Update

Project Streamline: The Next Phase

COMMUNICATIONS

This inaugural issue of the Project Streamline newsletter coincides with significant updates to the Project Streamline website, positioning us to capture and communicate streamlining ideas and developments to the field on a regular basis.

CONVERSATIONS

To date, Project Streamline has held more than 20 sessions at national conferences, local meetings, and webinars to present the report findings from Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted from Purpose and gather input on potential principles and resources from grantmakers and grantseekers. We encourage you to attend an upcoming meeting or review input from the meetings held to date.

WORKGROUPS

Project Streamline is forming workgroups to address the specific issues related to grant application and reporting that have emerged from our research and national and regional conversations. Composed of both grantseekers and grantmakers, these workgroups will be responsible for recommending ways to resolve these issues and coming up with useful and durable tools for those in the field.

Current workgroups are addressing:

• Online Applications and Reporting: Determine and describe what works, what doesn't, and recommend best practices for online systems. Work with technology vendors to address and resolve common problems in online systems.
• Budgets, Financial Reporting, and Grant Periods: Address grantmaker budget and financial reporting templates and grant periods that don't align with fiscal years or project timelines. Recommend approach to budgets and financial reporting that will work for both nonprofits and foundations.
• Basic Due Diligence Requirements: Develop an IRS-endorsed list of minimum requirements and implement a strategy to obtain lawyer and auditor endorsements and adoption of the minimum requirements.
• Right-Sized Requirements: Determine and promote guidelines for right-sizing requirements.

FINALIZING THE PRINCIPLES

Project Streamline is working to synthesize the input we've received from the field into final principles, which we expect to release in Spring 2009. We will then begin Phase III of the project, which focuses on adoption of the principles by grantmakers in the field.