Concurrent Sessions Round E

Concurrent Sessions Round E – Tuesday, March 16, 2010
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Enhancing Your Effectiveness with Philanthropy In/Sight
(Technology)
In today's tough economic climate, grantmakers are facing difficult decisions about the allocation of private resources for the public good. In turn, the challenge of making more effective use of limited funds is driving the need for better planning and assessment tools for the field. In response to this need, the Foundation Center has created Philanthropy In/Sight, an interactive mapping tool designed to help grantmakers visualize data in ways that reveal patterns and relationships, assess funding needs, and make informed decisions about domestic and cross-border giving. Grants Managers Network members have free access to Philanthropy In/Sight through GMN’s web site through November 2010. By observing a real-time demonstration of its features and participating in Q&A sessions, you’ll learn how Philanthropy In/Sight can increase your knowledge of the philanthropic field and inform your work.
Presenter: Dave Clark, Product Manager, Philanthropy In/Sight, The Foundation Center

Making GMN’s Online Member Community Work for You
(Learning Track—GM: Basics and Beyond)
The GMN Member Community is the best place to connect with other members, ask for advice, and share your experiences to help solve challenges or problems. Want to customize it to better meet your needs? Need more information about tags? Having trouble finding resources on the Member Community? Not sure how to set up your notifications? This session will provide an overview of GMN's Member Community for newer users as well as greater detail for more advanced users to enhance and optimize your experience with this vital resource.
Presenter: Jamie Amagai, Grants Administrator, The Summit Charitable Foundation

Making Sense of Your Foundation Data with Dashboards and Scorecards
(GM: Basics and Beyond/Technology)
Even as foundations increasingly use grants management systems to collect a tremendous amount of data on their grantmaking activities, the opportunity to access and use this data to manage and monitor the effectiveness and impact of a foundation’s work is rarely realized. This shortcoming often translates to additional responsibilities and work for grants managers, who are often the main conduit of critical information in their organizations. In this session, we will introduce the notion of dashboards and scorecards and show how the Barr Foundation is using these tools to inform key strategic and budgetary decisions and ensure that staff and board have a shared understanding of where the foundation stands on key performance measures. While not intended for a technical audience, the presentation will also discuss how Barr used technology to build its dashboard and share lessons learned throughout the implementation process.
Presenters: Roberto Cremonini, Chief Knowledge & Learning Officer, Barr Foundation; Alfred Gracombe, President, Gracombe IT Solutions

Rightsizing Your Application and Reporting Requirements
(Streamlining Grantmaking Practices)
Rightsizing means making application and reporting requirements appropriate to the size and type of grant and reflective of any existing relationship with the grantee. Often application and reporting requirements aren’t rightsized, which reduces net grants (total funding minus the true cost of getting and managing the grants). In today’s economy, which requires doing more with less, it is more important than ever to ensure that grantmakers are giving nonprofits the resources and flexibility they need to deliver on their missions. This interactive session will help you to begin the process of rightsizing your organization’s application and reporting requirements.
Presenters: Andy Carroll, Senior Program Manager, Association of Small Foundations; Celeste Dado, Senior Grants Manager, Arcus Foundation

The New Form 990: What it Means to You, Your Board, and Your Grantees
(GM: Basics and Beyond)
The IRS recently redesigned the Form 990 to improve transparency and accountability of nonprofit organizations. Join two of the nation's experts on the Form 990 for a deeper understanding of its new information requirements, how to read the financial information, and why this is important to you, your board, and your grantees.
Presenters: Thomas Blaney, Partner, CPA, CFE, O'Connor Davis Munns & Dobbins, LLP and Christopher Petermann, Partner, CPA, O'Connor Davis Munns & Dobbins, LLP

CyberGrants – Do More with Less (and Even Do It Better):
CyberGrants and the Four Core Principles for Streamlining Grantmaking
(Exhibitor Session)
“Streamlining” is no longer the trendy expression it once was.  It can be a harsh reality. Changes in internal staff plus increased requests for funding mean that many of us have fewer resources and reduced time to plan. “Do more with less” is the expression we hear nowadays. 

Since 1999, CyberGrants has helped its clients use its online grants management software to streamline their entire grant lifecycle. Whatever streamlining means to your organization, CyberGrants can help improve efficiency in every area of your grantmaking.

Learn how to enact the Four Core Principles as defined by Project Streamline with CyberGrants. Our real-world examples and client case studies will demonstrate how you can “do more with less”, and even do it better.
Presenter: Emily A. Iarocci, Senior Account Executive, CyberGrants, Inc.