Giving Compass' Take:

• A survey by PEAK Grantmaking reveals that curiosity is an essential component of good grantmaking practices. 

• How can you grow your curiosity to improve your grantmaking? 

• Read about five best practices of extraordinary grantmakers.

With 73% of people reporting that feeling curious at work has lead them to generate and share new ideas, curiosity is more than just a buzzword — it’s a vital component to an organization’s performance. Think about it, every breakthrough discovery, invention, and new idea was the result of curiosity!

But how does curiosity play a part in grantmaking?

To get a pulse on curiosity in the grantmaking space, we surveyed over 200 grantmakers that serve a variety of areas such as education, community development, healthcare, and more.

The result? Grantmakers, with 83% reporting to be “extremely” or “very curious”, make up a margin of 13 percentage points more curious people than other Americans (70%)! In a space where traditionally, you try to do more with less, having a curious team is a fantastic asset in moving the needle on your mission.

Grantmakers are a curious bunch, curiosity doesn’t come out on top as a priority when creating or assessing a successful grant application. Practicality and expertise topped the list at 31% and 29% respectively, but something you may not have expected was that curiosity came in last at only 3%, tied with empathy!

While exercising curiosity at work has been proven to result in generating and sharing new ideas, only 66% of those in the grantmaking space say curiosity is encouraged at their work and only 12% say it is rewarded.

One organization pushing the boundaries of curiosity today is top-ranked hospital and New Hampshire’s only nonprofit academic health system, Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Their accreditation program allows doctors, nurses, and medical professionals to attend conferences, knowledge sharing events, and take courses to expand their medical knowledge, and maintain their licensure. Their accreditation program turns new opportunities into reality, and connects medical professionals to share and generate ideas together to better serve our public.

Read the full article about why curiosity matters in grantmaking by Gabriella Di Fazio at PEAK Grantmaking.