Institute of Grants

Management

GRANTMAKING
MANIFESTO
A division of:

A division of:

manifesto (mn-fst) noun:

Clear and conspicuous declaration

of intent, policy and aims
The Australian
Institute of Grants
Management

A division of:

A division of:

A division of:

The Australian
Institute of Grants
Management

A division of

A division of:

The Australian
Institute of Grants
Management

A division of

A division of:

Grantmaking Manifesto
Published by Our Community Pty Ltd
Melbourne Victoria Australia
Our Community Pty Ltd
Creative Commons Licence

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you attribute this publication (and any material sourced from it) using the following wording:
Original Source: Grantmaking Manifesto, by the Australian Institute of Grants Management
(AIGM), a division of Our Community. www.grantsmanagement.com.au
Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction should be addressed to:
Australian Institute of Grants Management (AIGM)
Our Community Pty Ltd
PO Box 354
North Melbourne 3051
Victoria, Australia
First published September 2011
ISBN 978-1-876976-41-5
Please note:
While all care has been taken in the preparation of this material, no responsibility is accepted
by the author(s) or Our Community, or its staff, for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies.
The material provided in this guide has been prepared to provide general information only.
It is not intended to be relied upon or be a substitute for legal or other professional advice.
No responsibility can be accepted by the author(s) or Our Community for any known or unknown
consequences that may result from reliance on any information provided in this publication.

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

GRANTS: THE BACKGROUND

Grants make up a large and growing part of the
Australian economy.
Approximately a fifth of state and federal government
expenditure is in the form of grants grants to
welfare agencies and community groups, grants
to businesses, research grants, or miscellaneous
grants. The national government, the eight states
and territories, 700 cities, towns, municipalities and
shires, and their innumerable departments and
agencies are almost all involved in grantmaking.
Philanthropic bodies add variety and independence,
while local government authorities and community
foundations provide the bulk of grassroots grants.
The Our Community EasyGrants database is
currently tracking around 3000 grants programs.
Every one of those programs is designed and
administered by a person working as a grantmaker
we believe there are at least 1000 of them
across Australia.

WHY A MANIFESTO?
The proportion of government spending directed to
grant funding has been rising steadily for 20 years
and can be expected to continue. Governments want
to steer, not row; increasingly, wherever possible
they choose to pass their direct responsibilities on to
other organisations.
Governments believe in the main, correctly that
not-for-profit and business groups with closer
connections to the community will deliver desired
outcomes more effectively than bureaucrats can;
often with increased flexibility, stronger motivation,
greater responsiveness, more sensitivity, deeper
commitment, and lower wage rates.
However, good outcomes are not guaranteed,
and countless auditors reports have shown that
billions of grantmaker dollars have been wasted
on projects that did not work or whose lessons
were not heeded. Common problems include
poor program design, inadequate technical and
administrative systems, and too much outside
interference with grantmaker autonomy.

Facing all these challenges, grantmakers must

be accountable, efficient, and effective. Good
grantmaking requires professional grantmakers.
Its not something that can be handed over to those
whose excellence lies in other areas. An artist is not
necessarily a good arts grantmaker; a scientist is not
always the best person to handle research grants.
As the total grantmaking sector increases,
the boundaries between the different sectors
government grantmaking, philanthropic
grantmaking, commercial grantmaking have been
blurring, and those borders will be blurred even
more as grantmakers and grantmaking practices
become more portable. The common elements
of grantmaking operations (as documented in
the Australian Institute of Grants Managements
Grantmaking Toolkit) are increasingly evident.
Its time to acknowledge that a good grantmaker
brings to the task a specific set of skills and a
considerable body of knowledge.
Good grantmaking contributes in meaningful
ways to the creation of a fair, just, democratic
and prosperous society. It does so by serving the
public good, not private interests, and by employing
practices that help organisations achieve their
missions most effectively. At its best, grantmaking
also strengthens democracy by responding to the
needs of those with the least wealth, opportunity
and power, while catalysing economic and social
reforms.

WHY US?
The Australian Institute of Grants Management,
a division of Our Community, has for the past decade
been at the forefront of innovation in grantmaking
in Australia.
As well as producing the countrys only crosssector best practice grantmaking publication,
we also convene and coordinate a number of
grantmaking affinity groups and events, and have
developed a best practice online grants management
system, SmartyGrants, which is streamlining and
standardising grantmaking across the country.

