Who Reviews Your Grant Proposals?

From The NonProfit Times... Who reads, votes, rejects or rewards your effort?First, consider the size of the staff at the funder you’re approaching. If it’s the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the person-power is close to 1,800. If it’s a community foundation in a major metro area, it might be 50-75 people. For a small private grantmaking foundation, there might be a staff of 10 or even fewer.

• If it’s a very large staff, there are probably program assistants or associates who take a first crack at proposals.
• If it’s a very small foundation, with very few staffers — your proposal might only get one chance.

...there is a body of information that all reviewers probably subscribe to, however informally. Some years ago, a coalition of funders created the “Due Diligence Tool” — a 65-page handbook for assessing an applicant and its proposal for funding. The publication, by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, is a useful blueprint for nonprofits wanting to understand what reviewers are thinking about as they examine requests for support.