GMN Examiner Spring 2009

The economic downturn and resulting losses in endowments and investment performance make the role and function of a grants manager an even more vital resource to the foundation as it focuses on streamlining grant processes, and even reducing operational costs, programmatic activity, and staff.  Foundation leadership must rely heavily on the grants manager for reporting accuracy, strict adherence to IRS rules, and process compliance during these times of sharp introspection and planning.  Read more

Philanthropy is a most cross-disciplinary practice. To be successful, grantmakers must move beyond a technical domain expertise and be able to relate their unique knowledge base to the broader, interrelated context within which society operates.  The name for people who are able to pull this off?  T-Shaped People. Read more

To recycle a popular quote…”If you’ve seen one foundation, you’ve seen one foundation.”  This is why it is such a challenge to respond to questions asking for a definition of “grants management.”  There is such a variety of functions and responsibilities within a single grants manager’s job, never mind the diversity that we see across the GMN membership.  However, as our field continues to grow and become more recognized, there has never been a greater need to be able to talk succinctly about grants management both within our organizations and within the field of philanthropy.  Read more

Any organization that fails to file some version of a Form 990 (990-EZ, 990-PF or 990-N) for three consecutive years will have its tax-exempt status revoked and will have to reapply to the IRS for a new exemption. To inform their grantees of the changing rules, the Francis Family Foundation will be including information about the new filing requirements in its applications and encouraging applicants to make sure they are in compliance. Read more

As any grants manager who has been responsible for making direct grants to non-U.S.-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has experienced, equivalency determination (ED) is a complex, time-consuming, and expensive process. Help is on the way! Read more

The demographic shifts in overall growth coupled with an increase in racial and ethnic populations within the United States has compelled philanthropy to question its level of engagement with under-served communities and consider whether more engagement could improve the field's effectiveness. Several studies, commissioned by foundations and other institutions, have researched the issues, pursuing answers to such questions as “How effective are foundations at reaching out to its entire community?” and ”Does having a diverse workforce make foundations more successful at expanding whom they fund?”  Read more

There are many organizations producing information useful to grants management professionals.  We’ve identified that we hope you might find helpful.   Read more.

In Denver, at the foot of the Rocky Mountain frontier, more than 300 grants management professionals gathered to learn, debate, and collaborate in a series of plenary and breakout sessions organized around the conference theme of “Exploring New Frontiers” in grants management. GMN members can access streaming video of each plenary speaker as well as materials from the concurrent sessions on GMN’s online community.  Read more

The GMN Annual Meeting was held on March 24, 2009 at the annual conference in Denver.  The GMN membership approved bylaws changes, elected new board members, and thanked retiring board members.

• GMN Issues First Annual Report
• Project Streamline Gaining Momentum
• Spring Fundraising Campaign Underway
• GM Guide Sales Continue to Grow!

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