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

We are active in seeking and documenting best

practice lessons and examples and are codifying
what we are learning through our website and our
Grantmaking Toolkit.
In addition, we oversee Australias most
comprehensive grants listing newsletter and
database, EasyGrants, and go face to face with
thousands of grantseekers across the country every
year through our extensive grants training programs.
This Manifesto lays down our values, principles
and beliefs, based on all we have learned about

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

grantmaking through our considerable work in

this space, as well as our individual experiences
as grantmakers and grantseekers. We will use
this document to guide us in our work to drive
professionalisation of the sector. We hope others will
find inspiration in it too.

WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK

We are always keen to hear from you. Send your
feedback to [email protected]

GRANTMAKING MANIFESTO
Australian Institute of Grants Management (AIGM)

WE BELIEVE:
1
2
3
4
5

Grantmaking is an absolutely central element in the

Australian economic system

Not one dollar should be wasted on poorly designed, poorly

articulated, poorly evaluated, or inefficient grants programs
and systems. Grantmakers should maximise resources by
sharing lessons, and seeking and learning from lessons
shared by others.
Australia needs more and better professional grantmakers
The job of grantmaking should be afforded appropriate
professional status, training and recompense.

Grantmakers should listen to the communities they serve

Grantmakers should be driven by outcomes, not process.
They should trust and respect their grantees and offer
programs, systems and processes appropriate to their needs
and capacities.

Grantmakers should be efficient

Wastage is indefensible. Skimping on systems, technology
and professional staff is equally wicked.

Grantmakers should be ethical

Grantmakers should ensure that the process of grantmaking
is fair, unbiased, and transparent.

10

12
14

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

WE BELIEVE:

1
Grantmaking is an absolutely
central element in the
Australian economic system

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

 Every grant dollar should produce the maximum

benefit for Australian society.

Every grants program should be given an

appropriate evaluation.

Every grant should be both efficient (conducted

at the minimum cost and in the minimum
time) and effective (producing socially and/or
economically valuable outcomes).

Every grant should be based on a coherent and

plausible rationale.

The grantmaker should always understand

and should always be able to explain why they
expect each program/grant to work.

Every grant should be awarded on the basis

of clear, transparent, and publicly accessible
criteria.

At a minimum, there should be no restrictions on

access to information about the grants program;
grantmakers should also seek to advertise their
programs widely among relevant communities.

Grantmakers should be prepared to take risks.

Every grants program should result in shared

learnings.

The public interest should be served, and should

be seen to have been served.

Everyone who is eligible to apply for the grant

should be given the opportunity to do so.

Grantmakers should understand, and be

comfortable with, the risks theyre taking.

Every grants program, however small, should

result in a report that is taken seriously. Large
grant, detailed evaluation; small grant, quick
evaluation (or sampling) but however small (or
large) the grant, someone should collect enough
evidence to enable a judgement on whether or
not it was a good idea.

Every grantmaker should be expected to both

draw on and contribute to open and available
repositories such as data warehouses or
knowledge bases such as Grants Management
Quarterly.

Grantmakers should share the findings of their

failures as well as their successes.

Theres no such thing as a failure, just lessons

for others to build on.

Every grant should be an improvement on the

last grant.

Grantmakers should never be satisfied with

the status quo: grantmakers should strive for
continuous improvement.

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

WE BELIEVE:

2
Australia needs more
and better professional
grantmakers

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

 Grantmaking is an art, a craft, a distinct

profession. It requires a complex set of skills.

Grantmaking is not a function that anyone can be

expected to take on as a trivial addition to their
current duties.

Grantmakers need to be conscious of their

professional status and impact.

Grantmakers should demand higher status

within their organisations, and an opportunity to
contribute at the policymaking level.

Grantmakers should be held to professional

standards, and should be given the tools to
hold others involved in the process to the same
standards.

Grantmakers should have to sign off on a

governance and due process certificate for every
grants program.

Grantmakers should be encouraged and

supported to participate in professional
development opportunities in grantmaking,
including conferences, workshops, short
courses, certificate courses, and tertiary
sector education.

Existing grantmaker education programs

have demonstrated their value. Grantmaking
organisations need to adjust their training
budgets to allow more grantmakers to take
advantage of such opportunities.

Grantmakers, and their organisations, should

follow a recognised code of practice.

Codes of practice guide behaviour and help to

increase professionalism. We have included
some sample codes as appendices.

Grantmakers should have a professional body to

facilitate creative interactions.

The Australian Institute of Grants Management

has assembled a network of grantmakers to
build the capacity of the profession.

We need to know more about grantmaking.

There is a pressing need for more research into

how grantmaking is done, and how grantmaking
practices can be improved.

