I wrote something called “Dump The Prizes” for SSIR back in 2013. Prizes continue to proliferate. I haven’t seen much to change my mind. Look:
They waste huge amounts of time, effort, and spirit.
Example: A Very Big Foundation periodically runs a competition to give a nine-figure grant to a single organization. I had a look at the application process. What I saw would take me a week to complete. The last time the foundation did this, they got 750 applications. That’s 750 weeks—15 years—of senior staff time—and that’s just the first round.
They’re exploitative.
Example: Another foundation was crowing on LinkedIn about getting almost 6000 applications for a tiny number of prizes. Nice for them, sucks for the applicants—it’s a substantial amount of money and doers feel obligated to apply for something with truly terrible odds.
They’re inefficient.
Example: One prize-giver’s 990 reveals that they spend twice as much on staffing as they give out in prizes. The ratio of costs to grants for most of the funders I know is somewhere around 1:5, and many are lower. Most prizes are basically a very expensive one-time grant—in this case 10x more expensive than those who make straight-up grants.
They’re self-aggrandizing.
Example: A luxury brand stipulates that their prize recipients can’t take money from other luxury brands for ten years, a rule that can end up costing more than the prize is worth. It’s a pretty clear way to say, “It’s not about you.”
They don’t accomplish what people think they do.
Most of these competitions have the stated intent of driving new ideas and innovations. The folks at Open Philanthropy wondered about that and commissioned this study. The punchline: Little happens that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
I know, I know. We’re not going to stem the tide. People love this stuff, and besides, the parties are fun, especially if there’s crabcakes. I’ll ask just this: design better. You can minimize the bad stuff and maximize the good stuff if you’re thoughtful and clever about it.
And, well, consider just being a funder. A skilled one. It’s not that bad, really, and you can still throw a party whenever you want.
Comments