Administering a grant effectively requires careful planning, attention to detail, and a commitment to meeting the grant’s objectives while adhering to the terms and conditions of the funding agreement. Maintaining a proactive, organized, and responsive approach to grant administration increases your organization’s likelihood of effectively managing grant funds, achieving project goals, and building strong relationships with the grantor(s) that fund your project.
For effective grant administration, a grant recipient must: have skilled personnel and partners that understand the grant agreement; follow the grant budget and have strong financial management controls; be compliant with grant requirements, including maintaining required documentation; monitor and evaluate progress and impact, while managing risk; communicate progress through periodic and final financial and performance reports; and plan for grant closeout and future sustainability of the grant-funded activity. In addition, the grantee should (or must, depending on the grant’s requirements) also have a dedicated grant management team in place, and maintain open communication with the grantor and partners.
A grant recipient (and the grantor, by providing technical assistance to its grantees as needed or requested) should ensure that project staff and partners have the necessary background and training to maintain the skills and knowledge required for successful grant implementation. The grant recipient should also ensure that partners are adequately skilled to implement their roles in the project. At a minimum, all grantee key personnel, as well as any staff that will be performing work under the grant, need to review the grant agreement thoroughly to understand the grantor’s expectations, requirements, and reporting obligations. Those key personnel and staff also need to be aware of the project’s goals, objectives, and specific activities that the grant is intended to support.
The recipient should develop and follow a detailed budget that outlines how the grant funds will be used and allocated for various project expenses. The grantor must be notified in advance of any necessary budget changes; generally, a justification is required for changes. The grant recipient is a steward of the grantor’s funding, and as such must implement strong financial controls to protect that funding by tracking expenditures, ensuring funds are used as intended, and preventing cost overruns.
Recipients need to be compliant with grant requirements at all times, including maintaining required documentation. The recipient must ensure compliance with all the terms and conditions of the grant, including any legal or regulatory requirements. It is imperative that they maintain meticulous records of project activities, expenditures, and receipts, as well as any communications with the grantor.
Grant recipients should also continuously monitor and evaluate progress and impact, while managing risk. This includes continuous assessment of the project’s progress and impact by monitoring key performance indicators and outcomes, regular evaluation of the effectiveness of the project in achieving its goals and objectives, identification of potential risks and challenges that could affect the project’s success, and development and implementation of risk mitigation strategies to address and minimize identified risks. Sometimes risk cannot be foreseen; when an unforeseen issue or obstacle is encountered, it should be addressed promptly and effectively. Being flexible and adaptive is crucial for successful grant management.
Communicating progress through periodic and final financial and performance reports is generally a grant requirement. A recipient should have a system in place to monitor project progress, expenditures, and outcomes regularly. That information should be used to prepare and submit regular progress and financial reports as required by the grant agreement. These reports need to be accurate, timely, and aligned with the grantor’s reporting guidelines. The recipient must also ensure that all required reports, financial statements, and other documentation are submitted to the grantor on time, as late or incomplete reports can jeopardize the grant. At the grant end, the recipient must also ensure that all final reports and financial statements are submitted to the grantor according to the grant agreement.
A grant recipient should also have a dedicated grant management team in place that can include project staff, financial experts, and compliance specialists. A grant manager or coordinator should be appointed who is responsible for overseeing all aspects of grant administration.
As a best practice, a recipient should maintain open communication with the grantor and partners. This includes establishing and maintaining open communication with the grantor at an early stage in the grant life cycle, and seeking clarification if any aspects of the grant agreement are unclear. The grant recipient should keep the grantor informed of any changes, challenges, or successes related to the project. Importantly, you should also share the results and outcomes of the project with stakeholders, including the grantor, project partners, and the broader community, to demonstrate the impact of the grant.
Formal closeout procedures are generally a requirement of the grant. At the conclusion of the grant, a comprehensive evaluation is conducted to assess the project’s overall success, challenges faced, and lessons learned. Any outstanding compliance requirements should be addressed to close out the grant successfully. The grant recipient should use this evaluation to inform future grant applications and project planning.
Prior to and during closeout, effective partnerships should be developed to help recipients build relationships that support capacity-building efforts for long-term sustainability. A plan should be developed as early as possible for sustaining project activities beyond the grant period. This may involve seeking additional funding sources or developing revenue-generating strategies, or other plans for future sustainability of the grant-funded activity.
Colhio Grant Consulting can advise and assist grantees and grantors with all aspects of grant administration, so that your grants are managed effectively and in accordance with grant requirements. Contact us for more information on how we can help you.