When foundations require detailed and specialized grant applications and reporting, it creates a lot of extra work for nonprofits. 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 grant reports for 20 to 30 foundations, each with different questions, templates, and timelines. In this blog, you’ll learn how to make your foundation’s grant applications and reporting easier, saving time and labor for your grantees and applicants.

Develop Clear Grant Guidelines

It’s not always easy for grantseekers to understand how foundations work or how to access them. 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.

Move Applications Online

Most applicants prefer online applications that let them link to their mission statements, reports, and programs, avoiding the need for bulky paper packets.

Request 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.

Streamline Small and Repeat Grants

Develop streamlined application and report forms for small grants (typically under $10,000) to ensure the grant is worthwhile.

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.

Accept Financials in Their Original Format

Let grantseekers submit financial information in their original, off-the-shelf formats rather than requiring reformatting.

Annual Reports as the Default

Except for high-risk grantees, an annual or end-grant report should meet your needs.

Align Grant Schedules With the Grantee’s Timing

Nearly all nonprofits produce financial reports at the end of their fiscal years. When grant reporting periods don’t align with these natural reporting cycles, consider shifting your reporting requirements so they do.

Get Feedback

Be sure to take stock! After a year, ask if right-sizing has benefited grantseekers and your foundation. Have net grants remained positive and even increased because of your streamlining? Is your foundation making decisions more efficiently?

Read the full article about streamlining grant applications and reporting by Hannah Smith at Exponent Philanthropy.