Whitepaper: Unrestricted funding - why grantmakers need it
If you're serious about making a big difference to the organisations you support, you must consider…
Best Practice Grantmaking
When you become a SmartyGrants user, you're signing up for much more than software. You join a community of grantmakers big and small across the world and across sectors that have one thing in common: a desire to make scarce resources go as far as possible in supporting communities and creating change.
The SmartyGrants team has been collecting, distilling and disseminating best practices in grantmaking for more than two decades. Our materials are used by auditors, grantmakers, journalists - all those with an interest in better quality grantmaking. You can pick our brains below.
When you feel the need for speed, start your Outcomes Engine
The grantmaking team at Camden Council took only a fortnight to sign up to the Outcomes Engine,…
Outcomes Engine has flow-on effects for the grants team at Wannon Water
Wannon Water is an urban water corporation responsible for water and sewerage in Australia’s…
Whitepaper: Risk management and the grantmaking lifecycle
SmartyGrants experts have delved into the myriad of ways that proper risk management will ensure…
Funding innovative projects and organisations
Funding innovation can involve pushing boundaries or funding the testing of ideas and theories. In…
Engaging in strategic grantmaking
Switching from a small, one-off grants program to strategic, multi-year partnerships can help…
The basics of program design
Running a great grants program is not as simple as signing cheques and handing them out.…
Maximising the grants officer role
Expanding the grants officer's role can have many positive knock-on effects. When a grants…
Avoiding jargon
Grantmaking is surrounded by words. Words describe overall missions and goals; they explain…
Managing your grants staff
Grants staff have a tough gig - they are often pressed for time and juggling numerous roles. They…
The role of a grants facilitator
A grants facilitator can assist community groups with their grant applications as well as…
Grantmaking during an economic downturn
There are times when the government has to increase its spending to compensate for falling…
Whitepaper: Risk management and the grantmaking lifecycle
SmartyGrants experts have delved into the myriad of ways that proper risk management will ensure…
The basics of program design
Running a great grants program is not as simple as signing cheques and handing them out.…
Grants mapping and community support
If you want to improve your processes and reduce the red tape associated with your organisation's…
Grants manuals
A grants manual is a record of information about your grants program. The alternative to a manual…
Whitepaper: Unrestricted funding - why grantmakers need it
If you're serious about making a big difference to the organisations you support, you must consider…
At the crossroads: How to use grants to tackle climate change and equity
Climate change has become a crucial issue for grantmakers, as governments, philanthropists and…
Identifying outcomes agents: How to target grantseekers to reach your goals
How do you find organisations with the right capabilities and experience to deliver your desired…
The SmartyGrants Grantmaking Toolkit
This toolkit is designed to walk you through the process of building, reviewing or refreshing a…
Best practice for writing grants guidelines
Fine-tuning your grants guidelines to ensure they are accessible and user-friendly will make life…
10 tips on advertising your grants
Understanding your organisation and your audience, networking, story-telling and long-term planning…
Providing additional support for grantseekers
Grantmakers have a vested interest in helping grantseekers to find out about and apply for their…
How to make sure you have a website you can be proud of
Your website - particularly if it is your primary means of communication - can make an enormous…
Two-stage applications
A two-stage application process - where an expression of interest precedes a full grant application…
Table Hotspot: Improving applications
Attendees at the 2016 AIGM Grantmaking in Australia Conference participated in a lively series of…
Consumer review
To ensure that the programs you fund meet the needs of consumers, you should involve consumers in…
Capacity building
Investing in building the capacity of community groups offers a host of benefits, including…
Assessment: How to make good grants decisions
When it comes to effective grant assessments and decisions, preparation is the key.
