Using Competitions and Requests For Proposals

This short book describes the most effective ways that the Ford Foundation has found to utilise competitions and requests for proposals (RFPs) to select grantees. It discusses the advantages of implementing the project as well as the administrative aspects of it, including making it match programme areas, communication, checklists and timelines. The volume is one in a series by GrantCraft on basics for grantmakers and is sponsored by the Ford Foundation

Building Financial Strength and Program Quality: A Case On Grantmaking to Strengthen Community Foundations

This case study is based on an actual experience of one grantmaker at the Ford Foundation and is meant to stimulate conversation and problem solving methods between grantmakers on the subject of strengthening the financial position of community foundations. The case study is one in a series by GrantCraft on basics for grantmakers and is sponsored by the Ford Foundation

Using Competitions & RFPs: Requests for Proposals

When does it make sense to hold a grant competition or use an RFP? In addition to looking at management issues to consider along the way, this guide explores how grantmakers shape competitions to serve larger strategic goals, communicate with wider audiences, create a learning community, and find ways to work with those who are not selected.HighlightsDeciding whether to use an RFPShaping the competition so it serves your goalsManaging the process and other issues to considerWhat's in the Guide?There are many ways to communicate about grantmaking goals, to solicit proposals, and to ensure that grants are awarded fairly. Holding a competition, with a written solicitation of proposalsand a formal process for selecting grantees isn't the only way to achieve these things, but it can be a highly effective one.When does it make sense to hold a grant competition or use an RFP? Competitions are sometimes the best way to organize a program and select grantees -- but not always. They're useful, for example, if you're entering a big and unfamiliar field, or trying to enlarge your circle of grantees, or concerned about making decisions in an especially transparent and evenhanded way. Here, grant makers reflect on the circumstances that made competitions a good choice for what they wanted to achieve.How can you make the component parts of an RFP process or competition serve your program goals? If it's set up wisely, the very act of holding a competition can contribute to the field you're working in. The contents of your RFP, your selection criteria, the things you ask applicants to consider proposing -- all these things can send a message to the field and elevate issues you consider important. The process by which you solicit grants and interact with applicants can be a learning experience for you and them. Several grant makers offer experiences with competitions that show how this can work.Management and administrative issues to consider. If you take on a competition, be sure you're ready for the administrative and procedural workload. To be effective, a competition takes careful planning and execution, and it poses a number of out-of-the-ordinary administrative responsibilities. It's sometimes useful to enlist an outside organization to manage part or all of the process. In this section, grant makers reflect on what it takes to set up and administer an effective competition.Working with advisers. Outside experts, working individually or as a panel, can help guide you through the planning of your competition, the scoring and selection of applications, and the implementation of the proposals that are selected. It helps, though, to be clear about exactly how you would like these advisers to work, in what roles, at what stage. Here, grantmakers describe how they used advisers to get better results.Using the competition or RFP process to create a learning community. Holding a competition can help in forming a "learning community" in your field. Sometimes, people working in a field gain insights or focus their discussions as a direct result of a grant competition. Soliciting a number of proposals that are organized to address the same set of issues, and then convening those who apply (or those who are selected) for ongoing discussions can advance that process. Grantmakers reflect on how that has worked in different cases.Ways to work with those who are not selected. It helps to have a plan for how you'll deal with the applicants you don't select for funding. At a minimum, grantmakers feel it's important to give them early notice that they weren't selected, and to try to explain how the decision was made. But in addition, some grantmakers try to do more for the unsuccessful applicants. Here, they offer thoughts on how to make competitions useful even for those who don't win.Communicating with wider audiences about the competition. When you first start planning a competition, it's not too soon to begin thinking about ways to tell a wider audience about the competition's purposes, progress, and results. Sometimes, the ideas in an RFP, or just the fact that an RFP has been issued, constitute important information that might interest a broader public. In this section, grantmakers describe how they approached communication as part of organizing a competition

Working with Start-Ups: Grantmakers and New Organizations

In this guide, grantmakers from a wide range of funding organizations describe their experiences as supporters of new nonprofits, or start-ups. Find out how they negotiated the path from idea to organization, and what they learned along the way about how to solve problems and help an organization sustain itself into the future. Contributors to this guide also offer their recommendations for online capacity-building resources.HighlightsDeciding whether to fund a start-upFiguring out the nuts and boltsHelping a new organization build its capacityManaging your roleWhat's in the Guide?Understanding the Need: In deciding whether or not to fund a start-up, the first step is figuring out if a new organization is needed. It also makes sense to ask if the timing is right, if the right people are involved, and if you're the right funder for the job.Moving from Idea to Organization: The nuts and bolts of assembling a sound organization may not be thrilling, but they usually have as much to do with long-term success or failure as the quality of the original idea itself.Managing Your Role in Planning and Development: Eventually, a new organization needs to be independent, which means the funder's guiding and advising role normally has to wind down. How large that role should be and how long it should last are questions that need to be considered early, and maybe revisited later, as the start-up process moves along.Building Supportive Constituencies: By involving interested people and helping the grantee communicate and make connections, a funder can strengthen the position of a new organization.Establishing Strong Leadership and Governance: Every organization needs effective executive leadership and a committed board. Funders are often involved in recruiting the right people for those roles and helping them to work well together.Getting the Most from Technical Assistance: Whether expert advice is paid for or donated, it's worthwhile to keep a few principles in mind.Planning and Building a Stable Future: The duration and terms of the initial grant, as well as the financial plan, determine a lot about the organization's sustainability and its ability to attract other funders.Helping a New Organization with Fundraising: Fundraising requires skill, contacts, and confidence -- all of which a new organization needs to develop in its first few years. That process can be improved with help from an interested funder

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