How to Evaluate Grant Applications
Awarding grants is usually harder than it appears. After all, you may have many good causes competing for the amount of funds you have to give. Be sure, first of all, that you have made grant guidelines publicly available. Guidelines should contain items like a brief history of the funder, it's mission, values and vision; types of grants available and amounts, who's eligible to apply, a description of the application process, and contact information in case grant seekers need more information.
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Instructions
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Have more than one person do a preliminary review of the applications to garner different perspectives on each project. Remove those applications that fall outside of your guidelines from those that will go on to the board for review and voting. Promptly send letters of declination to applicants who will not be considered for funding.
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Conduct site visits to groups whose projects look interesting. The National Center for Family Philanthropy notes that site visits help staff and board members become better acquainted with the grant applicant's staff and work, see programs in action, and speak with those helped by the nonprofit.
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Summarize each site visit in a report and send those and the applications to the board at least two weeks before they meet. Based on the information collected so far, grant applications may be sorted into those recommended for funding, those not recommended and those that are interesting, but not necessarily recommended.
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Prepare a check list for board members to use during their meeting that gives everyone a common set of items for analyzing each application. Common criteria for evaluating applications include whether an applying organization seems credible: Does the organization seem to be achieving its current goals? Does it have a good reputation in the community? Also, consider whether the organization seems capable of achieving the goals stated in its application--what skills and qualities does its staff and board have? In what endeavors does the organization have a good track record?
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Consider whether the project being suggested seems doable. Has the organization allocated enough time and budget for the program? Also, consider whether the proposed project should be done at all. Will its outcome be really significant? What affect will it have in the community, and how might the community respond? Are other grant makers already funding a share of this project? And, finally, how can any outcomes be measured? Questions like these should make decisions a bit easier.
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Tips & Warnings
Grant-seekers appreciate straightforwardness. For proposals that are rejected, it's best to send out letters of declination that state specifically why the grant was not made, so applicants won't be misled about whether to send an application for the same project again.
If a grant-seeker's proposal seems interesting, but you'd like more information, you can contact the organization and other grant makers, such as the community foundation in the grant-seeker's area, for more information.
