Keeping track of the story behind the grant
The finish line for your community investment process is in sight!
You’ve received applications from agencies doing meaningful work in your community, conducted thoughtful and thorough reviews of each request, and finalized funding decisions.
You’ve got tracking the amounts requested and granted down pat.
Are you also tracking how you got to those grant award amounts?
There’s a story behind every award amount. Keeping a record of that story can help ensure transparency in your process and answer any questions you or your team members have in the future about past decisions.
Document the Process
- Note the type(s) of reviews that took place, such as an initial staff review, a financial stability review, community volunteer reviews, etc.
- Record whether scored evaluations were completed, recommendations were made through committee meetings, presentations were made, or all of the above.
- Keep note of who made the final determinations and what information they reviewed and used to make those decisions.
Record the Rationale
- Document criteria that impacted funding decisions across the board. This may be noting that any request that received less than a specific evaluation score was not considered for funding. It could also be that all requests approved for funding got 5% less than their requested amount due to more being requested than was available to award.
- Track the reasons for award decisions for each applicant. This could be an agency that will not receive any funding because their services aren’t aligned with your goals. Alternatively, it may be an applicant who is awarded more than was requested because their programs are showing promising results!
Summarize Funding Stipulations
- Notate any special requirements that are put in place for funding to be received, such as providing additional information or contingencies based on certain activities being completed.
- In the event the amount originally awarded to an applicant must be adjusted, record why an adjustment was required after funding decisions were finalized.
Ready for bonus points? Track everything, from application to award, in a single place!
With your awards and the story behind them in place, deep analysis and understanding of your full funding and impact landscape are at your and your team’s fingertips.