GrantAdvisor.org is an electronic platform recently launched that allows grant applicants and recipients to review foundations and provide comments on an anonymous basis regarding their experiences with grantmaking foundations. Nonprofit Quarterly reported that the GrantAdvisor.org website processed more than 450 reviews of grantmaking foundations in the first month of its pilot phase, and that 76 foundations have already appointed key contacts who will provide responses to each review.
The objective of the electronic platform is to promote greater philanthropic transparency. The website allows grant seekers to provide information about their experience with foundations so that other grant seekers can read the comments and decide whether making a grant application to a certain funder is worth the time and effort. Once a grantmaking foundation receives five reviews, the data is posted on the website and the grantmaking foundation is permitted to respond to any review comments.
Using a simple survey questionnaire, grant seekers provide information on their experience pursuing grants from a particular foundation. The survey does not require the grant seeker to register on the site, but GrantAdvisor.org encourages registration so the grant seeker can review the responses of grantmaking foundations and other comments. Upon registering with the site, the grant seeker receives an anonymous, randomly assigned user ID. Grantmaking foundations, however, will have their name disclosed on any comments made in response to a grant seeker’s review.
GrantAdvisor.org is a nonprofit organization exempt from federal tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Access to the site is free for its initial pilot year but the organization may charge membership fees in the future. If you have any questions or need assistance with grant applications, please contact Schneider Downs.
Note that the website discussed in this article is GrantAdvisor.org (as opposed to GrantAdvisor.com).
For more information, contact Schneider Downs or visit the Our Thoughts On blog.
