Spring 2009 Newsletter

Right-Sizing In the Real World

With only a one-page letter, a budget, and a project outline, nonprofits in Rhode Island can apply to the Champlin Foundation for funding on new capital projects. “We want nonprofits who apply to us to concentrate their energies on what they do best and not spend undue time and resources on bureaucratic matters that distract them from their mission,” says Keith Lang, Champlin's executive director.

Grantmaker Spotlight

A Foundation Streamlines in Three Phases

When Cindy Rizzo considered streamlining at the Arcus Foundation, a private foundation with offices in New York, Michigan, and Cambridge, England, she knew she had the benefit of starting the process at a relatively young institution. “There was definite interest within the foundation, and we're relatively new here, so nothing is set in stone yet,” says Rizzo.

Ideas from the Field

How Grantseekers Can Support Streamlining

During 2008, Project Streamline held conversations with more than 1,000 grantmakers and grantseekers to discuss the Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted From Purpose report findings. Out of those conversations, the following ideas and recommendations were proposed about the role grantseekers can play in streamlining application and reporting processes:

Update

Project Streamline Launches Phase III

Project Streamline is structured in these three phases:

3 Phases of Project Streamline

Phase III, now underway, focuses on field-wide adoption of the principles, organizing its activities to walk grantmakers through the steps of adoption from awareness to active planning to measurable change. To support this, Project Streamline will take three steps:

Complementary Efforts

Two Groups Support Streamlining Here and Abroad

Two organizations are engaged in efforts to streamline grant application, monitoring, and reporting practices in the public sector and abroad.