By Libbie Landles-Cobb, Kirk Kramer, and Betsy Haley Doyle. The Bridgespan Group.

How funders can align their good intentions with nonprofits’ real needs.

Nonprofits have a chronic leadership development problem, but funders and grantees don’t see eye-to-eye on how to solve it. Nearly two-thirds of the 50 foundations leaders who participated in a Bridgespan Group survey ranked leadership development as a top priority. Yet, a separate survey of 438 nonprofit leaders highlighted important differences between the support nonprofits feel they need to cultivate strong leaders and the support they actually receive.