So What Is Grants Management Anyway?

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. 

As a grants manager, I initially tried to explain exactly what I did to friends and family.  After seeing too many interested eyes turn into glassy stares, I switched to the glib explanation that I “gave other people’s money away.”  Although that invariably resulted in an outreached hand and a joking request for funding, it seemed to move the conversation along.  However, now that I’m out of the direct grants management role, I have no such easy answers.  Therefore, I thought I would take this opportunity to reach out to members to begin a conversation to answer this important question.

Here are my best attempts so far…

To the general public, I describe grants management as a job function within a grantmaking organization that focuses on the operations side of grantmaking, including grantmaking policies, procedures, compliance, and data and records management.  

To people within philanthropy, I describe grants management in relationship to the more commonly understood functions within a grantmaking organization -- management and program staff, explaining that:

• Senior managers (officers and the board) are the experts in what the organization funds, deciding the organization’s strategic focus and funding priorities.
• Program staff are the experts in who the organization funds, building relationships with grantees and potential grantees, keeping abreast of developments in the field and making the tough decisions among competing proposals.
• Grants managers are the experts on how grants are made, dealing with the policies, procedures and operations behind receiving, awarding, and monitoring grants.   

To program staff or people who are very knowledgeable about how a grant is made, I explain that grants managers work on the operations side of grantmaking with three main goals:

• To remove most of the administrative work of grantmaking from program staff, freeing them to build relationships and focus on proposal review and recommendations.
• To support overall organization goals, priorities, and requirements, including compliance with laws and regulations, developing and tracking the annual grants budget, and recommending grant-related policies.
• To make the grantmaker one of the most responsive, accessible, and easiest to work with in the field by clear and timely communication with grantseekers and grantees.

How do you define grants management?  Join a discussion on this article in GMN's online community to share your thoughts and definitions.