Help Sheet: Assessment Panels
The Takeaway: Grant assessment panels can be made up of any combination of a variety of…
Funding innovative projects and organisations
Funding innovation can involve pushing boundaries or funding the testing of ideas and theories. In…
Weighing up risk on investments
There is risk associated with all grantmaking, which brings with it the potential for both harms…
Making your grants program accessible to individuals with a disability
If you want to target the disadvantaged and the marginalised in your grantmaking, recognise that…
Providing capital grants: a case study
Capital grants are not popular with grantmakers, but one US grantmaker found that there was strong…
Funding Unincorporated Associations
You may not want to give money to unincorporated associations. But, by permitting grants to some…
Enabling innovation and risk-friendly grantmaking
It is often assumed that in funding innovative or high-impact projects, grantmakers take a big risk…
Deciding who to fund and frameworks to help you choose
Few - if any - grantmakers are experts in the multitude of project areas they are asked to fund.…
Capacity building
Investing in building the capacity of community groups offers a host of benefits, including…
How to say "No" nicely
A considerate approach to rejecting a grant application helps you retain community goodwill and can…
Capacity building
Investing in building the capacity of community groups offers a host of benefits, including…
Making your grants program accessible to individuals with a disability
If you want to target the disadvantaged and the marginalised in your grantmaking, recognise that…
Small grants
Small grants can create big change, either via a ripple effect or by strengthening social change…
Scaling up a successful program
All too often, successful projects end without the means to expand the good work that's been…
Preventing grantseeker fraud
Taking four basic steps can help to ensure that your organisation doesn't become a victim of…
Matching grants to strengthen communities
Providing funding that matches - in cash or in kind - community resources builds community capacity…
Social Responsibility
Make sure you're reaching all members of your community with this range of help sheets.
At the crossroads: How to use grants to tackle climate change and equity
Climate change has become a crucial issue for grantmakers, as governments, philanthropists and…
Investing in women
A gender-neutral approach to grantmaking does not necessarily result in equal outcomes for women…
Table Hotspot: Improving access for small and emerging grantseekers
Attendees at the 2016 AIGM Grantmaking in Australia Conference participated in a lively series of…
Rural and regional grantmaking
Community groups in rural and regional areas continue to be excluded from the grantmaking process…
Funding multicultural groups
Applying for grants can be a challenging and frustrating process for any community group, but for…
Whitepaper: Risk management and the grantmaking lifecycle
SmartyGrants experts have delved into the myriad of ways that proper risk management will ensure…
How to prepare for when something goes wrong and how to respond when it does
The best way to address performance issues is to anticipate them, have an early-intervention plan…
Monitoring grants funding
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to monitoring your grants. As Our Community discovered when…
Table Hotspot: Timelines
Attendees at the 2016 AIGM Grantmaking in Australia Conference participated in a lively series of…
Table Hotspot: Providing high-quality support
Attendees at the 2016 AIGM Grantmaking in Australia Conference participated in a lively series of…
Table Hotspot: Performance problems
Attendees at the 2016 AIGM Grantmaking in Australia Conference participated in a lively series of…
Grants mapping and community support
If you want to improve your processes and reduce the red tape associated with your organisation's…
Table Hotspot: Providing high-quality support
Attendees at the 2016 AIGM Grantmaking in Australia Conference participated in a lively series of…
Just one in four “grantseeker outcomes” is an outcome, analysis reveals
Just one in four “grantseeker outcomes” is actually an outcome, an analysis of data entered into…
Outcome Engines Myth Busting
We’ve worked with dozens of SmartyGrants users since launching the Outcomes Engine in late 2021.…
How far does a $5000 grant go, and how much evaluation can we ask for in return?
Small grants play a large role in keeping our communities ticking over. Small grants pay for things…
Program evaluation from design to implementation
Program evaluation is a systematic, evidence-based review process that assesses how well a grants…
Independent evaluation
Independent evaluation can make a dent in your budget, but it helps maximise the return on your…
Evaluating the impact of your grants
Grants evaluation is not just about increasing efficiency. It's also about gaining the knowledge…
Reporting lessons from your grantmaking
Sharing the lessons learned from your grantmaking with other grantmakers and the broader community…
Reporting hard-won lessons: a case study
Examples of grantmakers sharing lessons learned from misguided approaches are few and far between,…
Publicising outcomes
Publicising information about which funded projects are the most and least effective - and why -…
Ten top tips on providing feedback
Carefully considered feedback can be helpful to grantseekers, and it can also make life easier for…
The basics of program reviews
Your grants program might seem to be rolling along just fine: you can see the difference you're…
How to get the feedback you need
Opening up channels for grantseekers and grantees to provide you with feedback is not only of…
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