Giving Compass' Take:

• Lisa Ranghelli, writing for PEAK Insight Journal, discusses the importance of the feedback loop for strengthening grantee and grantmaker relationships. 

• How can foundation leaders prioritize feedback loops in these relationships? 

• Read about how feedback loops can empower communities. 

Not only are foundations missing out on opportunities to gain valuable feedback through grant reports or other methods (especially anonymous feedback), even when they do, they usually fail to report back to their grant partners about what they learned from this feedback and how the grantee feedback influenced their policies and practices.

PEAK Grantmaking’s survey findings are more promising, showing that 29 percent of its members do solicit feedback through the grant reports, at least about reporting practices. We don’t know how many of those also close the feedback loop with grant partners.

Doing so helps promote transparency, mutual trust, and a stronger relationship between funder and nonprofit, a key goal for grant reporting according to PEAK Grantmaking’s members.

Strong feedback loops also promote shared learning; organizational learning is the other top goal PEAK Grantmaking’s members want grant reporting to support.

PEAK Grantmaking challenges foundations to unite practice with purpose. If indeed one purpose is building stronger relationships with grantees, reporting can be elevated from a simple accountability mechanism to be part of an ongoing conversation that promotes trust and shared learning.

Read the full article on feedback on reporting by Lisa Ranghelli at PEAK Insight Journal