Grant Management

Proper grant management is an essential best practice of project and organization management that the Internet Society Foundation (Foundation) expects of ourselves as a funder and also of our grantees. Why? Because proper grant management is vital to:

  • Enabling a better understanding of what it takes to achieve desired results
  • Complying with local and national authorities’ laws
  • Positioning you, our grantees, for future fundraising successes by demonstrating accountability, and
  • Ensuring that the Foundation’s resources are used towards achieving our mission and grantmaking goals.

Proper grant management means understanding the expectations of the grant, both internally within your team and also the expectations from the Foundation.  These expectations will be shared in detail with you in your grant agreement, our grant managements system, and discussions with your Program Officer. To prepare, your organization can:

  • Consider having a kickoff meeting with key members of your organization to set expectations around timelines, roles and responsibilities, and expected impact
  • If appropriate, invite your Foundation point of contact so we can share our expectations too
  • Review our reporting requirements, including any templates you will be required to complete, and share them with your project colleagues
  • Take the time to review prohibited activities in your local jurisdiction to ensure your proposed grant activities are appropriate and lawful
  • Learn to understand the different types of costs you will encounter while implementing your project:

Direct Costs

Expenses related to implementing a specific project

Indirect Costs

Sometimes referred to as overhead

General expenses related to your organization’s overall administration that are difficult to readily associate with a specific project

What is expected of me, as a Grantee?

Periodic Updates (Reporting)

As a grantee you must submit periodic updates on your grant progress and demonstrate that funds have been used for the intended purposes.  Regular reporting is an opportunity to showcase the incredible work you have accomplished with grant funds. It is also the most consistent way to update the Foundation and highlight any issues that have been occurring with the grant.

Strong reporting demonstrates your capacity for grant management and the prepared materials are great collateral to prove your track record when applying for future grants (either with the Foundation or elsewhere).

Comprehensive updates on your progress – including reporting on financials – are detailed, clear, and align with your original grant application and proposed budget. Alongside programme related reporting that demonstrates results and progress towards KPIs, you might also be asked to provide supporting documentation related to project expenses. The information you share and other documentation provide critical information on grant activity, show evidence of accomplishments, enable historical recordkeeping, and help ensure readiness for audits.  Likewise, the next installment of your funding will not be issued until your expected reporting is approved by Foundation staff.

Timely submission of all updates is extremely important. Make note of the reporting period and due dates on your calendar and share these dates with all of your project colleagues. Include those colleagues that are implementing the work and also those that are responsible for tracking and reporting on the work.

Foundation Reporting Formats

Reporting can take on different formats and will be determined by your Program Officer based on a number of factors such as the Foundation programme, the size of the award, the type of project and related expenses, the timing of the periodic update (early in the project vs end of project), etc.  The formatting of financial updates too will be determined by your Program Officer.

Reporting details and expectations specific to your award are available in your grantee portal before your grant agreement has been signed. Be sure to review these so that you know what is expected ahead of all deadlines and contact your Foundation point of contact if you have any questions.

Compliance with Reporting Requirements

All reporting is reviewed by Foundation staff and will either be approved or sent back to you asking for additional information. We suggest the following steps as a guide to properly prepare your reporting and to prevent delayed payments because updates are not yet approved.

  • Setup a timeline with internal deadlines to be sure you meet reporting dates.
  • Create and document your own financial tracking and reporting policies to properly manage grant expenses.
  • If the Foundation has provided you with a financial reporting template, ensure it is complete.
  • Should there be any changes in your funding application’s budget line items, clearly reflect these in your update and explain why they were necessary.
  • If you were required to get the Foundation’s pre-approval to make those budget changes, make reference to the approval and a grant Amendment, if applicable. Per your grant agreement, any change to a cost category in your application budget by more than 10% requires pre-approval from the Foundation.
  • Keep documentation like receipts and invoices for everything you purchase with grant funds. Retain these for at least four (4) years after the conclusion of the grant, as instructed in your grant agreement.
  • Keep executed contracts on file too, especially for personnel and consultants that do work related to your grant.

Please reach out to your point of contact at the Foundation with any questions regarding these guidelines. The information you provide helps us improve and strengthen our work to enable communities to unlock the Internet's potential to tackle the world’s evolving challenges. Thank you for the time and thought you put into sharing your accomplishments with the Foundation.