Task Force: Evaluating Grant Proposals

Congratulations!

You have been selected to join the board of a foundation that donates to non-profit organizations. You will be given the responsibility of trying to figure out which organizations you should allocate your funds to.  

Why Are We Doing This?

Non-profit organizations greatly depend on donations and grants to fund their various programs and projects. Foundations that serve to donate to these various non-profits have the job to properly research where these funds will be best used and what causes should be prioritized. They also have to decide whether they will invest a lot of money to a couple of nonprofits or small amounts of money to multiple ones. Here, we ask you to take on that responsibility and try to brainstorm where to allocate the funds of your foundation. 

Steps:

1. Before you begin, research some local nonprofits that you think would benefit most from your funds. Consider current event issues that may push you to prioritize funding for a particular nonprofit over others. 
2. Then, try to come up with a plan to distribute your funds. 
   1. Decide what kinds of nonprofits you will prioritize.
   2. Consider whether you will allocate all your money to one specific non-profit organization or if you will distribute it among several.
   3. If you were starting with 100k, how would you specifically distribute the funds (i.e. 25k to a certain nonprofit organization, etc)?
3. Think through the possible objections about your plan that someone could have and how you would answer them.
   1. What might be some arguments against allocating the funds the way you have decided to?
   2. How did you decide to fund the nonprofits you have chosen?
4. Share with the group and see if you can convince them that your allocation of funds best prioritizes the nonprofits who need them most.

Things to Keep in Mind:

• You do not have to come up with an exhaustive list of nonprofits to donate for your plan. Choose a few that you feel confident about explaining and defending.
• You do not have to consider all possible objections to your plan.