GEOList Summary: Grantee Reporting on Core Operating Grants

We have introduced core operating support to our grantmaking program. Now we’d like to revise our grant reporting system to better reflect what these grants are intended to do – provide unrestricted support to organizations that have met our selection criteria. After reading GEO’s report on Assessing the Impact, we understand that there are many options for how to follow these grants – some more elaborate than others. As we revamp our processes, we wondered what we might learn from fellow GEO members about what you have found meaningful. Thus far, what we have decided to do is to take a simple learning orientation & ask for annual reports after the grant is made – two total. We are starting from scratch and building a few key areas of reporting. The centerpiece of the report would be a description of progress in achieving approximately 3 organizational objectives identified by nonprofits that are meaningful to them & that coincide with the two-year timeframe of our grant. What we’re seeking is (a) good & reliable general questions for organizations to answer, and (b) how best to capture grant expenditures. What has worked for you?