings and share strategies for overcoming barriers to many-year funding. Register to discover how embracing long-haul grantmaking can fuel high-performing people, organizations, and impact.Betsy Leondar-Wright, Ph.D.Betsy leads Staffing the Mission, Fund the People's research and dissemination arm. In this role, she serves as Principal Investigator of the Upgrading Nonprofit Workplaces study. The first publication from this research is Long-Haul Grantmaking report. Betsy joined the team when Staffing the Mission became part of Fund the People in late 2023.Dr. Leondar-Wright is a veteran of 30+ years at economic justice nonprofits in various roles, including United for a Fair Economy. She has facilitated more than 250 popular education workshops around the US and the UK. As an Associate Professor of Sociology at Lasell University, she taught about race and class inequality and social movement strategy. She is the author of Missing Class: Strengthening Social Movement Groups by Seeing Class Cultures, and a co-author of The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the US Racial Wealth Divide.Related episodes:Jamie Allison, Walter and Elise Haas Fund, on the FTP Podcast EpisodeLong-Haul Grantmaking Research:Long-Haul Grantmaking ReportRegister for Free Webinar on the Report (Fri 10/10, 10a PT)Other Resources Discussed in the Episode:Endeavor Fund Cohort info on Haas Sr. Fund websiteStaffing the Mission (on Fund the People site)Sustainable Jobs Toolkit (created by Staffing the Mission and All Due Respect)Workshops on Burnout for Nonprofits from StaffingIs It Racist? Is It Sexist? Why Red and Blue White People Disagree, and How to Decide in the Gray Areas (book by Betsy)Missing Class: Strengthening Social Movement Groups by Seeing Class Cultures (book by Betsy)CA Talent Justice Summit webpage