Giving Compass' Take:

• Authors at PEAK Grantmaking compile a list of standard practices grantmakers should require grantees to do when reporting on programs and results. 

• How can these requirements help strengthen grantee relationships?

• Read about why funders should seek grantee feedback. 

Requiring reports from grantees is common practice among grantmaking foundations, for a host of reasons.

  1. Accountability: a way to know whether and how the grant money has been used for its intended purposes.
  2. Documentation: to ensure a record of a grantee’s history with the funder so that when a program officer leaves, all information stays with the funder.
  3. Grantee support and relationship building: reporting can be used as part of an ongoing conversation with grantees about what they are learning and what they need to succeed.
  4. Grantee assessment: to determine whether a grantee is eligible and a priority for future funding — or whether that grantee could benefit from capacity support, field connections, or other resources that the funder could offer.
  5. Grantmaker learning to inform decision-making: to help determine whether a particular type of grant or portfolio of grants is effective and worthwhile.
  6. Stakeholder engagement: sharing grantee stories and lessons with board members, community stakeholders, or more broadly to increase enthusiasm for and investment in grantees’ work.
  7. Building a field: reports can be used, in aggregate, to draw useful conclusions about a whole field of work or a community — and findings can then be shared back out to the community.

Read the full article on grantee reporting by Jessica Bearman & Elizabeth Myrick at PEAK Insight Journal