Proposed Grant Processing Guidelines and Procedures

Purpose of this Document: The purpose of this document is to examine a potential approach and process that allows the Sacred People Foundation, Inc. to fulfill grant requests directly, thereby ensuring that the grant monies are aligned with SPF’s grant making goals and processed with the least amount of administrative burden for the SPF Board, as well as the grant applicants.

Introduction:

There are three ways that the Sacred People Foundation, Inc. (SPF) could distribute money to benefit Native Americans. The first is to send money to another foundation or organization and let them distribute the funds with little or no involvement from SPF. Though this approach is relatively easy, the caveat is that when we explain to our constituents what we do with the money, the answer is “We give it to XXXXXX.” The problem is that donors will likely state “If that is the case, I will just send the money directly to XXXXXX myself” thereby cutting SPF out of the equation. In all likelihood, there would be significant negative fundraising impact for the Sacred People Foundation.

A second approach would be to find an organization that will allow SPF to identify and fund a specific cause that is administered through said organization. For example, SPF could contact XXXXXX and set up a program whereby we fund a mentorship program for children on Indian reservations. The program would be funded by SPF, but administered by XXXXXX. Though this approach is better than the one mentioned above, (we explain what we do with the money) it still has issues regarding loss of control for SPF. One of our goals is to fund programs that benefit multiple causes and multiple tribes. Unfortunately, many of the organizations that support Native Americans support only one or two tribes.

With the third approach, the Sacred People Foundation would be in complete control of what gets funded. We would receive grant requests directly from 501c3 organizations. The Board would choose which requests to fund at its six yearly Board Meetings. Once approved, checks would go out to the grantee and the program would be implemented, measured and reported upon. Though this approach may entail additional work, it provides many benefits for the Sacred People Foundation.

One benefit is that SPF is in control. As an organization, we can identify the kinds of initiatives we want to invest in and promote this on our website and via social media. Beyond deciding what kind of initiatives we are interested in, we would be able to ensure that our grants go to organizations that can benefit many different tribes. In addition, by our receiving and distributing the money, the Sacred People Foundation would be able to grow and be sustained. Another benefit is that it would be much easier for us to explain the good works associated with SPF grants. We will be able to tell a compelling story about how we have positively impacted Native Americans and avoid the “I will just send the money to XXXXXX, myself” issue mentioned above. This fact alone would make our cause more attractive to celebrities, who will donate time for the PSA’s and donors alike.

Please Note: At the beginning, the grant funding process will be manual. The reasoning is that we won’t be busy at the start since no one knows about us. As we become known and more grant requests come in, SPF can evaluate a number of grant processing software solutions that are available, thereby streamlining the process even more.