Grantmaking does not operate in a vacuum.

Grantmakers should be conscious of their

responsibilities to the profession as a whole and
to the wider society.

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

WE BELIEVE:

3
Grantmakers should listen
to the communities
they serve

10

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

 Focus on the outcome, and all else will follow.

Neither grantmakers nor grantseekers should

be bound by unjustifiably rigid notions of the
correct path to an outcome.

The relationship between grantmaker and

grantee is one of allies and partners, not master
and servant.

The power relationship should not be abused,

or even assumed: its not your money, it is their
work. The people at the pointy end know whats
really happening.

Grantmakers should be prepared to fund

both innovative breakthroughs and continuing
necessities.

Just because somethings old doesnt mean its

not worth funding just because somethings
shiny and new doesnt mean that it is.

Grantmakers should be aware that actions often

have unintended consequences.

Grantmakers should be conscious of all the

outcomes from their projects, not simply the
ones that were originally anticipated.

Grantmakers should match their grant

processes and grant criteria to the particular
needs of each grant scheme.

Grantmakers should consider the sustainability

of their grantees.

Right-sizing means that smaller grants will

involve less work for the grantee than major
grants.

Grantmakers should strive for standardisation

(within and across sectorial borders) in relation
to grant submission, monitoring, reporting, and
acquittal.

Standardisation for which SmartyGrants

and the Standard Chart of Accounts
provide two excellent models relieves
pressure on grantseekers and permits
more efficient use of data.

Grantees are an ally to be supported, not a

resource to be exploited: necessary core funding
and operating costs, for example, should be seen
as a normal part of a grant.

Grantmakers should be prepared to provide or

fund additional support mentoring, advice,
training, assistance with networking that
is necessary for grantees to fulfill their roles
adequately.

The role of the grantmaker does not end when

the money changes hands.

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

11

WE BELIEVE:

4
Grantmakers should be
efficient

12

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

 Grantmakers should budget for the resources

they need to do their job.

Administrative and evaluation/dissemination

budgets should include the minimum necessary
to do the job right, and not a dollar less.

Grantmakers should employ properly skilled and

trained staff.

Processes should be streamlined and the

information required of applicants kept to
a minimum.

Copying and transporting reams of applications

to assessment panels is resource intensive
and wasteful.

Grantmaking is not an undifferentiated

administrative function, like photocopying.
Appropriate skills should be sought and
nurtured.

Grantmakers should take full advantage of

modern technology, and should have adequate
technical support.

Grantmakers need to embrace electronic

management systems such as SmartyGrants.

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

13

WE BELIEVE:

5
Grantmakers should
be ethical

14

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

 Grantmakers should ensure that the process of

grantmaking is fair, unbiased, and transparent.

Grantmakers should clearly articulate

and live their values and principles.

Grantmakers should not simply follow the rules

themselves, they should ensure that the system
as a whole conforms to its stated policies, and
that those policies are transparent.

Rules will never be sufficient by themselves

to ensure optimum outcomes; only an
organisational culture based on shared
values and principles can do that.

Grantmakers should have in place recognised

procedures to manage conflict of interest (and
the appearance of conflict of interest) through
disclosure of interests and/or withdrawal from
deliberations.

Clear and enforceable systems should be

documented, publicised, and adhered to.
The AIGMs Grantmaking Toolkit is an example
of a best practice resource for building or
improving your grants program manual.

Grantmakers should respect confidentiality

and privacy.

Grantmakers should recognise the creative

tension between legitimate interests in both
privacy and public scrutiny.

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

15

Code Of Practice For

GRANTMAKING
AGENCIES
16

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

For every grants program,

The program should arise from community

needs.
-

The objectives of the program should be based

on continuing consultation with the target
communities.
The program should respect the contribution
and consider the interests of all stakeholder
communities.

The program should be properly resourced.

agency should provide non-monetary assistance

to the grantee.
-

Program funding should consider the long-term

sustainability of the grantee organisation.

The program should generate knowledge.

-

The program should be monitored and evaluated

at a level of detail appropriate to the resources
employed.

The program evaluation should cover the

degree to which the program has achieved its
stated objectives, any advances achieved in the
grantmaking processes, any other significant
gains or detriments of the program, and any
other significant findings emerging in the course
of the evaluation.

The program should be adequately funded

at a level sufficient to achieve its designated
objectives.

The program should take full advantage of

computerised management systems such
as SmartyGrants, and should have adequate
technical support.

The program should seek to employ

standardised formats for grant submission,
monitoring, reporting, and acquittal.

