Why a funder chose to move to 8-year grants

For many years, nonprofits have been advocating for funders to offer long-term support, rather than single-year grants. Recently, three- and five-year grants have become more common. But Blood:Water, a U.S.–based nonprofit, has gone much further and made eight-year grants the norm. That’s according to Nadia Kist, executive director at Blood:Water, speaking recently at a Devex Pro Funding Briefing. Blood:Water takes its name from the fact that Africa is disproportionately affected by both HIV and a lack of safe water. When it was founded, over 20 years ago, it began by fundraising from individual donors in the U.S. to finance programs across East and southern Africa, where HIV was most prevalent. Today, the organization has evolved into a collaborative fund that channels unrestricted, multiyear support to African-led organizations tackling health disparities, with its focus on HIV prevention and treatment and increasing access to safe water. Recently, however, they have added an institutional strengthening component to their partnership model. “We fund and strengthen African community-led organizations to advance local solutions,” Kist said. “We do that in a partnership model that pairs flexible, multiyear funding with deep, organizational strengthening investments,” she said. Why 8 years? The length of Blood:Water grants is a deliberate design choice rooted in lessons from the long-term nature of HIV and the slow pace of institutional change. Over the course of the funding relationship, each partner receives between $500,000 and $700,000 in flexible program funds, plus $50,000 earmarked for organizational strengthening. The support goes beyond project grants. Partners codefine milestones across areas such as governance, people management, and financial systems, and they determine their own capacity-strengthening priorities. “Our partnership is systems change in action,” Kist said. “Systems change is not quick and fast, it is slow and hard, and requires a commitment that really kind of exceeds a couple of years journeying with an organization.” Trust-based, locally led philanthropy All partners are African-led civil society organizations operating in East or southern Africa — typically with annual budgets between $100,000 and $800,000. Each must demonstrate community roots and a commitment to strengthening their institutions, not just implementing projects. Blood:Water measures progress through data on autonomy, financial viability, and program quality. According to internal metrics, midway results show a 47% improvement in financial health and a 75% rise in program quality across partner organizations, Kist said. Reporting requirements are intentionally light and designed to be developmental rather than extractive. “We believe that our partners will be able to have stronger, more compelling impact narratives if their ability to document and present their work is improved,” Kist said. “It really is a back-and-forth process on a quarterly basis to tell the story of how they are seeing impact.” Building the Leader Collective Beyond direct funding, Blood:Water created and runs the Leader Collective — a digital community of practice that offers coaching, peer-exchange visits, webinars, and self-paced learning. Initially serving Blood:Water’s own grantees, the nonprofit is now opening it to any African-led organization. “We want the Leader Collective to be a public good,” Kist explained. “It’s about bringing visibility to the excellence that already exists in African communities — and shifting the narrative.” Grassroots philanthropy as a funding engine Blood:Water gets most of its money from small donations from the U.S. public. Kist said that this was important to the organization's philosophy and ethos. “Collective giving is in itself a form of collective action,” Kist said. “No matter where we come from, no matter the things that we care about, we want to be a part of something that is much bigger than the scope of where we are and what we do.” While grassroots philanthropy remains the backbone of the nonprofit’s work, the organization is now actively seeking to expand its base of institutional funding partners. Kist emphasized that this growth is not about chasing scale for its own sake but about finding deep alignment with funders who share the nonprofit’s values around flexibility, trust, and local leadership. “It’s not about policing, it’s not about prescribing, it really is about being a thought partner, about being a peer, it’s about being very cognizant of power dynamics and power differentials as they show up.” For Blood:Water, she said, alignment is the key determinant of partnership, ensuring that every new relationship strengthens rather than dilutes its mission-driven approach. Responding to the PEPFAR funding crisis Following recent freezes in PEPFAR funding, many of Blood:Water’s partners lost up to 40% of their budgets overnight. They responded by making its funding more flexible, allowing grantees to use funds they receive to cover new critical gaps created by the PEPFAR shortfall. The funder is also looking at how it can provide greater support to grantee efforts to diversify their income streams through social enterprise models. Now, Blood:Water aims to double its portfolio — from 10 to 20 African partners — and raise $12 million by 2028, potentially reaching 9.3 million people. The nonprofit’s website provides an easy-to-use platform for individuals wishing to donate to the organization and its partners. “Community-led organizations are moving forward, and they're doing the work,” Kist said. “They were there before partnerships existed, they are there after, and that's precisely why we believe so much in the power and effectiveness of frontline community-led organizations that are born out of the communities that they serve.” Lessons for other funders Kist encouraged peer organizations to approach philanthropy with a mindset deeply rooted in humility and partnership, and to shape grants around the missions and priorities of local organizations rather than their own interests. She also emphasized the importance of agility in programming and operations to ensure the ability to pivot as contexts shift. Finally, she underscored the need to invest in trust, saying: “Trust is the fruit of time and relationship. It can’t be forced. … It comes naturally by virtue of you as a partner walking the walk with them.” The bigger picture As global aid contracts and large donors retrench, Blood:Water’s experience shows that midsize philanthropic groups can play an outsized role — not by scaling bureaucracy, but by scaling trust, time, and flexibility. “We are an example of what it means to provide long-term commitments that are trust-based, that offer flexibility, [and[ that hold partners in the center to own and drive the work that they're doing,” Kist said. Don't miss out on future briefings. Browse our events calendar for our next live conversations.