Alabama Nonprofit Survey, Project Streamline

On March 6th, many Alabama grantmakers will participate in a workshop focused on streamlining their application and reporting practices. We’d like to provide them with some anonymous but specific feedback from nonprofits who have deep familiarity with what it takes to get and report on their grants.

The attached 12 question survey should take you only about 10 minutes to complete. Your responses will be completely anonymous. Your feedback is critical in helping grantmakers understand the ways that their application and reporting practices affect you as grantseekers.

Please respond by February 20.

If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Jessica Bearman (Project Streamline) at jessica@bearmanconsulting.com. Feel free also to reach out to Jera Stribling at Alabama Giving (jstribling@jsbcf.org) or John Stone at the Alabama Association of Nonprofits (john@alabamanonprofits.org) if you would like more information about this effort.

If you'd like to learn more about Project Streamline, an effort to streamline application and reporting practices, you can visit its website: www.projectstreamline.org.

Question Title

* 1. How many grants (on average) do you apply for each year?

Fewer than 10

10 – 20

21 – 30

31 – 40

41 – 50

More than 50

Please comment and/or specify

Question Title

* 2. Approximately how many funders (not individual donors) did your organization have in 2011?

Fewer than 10

10 – 20

21 – 30

31 – 40

41 – 50

More than 50

Please comment and/or specify

Question Title

* 3. Approximately how many grant reports did you submit in 2011?

Fewer than 10

10 – 20

21 – 30

31 – 40

41 – 50

More than 50

Please comment and/or specify

Question Title

* 4. Approximately how many hours do you (or your staff or a contracted grantwriter) spend per grant proposal?

Fewer than 5

6 – 10

11 – 20

21 – 30

31 – 40

More than 40

Please comment and/or specify

Question Title

* 5. Approximately how many hours do you (or your staff or a contracted grantwriter) spend per grant report?

Fewer than 5

6 – 10

11 – 20

21 – 30

31 – 40

More than 40

Please comment and/or specify

Question Title

* 6. How often do your funders…

	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often	Always
Require a letter of inquiry be sent prior to submitting a full application?	Require a letter of inquiry be sent prior to submitting a full application? Never	Require a letter of inquiry be sent prior to submitting a full application? Rarely	Require a letter of inquiry be sent prior to submitting a full application? Sometimes	Require a letter of inquiry be sent prior to submitting a full application? Often	Require a letter of inquiry be sent prior to submitting a full application? Always
Require multiple hard copies of applications and/or reports?	Require multiple hard copies of applications and/or reports? Never	Require multiple hard copies of applications and/or reports? Rarely	Require multiple hard copies of applications and/or reports? Sometimes	Require multiple hard copies of applications and/or reports? Often	Require multiple hard copies of applications and/or reports? Always
Have applications or reports that require the use of a typewriter	Have applications or reports that require the use of a typewriter Never	Have applications or reports that require the use of a typewriter Rarely	Have applications or reports that require the use of a typewriter Sometimes	Have applications or reports that require the use of a typewriter Often	Have applications or reports that require the use of a typewriter Always
Have an online system	Have an online system Never	Have an online system Rarely	Have an online system Sometimes	Have an online system Often	Have an online system Always
Require you to put budget and financial information in the format of a funder’s template (rather than in your own format)?	Require you to put budget and financial information in the format of a funder’s template (rather than in your own format)? Never	Require you to put budget and financial information in the format of a funder’s template (rather than in your own format)? Rarely	Require you to put budget and financial information in the format of a funder’s template (rather than in your own format)? Sometimes	Require you to put budget and financial information in the format of a funder’s template (rather than in your own format)? Often	Require you to put budget and financial information in the format of a funder’s template (rather than in your own format)? Always
Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application)	Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application) Never	Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application) Rarely	Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application) Sometimes	Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application) Often	Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application) Always
Require interim (more than annual) reports to funders?	Require interim (more than annual) reports to funders? Never	Require interim (more than annual) reports to funders? Rarely	Require interim (more than annual) reports to funders? Sometimes	Require interim (more than annual) reports to funders? Often	Require interim (more than annual) reports to funders? Always
Provide feedback after you have submitted a report?	Provide feedback after you have submitted a report? Never	Provide feedback after you have submitted a report? Rarely	Provide feedback after you have submitted a report? Sometimes	Provide feedback after you have submitted a report? Often	Provide feedback after you have submitted a report? Always

Comment as needed

Question Title

* 7. How often do your funders…

	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often	Always
Provide multi-year grants?	Provide multi-year grants? Never	Provide multi-year grants? Rarely	Provide multi-year grants? Sometimes	Provide multi-year grants? Often	Provide multi-year grants? Always
Provide funding for general operating expenses or capacity building work such as strategic planning?	Provide funding for general operating expenses or capacity building work such as strategic planning? Never	Provide funding for general operating expenses or capacity building work such as strategic planning? Rarely	Provide funding for general operating expenses or capacity building work such as strategic planning? Sometimes	Provide funding for general operating expenses or capacity building work such as strategic planning? Often	Provide funding for general operating expenses or capacity building work such as strategic planning? Always
Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to the size of the grant (ie: smaller processes for small grants)?	Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to the size of the grant (ie: smaller processes for small grants)? Never	Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to the size of the grant (ie: smaller processes for small grants)? Rarely	Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to the size of the grant (ie: smaller processes for small grants)? Sometimes	Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to the size of the grant (ie: smaller processes for small grants)? Often	Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to the size of the grant (ie: smaller processes for small grants)? Always
Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to your previous relationship (ie: simpler requirements for repeat grantees)?	Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to your previous relationship (ie: simpler requirements for repeat grantees)? Never	Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to your previous relationship (ie: simpler requirements for repeat grantees)? Rarely	Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to your previous relationship (ie: simpler requirements for repeat grantees)? Sometimes	Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to your previous relationship (ie: simpler requirements for repeat grantees)? Often	Have grantmaking requirements that are scaled to your previous relationship (ie: simpler requirements for repeat grantees)? Always
Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application)	Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application) Never	Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application) Rarely	Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application) Sometimes	Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application) Often	Accept grant applications or reports that you have also used for other funders (such as a common grant application) Always

Comment as needed

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* 8. Please comment on your experience with online applications/reports. What works well? What doesn’t?

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* 9. What requirements or processes do you encounter when applying for and reporting on grants that seem burdensome -- and what makes them challenging?

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* 10. Briefly describe what you think an appropriately streamlined and effective grant process would look like.

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* 11. Do you have any suggestions on how grantmakers and nonprofits can work better together?

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* 12. Tell us a little bit about your organization

Number of staff

Total (average) annual budget

Approximate percentage of funding from grants

Other revenue sources

Thank you so much for your time and candor! Your responses will be shared (anonymously) to help grantmakers think about streamlining their application and reporting practices.