Grassroots grantmaking practitioners utilize several different models for managing grant review and decision-making. Several of the most frequently used models are described below, with possible pros and cons for each noted. Model Pros Cons Grant proposals are reviewed by staff. Staff make grant decisions. Allows quick response. Draws on specific expertise of staff. Senior staff [...]
Here are some points for funders to keep in mind when designing a program of technical assistance for grassroots groups. Do give the grassroots group the lead role in focusing its assistance. A group will take action on problems that it recognizes. If the group doesn’t own the diagnosis it will be halfhearted or grudging [...]
Technical assistance – help in all forms for grassroots groups – is an essential component of effective grassroots grantmaking programs. Designing the most effective technical assistance system begins with a close look at your local context: Is there an organization that currently provides technical assistance? Are there consultants in the area that have experience working [...]
There are several commonly-utilized models to staff grassroots grantmaking programs – all with their pros and cons, with the right model dependent on a funding organization’s local context, program goals, and internal capacity. Here are several of the most common staffing models and the associated pros and cons. Model Pros Cons Frequency* Program Officer staffs [...]
Excerpts from A Guide to Evaluating Asset-Based Community Development: Lessons, Challenges and Opportunities by Thomas Dewar. The following ten principles are offered as elements to consider in evaluating asset-based community development. They are not meant to be a model, or even a complete checklist. Rather, each principle reflects lessons learned in community building, and is [...]
Excerpts from A Legacy of Leadership and Support for Grassroots Grantmaking. 1. The Goals are in Line with Resources It is important that the funding organization has explicit expectations about what the program can accomplish and not be naïve about the role of residents as volunteers and what they can do. A key variable is [...]
A Planning Framework for Grassroots Grantmaking A Supportive Climate Connections Short-Term Problem Solving Help Longer-Term Capacity Building Help Patient Money Specifically, groups need: Validation Connections to other groups at like them Specific how-to help Help identifying long-term goals A grant program with a visible on-ramp Recognition Connections to more experienced groups On-demand help Help assessing [...]
Central to Grassroots Grantmakers’ theory of change is an assumption about the essential role that ordinary people play in shaping and sustaining healthy communities. It is the coming together of ordinary people with a common interest in improving their communities for their families and their neighbors that is the focus of grassroots grantmaking. By directing [...]
Grassroots grantmaking programs are most effective when they are strategically designed with careful consideration of a local community’s civic engagement and neighborhood development infrastructure and an honest assessment of the funding organization’s culture and available resources. This Getting Ready Roadmap is designed to guide a funding organization in their initial assessment of the external and internal [...]
The tricky thing about grassroots grantmaking is that it operates in the nebulous gray space of the funding world. Behind the foundation walls are dollars and cents that add up very neatly, accounts receivable records coming through humming fax machines, and proof of non-profit status reports in piles across cubicle desks. On the streets ofClevelandCity’s [...]
A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of attending my first Neighborhood Connections Final Report Party. What is a Final Report Party, you ask? Well, at the close of a grantee’s project year they have the option to complete their final report in several different ways. The first is to write a traditional, [...]
