Complex and specialized grant applications and reports place a heavy administrative burden on nonprofit partners. If a nonprofit secures funding from 20 to 30 foundations, it must manage applications to 40, 50, or 60 different foundations, each with unique requirements. Additionally, it must prepare diverse grant reports for 20 to 30 foundations, each with different questions, templates, and timelines. In this blog, learn how your foundation can simplify its grant applications and reporting for nonprofits.

Develop Clear Grant Guidelines

Grant guidelines are a great way to communicate your interests and strategies to potential grantees, making it clear what you fund and how to apply. The clearer your guidelines, the more likely you are to receive grant applications that align with your interests. This will save you time in screening and responding to unsuitable proposals and provide a consistent framework for evaluating the ones that do fit. Similarly, applicants will avoid wasting time on foundations that are not a good match. It’s not always easy for grantseekers to understand how foundations work or how to access them. You can also create a simple prescreening process through your website, a short paper form, or phone call, and only invite full proposals from those that fit your guidelines.

Go Online

Most applicants prefer online applications that let them link to their mission statements, reports, and programs, avoiding the need for bulky paper packets. Well-designed online systems can electronically capture all application information, including budgets, IRS determination letters, and post-grant reports. These systems serve as repositories where applicants can access their entire history of interactions with your foundation.

Our members have found that using online systems increases interactions with applicants during the application process, enabling easy draft submissions and allowing foundations to request additional or clarifying information as needed.

Ask for Only the Information You’ll Use

A lot of foundations don’t use the information they request, and making grants to most domestic public charities requires no paperwork, process, nor post-grant reporting. Figure out what your foundation needs to make a grant decision, and request only that information.

“It is important for a foundation to fully consider the impact of its requests on a grantee,” said Exponent Philanthropy member Dee Ann Harris of the Leightman Maxey Foundation in Oregon. “Requesting materials that will not be reviewed and/or used by the foundation imposes an unnecessary burden and can prevent a good relationship and true partnership.”

To streamline your financial due diligence, consider the following questions:

  • What financial information do I need to assess the proposal, the organization’s capacity, and the extent to which the grantee spent the grant funds as proposed?
  • What existing financial documents will give me this information?
  • What additional documents do I need, and how can I best obtain them?

Streamline Small and Repeat Grants

Develop streamlined application and report forms for small grants (typically under $10,000) to ensure the grant is worthwhile. Some funders use a one-page application and either waive reporting requirements or ask for just a few brief paragraphs. Others prefer to meet grantees for informal discussions over coffee or lunch to learn about their projects or organizations.

Relax some requirements for small, new, and grassroots nonprofits, as they often lack the staff and systems needed for detailed applications, reports, and financial documentation.

For renewal grants, incorporate reporting on the previous grant into the application process for new funding. Store information about repeat grantees and familiar organizations in a spreadsheet, database, or grants management system, and only request updates from them. 

Read the full article about simplifying grant applications by Hannah Smith at Exponent Philanthropy.