![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
![Report cover titled “Putting Capital to Work” with images of diverse people in healthcare, trades, and service uniforms, and the Social Finance logo at the bottom right.](https://socialfinance.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WEBSITE_-News-Insight-Thumbnail-1-1000x673.png")
Putting Capital to Work: A guide for investing in people, pathways, and prosperity
This paper shares six principles we have found to be critical in structuring funds and investing in distinct opportunities.