By Barb Demarest
Sometimes, the Big Give (formerly known as the Annual Award Meeting) is described as the end of the Grant Cycle. To do so, however, omits a major step and one which consumes the Grant Administration Committee from the night of the Big Give until mid-July – getting a contract with the Grant Awardee set up and signed for the duration of the grant period.
Within days of the Big Give, a Grantee Liaison and the Grant Administration Chair meet on-site with each new grantee to review the steps involved. While the body of the contract is standard from grantee to grantee, the contract references an exhibit. This document spells out a more detailed budget, broken down by quarters, and sets up “measurable milestones” that allow the Grantee to demonstrate, at the end of each quarter, that the planned work was accomplished. Impact100 Garden State makes quarterly payment in advance to Grantees. The assessment of accomplishments at the end of each quarter sets the stage for the disbursement of funds for the following quarter.
Throughout the remainder of the grant period, the Impact100 Garden State Grantee Liaison and the representatives of the nonprofit have quarterly reviews of actual expenditures and of work accomplished. Often, adjustments need to be made along the way and if they are reasonable and advance the purposes of the grant, those modifications are approved. Disbursements for the next quarter are approved by the full Grant Administration committee based on the recommendation of the Grantee Liaison.
This process allows the Grant Administration committee to fulfill its responsibility to the Impact100 Garden State membership to ensure that the funding is spent for the purposes that the membership voted for. At the same time, it allows the committee to keep the membership informed through the newsletter and website about the good work that the grantee is accomplishing.
For any questions about Grant Administration, please contact Chair Barb Demarest at btdemarest@gmail.com.