Lessons learned by grantees should be collected

and disseminated in an appropriate format to the
appropriate audiences.

Evaluations should be honest, direct,

and free of bias.

The program should be properly recorded.

Evaluation outcomes should be made publicly

available through appropriate media and
open and available repositories such as data
warehouses or knowledge bases such as
Grants Management Quarterly.

All aspects of the justification and rationale of

every grants program should be articulated,
documented, and made publicly available.

Policies and processes covering all aspects

of the grantmaking program should be
documented and publicised.

The risk profile of the grants program should be

analysed, documented, and reviewed periodically.

The program should be staffed by

professionals.
-

Adequately qualified and compensated

professional grants program officers should
be nominated to be responsible for all aspects
of grantmaking, including policymaking,
governance, the application process, the
decision-making process, grant monitoring,
and review and evaluation.

The grantmaker/s entrusted with overseeing the

program should at the conclusion of the process
be required to sign a certificate certifying that
due process had been observed throughout all
aspects of the grants program.

The agency should support adequate

professional development programs for its
grants officers.

The program should be just.

-

The awarding of grants should be fair and free

from bias, conflict of interest, or any influence
inconsistent with the stated decision criteria.

Recognised procedures should be in place

to manage conflict of interest (and the
appearance of conflict of interest).

The program should be a partnership.

-

Program funding should cover the full cost of

the project, including overheads.

Where necessary and possible, the grantmaking

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

17

Code Of Practice For

PROFESSIONAL
GRANTMAKERS
18

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

RESPONSIVENESS

EFFECTIVENESS

A grantmaker shall respect the work and expertise

of their grantees, partners and stakeholders, and
shall strive for relationships based on candor,
understanding and respect.

A grantmaker shall always provide honest

and accurate information and advice to their
organisation.

A grantmaker shall take into account the interests

of the wider community and the grantmaking
profession in designing and executing a grants
program.

A grantmaker shall, to the maximum extent possible,

freely share the learnings from their work with the
grantmaking profession, the not-for-profit sector,
and the wider society.

OBJECTIVITY
A grantmaker shall observe policies to address
conflicts of interest and do all in their power to
ensure that others do the same.
A grantmaker shall ensure that grantee assessment
and selection is based purely on published criteria
and is without personal or institutional bias.
A grantmaker shall not intentionally mislead
prospective grantees.

EFFICIENCY
A grantmaker shall continuously seek to improve the
performance of their grantmaking operation based
on previous experience and outside information.
A grantmaker shall remember that administration is
a cost, not an outcome.
A grantmaker shall not place their own interests
above those of the grants project.

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

19

The AIGM founding leadership team celebrates the launch of SmartyGrants,

the best practice online grants management system. From left:
Charles Gutjahr, Director of Technology Transformation
Kathy Richardson, Director of Knowledge Management
Simon Herd, Director of Grantmaking Reform & Innovation
Kate Caldecott, AIGM Executive Director
Denis Moriarty, Our Community Group Managing Director

20

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

Australian Institute of Grants Management (AIGM)

ABOUT US:
The Australian Institute of Grants Management (AIGM)
is a best practice network for government and local
government grants managers and grantmakers.
The AIGM is working to help grantmakers review and
improve their grants programs, and keep abreast of
best practices both within Australia and internationally.
The AIGM is a division on Our Community,
a world-leading social enterprise that provides advice,
tools and training for Australias 600,000 community
groups and schools, and practical linkages between
the community sector and the general public,
business and government.
As well as overseeing a number of grantmaking affinity
groups, the AIGMs major offerings include:
SmartyGrants Australias best practice online grantmaking
system, currently used by more than 50 grantmakers of all types
and sizes across the country.
Grants Management Quarterly (GMQ) plain language
publication tracking best practices in grantmaking across
Australia and from all over the world.
Grantmaking Toolkit an all-in-one decision-making
framework, workbook (including policy building templates),
and check-up tool designed to walk grantmakers through the
process of building, reviewing or refreshing a grants program.
Grantmaking Knowledge Bank searchable, topic-based listing
of best practice thinking and case studies.
Best Practice in Grants Management Conference
annual conference for government, philanthropic and
corporate grantmakers, including a half-day masterclass
for grassroots grantmakers.

www.grantsmanagement.com.au

Grants in Australia Survey annual survey of grantseekers

tracking the performance of grantmakers throughout Australia.

Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

21

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Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

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Grantmaking Manifesto: Australian Institute of Grants Management

23

GRANTMAKING
MANIFESTO