Bureaucratic Roles and Systems
This includes staff roles that add work for grantees instead of shouldering it or, worse, create check-the-box tasks and layers of review that add work for all and convey distrust. And it includes grant management systems that capture data but not relationships (conversations, questions, and feedback).
Data Highlight
Nonprofit leaders rated funder staff concerns the number five barrier to more flexible grantmaking, and grant management systems as the number five barrier to more multiyear grantmaking (Accelerating Equitable Grantmaking Survey, MilwayPLUS, November 2021, n=30).
Additional Resources
Seven Habits of Excellent Work with Grantees, Hewlett Foundation guide for foundation staff to help them create strong, mutually respectful and highly productive relationships with grantees
Funder Practices for Transformative Partnership, Muso’s recommendations for funders that seek transformative relationships and impact
Getting Started:
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Ask your CEO what they are doing to ensure that program officers are focused on grantee service and meeting grantee needs. Discuss the Seven Habits of Excellent Work with Grantees at your next board meeting.
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Ensure that program officer job descriptions and evaluation processes focus on how well the program officer does at supporting grantees and meeting their needs. Ask your program officers for ideas on how to simplify the grantmaking process. Set up a time to workshop the process together and make it simpler and more efficient.
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Ask your grantees for feedback on how much time each element of your grantmaking process takes them. Assess which steps are most time-consuming and identify how to simplify.
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Let your program officers know what services you value most. Point out where their processes create bureaucratic thickets. Cite examples of funders with whom you’ve experienced less bureaucracy and more trust.