The research on education philanthropy typically characterizes foundations as practicing either "traditional" or "strategic" philanthropy. These labels are used to indicate divergent ways of thinking about the impact of grants and approaches to grantmaking between the two models. Drawing on a theoretical framework informed by institutional theory of sociology, I analyze data from interviews with officers at foundations characterized as traditional or strategic to identify areas of convergence between different kinds of funders. I find that while differences remain, a third ecosystem model of philanthropy is emerging across the sector that balances the demand for grantmaking driven by measurable outcomes with the reality of the institutional field in which grantees operate and projects are implemented.