After a year of research, study, and dialogue, Impact 100 will implement some exciting changes to our Grant Review Process for 2022. We will continue to have five (5) teams reviewing our Letters of Intent, Invited Grant Applicants, and conducting site visits. We are changing the name of our former Focus Area Committees to Grant Review Teams. Each of the five (5) Grant Review Teams (GRTs) will have an equitable mix of applications from all focus areas (self-selected by applicants) and all sizes of nonprofits (based on organizational budget). Some of the reasons for these changes include:
1). Changing the language from committees to teams better reflects the collaborative nature of the work
2) Each Grant Review Team will receive the same number of Letters of Intent (LOIs). This makes the review process of each team more equitable in terms of numbers of applications to review.
2) Each Grant Review Team will receive the same number of Letters of Intent (LOIs). This makes the review process of each team more equitable in terms of numbers of applications to review.
3) The mix of applicants from a variety of nonprofits will potentially expand the philanthropic perspective of members as they review applications
4) The mix of nonprofit applications will give further exposure to members to a greater diversity of community needs and to the potential solutions to community challenges and
5) Members will have more flexibility in choosing day/time/style of team meetings as all teams will have a mix of focus areas. In addition to these changes, we are incorporating a resource surrounding equity in grant making and understanding disparities within today’s social challenges. This role will be known as Equity Champions and each GRT will have a champion(s). Role description included in the Impact 100 need YOU! volunteer recruitment article below.
Finally, based upon the results of our survey with those who served on Focus Area Committees in 2021, we will be offering a variety of days/times/styles for Grant Review Team meetings to include in-person, virtual and/or hybrid, daytime and evenings. Look for information about signing up starting in a few weeks! Mark your calendars NOW for training and Letter of Intent review dates:
January 11 at 12:00 pm – virtual training session for Equity Champions
January 19 at 6:30 pm – virtual training session open all Impact 100 members on Equity in Grant Making
OR
January 20 at 12:00 pm – virtual training session open to all Impact 100 members on Equity in Grant Making
Week of January 24 – Grant Review Teams begin to review of Letters of Intent (additional meetings the week of January 31 and February 7 2022).