Why an Open Call
In recent years, the nonprofit sector has debated the value and continued relevance of open funding calls in an era of ever-growing competition for funding and widespread use of generative AI. Does this approach still make sense for funders and organizations seeking support?
At the Tinker Foundation, we have spent the last few months grappling with exactly this question. Our 2026 open call generated nearly 1,500 applications, with fewer than 1% of organizations ultimately receiving funding. Our small team invests significant effort to review each application, and we understand the disappointment of well-aligned organizations that do not advance in the process. Even though the first step in our process requires relatively light effort from each individual applicant, we know in the aggregate this still represents thousands of hours invested by organizations across Latin America.
Given those considerations, we think it is only fair to explain why we have continued to work in this way – and share some additional measures we are taking to make the process work better for everyone.
Why we are preserving the open call – for now
- It remains the best way for Tinker to identify compelling funding opportunities we might not have otherwise encountered, particularly from organizations outside our existing networks. With each LOI cycle, we hear from hundreds of organizations working in our program areas, which can lead to future funding or further relationship-building.
- In talking with organizations, including those who haven’t received funding from Tinker, we have consistently gotten feedback that we should keep the open call in place – as it represents one of the last remaining “open doors” to funding in the region.
- We are improving our ability to make use of the information from the LOI process to inform our own strategy and support relationship-building beyond Tinker. Our LOI process allows us to regularly refresh our understanding of the key challenges facing Latin America and emerging strategies for responding to them. We take note of trends in project topics and organizational profiles, as well as shifting conditions in specific places – insights we share with peers and allies. We are also increasingly focused on using the LOI process to make connections between organizations and other funders, where possible. For this reason, we began asking organizations last year for permission to share their LOIs with other donors, resulting in new funding connections.
What we are trying to do better
- We are being even more explicit about the numbers behind our process, including the low success rates for most applicants. This way, organizations have full information to decide whether to apply.
- We have updated our website and communications to more clearly articulate what we fund and what we do not. Organizations that do not fully align with our program priorities and eligibility criteria will not be successful – and we want to be totally clear about that.
- We are opening more spaces for interested organizations to hear from and interact with us, including at least three public webinars in the last quarter of 2026 as well as conversations with specific networks and groups of organizations.
Taken together, we hope these steps will help organizations make more informed decisions about applying for funding from Tinker.
