One of the regularly requested questions I obtain from grantmakers after they full a Grantee Notion Report (GPR) with CEP is, “How would you advocate sharing these findings again to our grantees?” Whereas we encourage all funders to, on the minimal, thank their grantees for taking the time to finish the GPR, there are a selection of the way funders can select to take action. Some have chosen to e-mail all grantees a thanks notice; others have publicly revealed their GPR findings and their reflections. Taking this step to shut the loop with grantees not solely indicators respect for the time they took to supply suggestions, however fosters transparency that may enhance communication within the funder-grantee relationship.
On this submit, I’d prefer to share three ideas we advocate to funders who wish to shut that loop, and listen to immediately from a funder who offered the findings of their GPR to their grantees, enacting every of those ideas.
I not too long ago labored with the improbable workforce at Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Basis who took a singular strategy to sharing their GPR outcomes again with their grant companions. The Basis invited their grantees, who they name grant companions, to CEP’s presentation of their GPR outcomes, and hosted a dialogue after the presentation. The Fisher Basis discovered that along with the advantages of closing the suggestions loop, it was a possibility to extra deeply perceive their outcomes, collect extra suggestions from their companions, and construct stronger relationships.
Fisher Basis: The Basis works in communities by conventional grantmaking along with crucial investments for impression organizations of all sizes and levels. However what is much extra vital to us than what the Basis is thought for is how the Basis is thought. This orientation emphasizes the aspirational tradition of the group and our perception that working alongside companions for justice (tzedakah) will restore our world (tikkun olam).
CEP’s GPR is a precious software offering the Basis with an data roadmap designed to satisfy and/or exceed the expectations of our skilled companions within the subject. The nameless format reduces the facility dynamics inherent within the sector and offers particular, actionable suggestions for the Basis to implement with the aim of strengthening the partnership and the work {of professional} companions within the subject.
Precept 1: Internally Align on Key Takeaways
Earlier than crafting a response to grantees, funders ought to first take the time align on what the GPR findings imply for the group. I name this step “that means making.” Some questions that may information that means making embrace: What do the information inform us we must always preserve doing, begin doing, or cease doing? What are the practices which are underlying the outcomes we see? What are priorities highlighted within the report that we’re at the moment performing on? Coming to settlement on what the information imply for the group internally is step one to closing the suggestions loop.
Fisher Basis: The CEP workforce analyzed the findings, on the lookout for tendencies and evaluating our efficiency to that of comparable foundations throughout the nation. Whereas there are numerous information to research, the Basis workforce primarily centered on information by the strategic funding space and grant measurement. The findings have been shared with the complete Basis workers workforce with a concentrate on figuring out methods to enhance our inner strategy to grantmaking, reporting and speaking with our companions. With CEP’s help, a listing of probably the most salient options of the evaluation was created; that grew to become the template for assembly supplies to help our dialog with our grant companions. The targets for our time collectively have been to make sure the Basis’s evaluation and understanding of the steering our companions offered by the GPR, in addition to how the workers workforce was redesigning our strategy to implement adjustments in response to our learnings.
Precept 2: Get Clear on Your Objective
Figuring out easy methods to share the outcomes of your GPR again to your grantees is figuring out what your objective for sharing is. Normally, the aim is to be clear and let grant companions know that you’ve got engaged with their suggestions. Nonetheless, there are occasions the place your objective may also be to ask additional communication, or to ask grantees to do some that means making alongside you as a funder. Figuring out the aim will help form the format or discussion board with which you select to reply.
Fisher Basis: The Basis is aware of the impression of our work is improved once we first take heed to the wants of our companions, construct belief, strengthen relationships and reply in alignment with their requests. The information from the GPR offered the framework to allow a deeper dialogue with our grant companions on a bunch of subjects associated to the Basis’s efficiency. With that objective in thoughts, all who have been invited to take the GPR survey have been invited to the web presentation of the findings with each CEP and Basis workers after which to take part in that dialogue.
Our time collectively offered the Basis with a possibility to not solely convey our appreciation for the time they dedicated to finishing the survey however to share details about what we believed the evaluation was revealing. The dialog gave us a possibility for our grant companions to substantiate and/or additional outline our understanding and the associated alternatives to enhance. It additionally enabled the Basis to clarify how we have been working to make inner adjustments to be a greater associate to our skilled companions within the subject.
One of many requests of our companions was to host extra convenings with all of our grant companions to strengthen communication all through the sector and the area whereas creating networking alternatives; this straightforward request can have an outsized profit for our companions and its worth could have been ignored by the Basis workforce. One other request included inspecting our grant software and reporting processes with a concentrate on inspecting the extent of data the Basis actually wants from companions to totally perceive the impression of the partnership whereas balancing the must be good stewards of the assets.
Precept 3: Decide to a Tradition of Listening and Motion
The GPR must be one half of a bigger apply of listening and performing on what you hear out of your grantees. I at all times encourage funders to heart suggestions of their broader strategy to organizational studying and aim setting. Whereas this could imply a dedication to re-engaging your grant companions with the GPR at an everyday cadence, constructing a apply of listening may be casual as nicely, whether or not that’s by a digital espresso chat with program workers or throughout a session at an in-person gathering. No matter how this suggestions is gathered, what’s significant to grant companions is the boldness that their suggestions results in motion on the a part of their funders.
Fisher Basis: The GPR findings proceed to function a North Star as we additional look at and refine our inner practices on the Basis. We are actually sharing the findings with our Board and Committee members to have a good time our successes and talk about alternatives raised contained in the GPR which are calling us to rethink our strategies, strategy, and grantmaking practices in ways in which meet the wants of our grant companions.
The GPR findings have been a crucial software in receiving sincere suggestions about our personal efficiency within the eyes of our skilled companions within the subject. The Basis goals to keep up shut relationships with everybody in our grant portfolio and the GPR findings will form the agenda we set in working with our skilled companions to enhance communication, and within the course of, our shared impression.
Kristy Luk is a supervisor, Evaluation and Advisory Companies, at CEP. Cynthia Rowell is director, Studying and Influence, at The Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Basis.
