![Headshot of Nadine Abraham beside text: "Philanthropy Isn’t Broken—but How We Fund Might Be" from The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Social Finance section.](https://socialfinance.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/14-1000x673.png")
Public Sector Solutions
Key Takeaway
A New Jersey foundation tried paying grantees for results instead of programs, unleashing both greater creativity and improved outcomes.
In this op-ed for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nadine Abraham makes the case for outcomes-based funding as a more effective alternative to traditional grant making — giving nonprofits unrestricted, flexible capital upfront while tying additional payments to real results. Drawing on Social Finance’s partnership with a New Jersey foundation to increase earned income tax credit uptake, Abraham shows how the approach unlocked grantee creativity, improved outcomes, and deepened funder-grantee trust in ways traditional grants rarely achieve.
Related Insight
![Text reading “Social Finance in Work Shift: The $5.7B Staffing Cost Companies Aren’t Talking About” next to a headshot of Matt Latimer.](https://socialfinance.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/WEBSITE_-News-Insight-Thumbnail-1000x673.png")
Work Shift: The $5.7B Staffing Cost Companies Aren’t Talking About
In this op-ed, Matt Latimer argues that the up to $5.7B manufacturers spend each year on staffing agency fees could instead pay workforce programs that train entry-level workers and tie their fees to whether those…