Suite of six mini-surveys will allow grantmakers to compare and evaluate best practices in grantmaking while association establishes new industry standards
Windham, NH, (PRWeb) May 5, 2016 - Dynamic Benchmarking, a provider of customized online benchmarking and reporting solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of an innovative, new benchmarking and reporting platform for the Grants Managers Network (GMN). The EPIcenter, which stands for Evaluating Practice Improvements, is made up of six mini-surveys designed to assist GMN members in evaluating and comparing current practices in various aspects of grantmaking.
“Our organization is unique in that it truly is a network,” says Nikki Powell, Communications and Practices Director for GMN. “Our members rely heavily on each other for support and knowledge, especially when it comes to sharing processes and best practices. With EPIcenter, we’re giving them a tool to make it easier to do just that.”
With nearly 3,000 members, the mission of GMN is twofold - advancing the knowledge, skills and abilities of grants management professionals and leading grantmakers to adopt and incorporate effective practices that benefit the philanthropic community.
“EPIcenter allows us to directly accomplish both of our missions at the same time,” adds Powell. “It gives our members an answer to their most pressing question - ‘how are other members tackling the same issues with which they are also faced?’ EPIcenter lets us answer this question on many different levels.”
Currently, EPIcenter consists of six separate surveys of about 20 questions each. New surveys will be added based on member input on what topics they’d like to tackle next. The first, six mini-surveys cover the following topics:
- Grant Applications: What amount and type of information do other funders require from applicants and how do they manage the intake process?
- Grant Decisions: Who makes grant decisions, how are they made, and how long does it take to make them?
- Grantee Reporting: How are reports used, what information is required, and what happens when reports aren’t received?
- Grant Monitoring: How are changes handled once a grant is made?
- Compliance: How are compliance with IRS requirements and organizational policies handled?
- Paperless Grantmaking: How are other funders making the entire grantmaking process paperless from the initial proposal intake through the decision-making process, agreements, payments, and reporting?
Additionally, GMN will use the collected data to build standards and best practices for the grantmaking industry as a whole.
“As an organization, we also want to see how our members are doing things and what’s working for the majority of them,” continues Powell. “We want to set some standards on how grants are made and help our members be more effective in their work.”
ABOUT GRANTS MANAGERS NETWORK
Grants Managers Network (GMN) improves grantmaking by advancing the knowledge, skills, and abilities of grants management professionals and by leading grantmakers to adopt and incorporate effective practices that benefit the philanthropic community. GMN has nearly 3,000 members from over 1,500 grantmaking organizations who represent the breadth of the philanthropic community including small family foundations, prominent national foundations, grantmaking public charities and socially responsible corporations. These individuals serve their organizations in many roles and are identified by a variety of titles including grants administrators, grants managers, directors of grants management, financial officers, and program officers/associates. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.gmnetwork.org.
ABOUT DYNAMIC BENCHMARKING
Dynamic Benchmarking is a New Hampshire-based startup that delivers real-time benchmarking and data analysis solutions with the features and capabilities of custom software in a format that is easy to use and quick to deploy. Founded by a team of women entrepreneurs, Dynamic Benchmarking combines powerful, web-based technology with unparalleled industry expertise and customer care to provide best-in-class, peer-to-peer data comparison for small business, associations, large enterprises and any organization looking to tap into the knowledge of the crowd. Dynamic Benchmarking builds web-based solutions that are flexible, scalable and allow for meaningful comparison of financial and operational performance in a dynamic and interactive manner. For more information, please visit http://www.dynamicbenchmarking.com.
