Foundations Keep Promises to Share Grants Information

Most of the nation’s largest foundations have followed through on a commitment they made six months ago to report to the public at least quarterly every grant they make.

A Chronicle review of the 15 foundations that made the pledge in October has found that 11 are making information available to the Foundation Center, an organization that helps grant seekers and that ageed to post the information. The rest face technological hurdles getting the information in a form the Foundation Center could easily make available. [Editor’s note: The previous sentence has been corrected to make clear that grant makers agreed to make the information available to the Foundation Center; the Foundation Center did not persuade the grant makers to take this step.]

All of the foundations, however, are reporting grants information on their own sites regularly, including five that update the awards daily.

Additionally, of the 13 foundations eligible to file an electronic informational tax return, 10 did so. Such a filing makes it easier for researchers and others to analyze large batches of computer-readable data. Only the Getty Foundation does not feature a searchable grants database, although Melissa Abraham, a foundation spokeswoman, said the organization is working to make one public.

Not Helpful Enough

But while many foundation officials point to the pledge as an important step forward in the effort to make information about grant makers more publicly accessible, some observers say the disclosures aren’t particularly useful for grant seekers who want to make better decisions about which foundations are worth approaching.

“The biggest barrier isn’t with information. It’s with decision-making power and the fact that many grant makers aren’t transparent about how they make decisions and who they are going to fund,” says Aaron Dorfman, executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a watchdog group in Washington. “It would be useful for grant seekers to know the grant decision-making process, especially smaller nonprofits without multiple development staff members.”

The Center for Effective Philanthropy recently surveyed grant seekers about whether foundations are sharing enough information about their work. The survey, the results of which will be published in May, shows that nonprofits want foundations to be more transparent, even if they are sharing information about a nonprofit that is negative, says Ellie Buteau, the center’s vice president for research.

“Transparency is not just about 990 forms or grants databases,” Ms. Buteau says. “It’s about providing more substantive information.”

More Details

Some of the foundations that signed the pledge are taking steps to provide the type of data that Mr. Dorfman and Ms. Buteau call for.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has developed its own interactive online tool that allows grant seekers and others to analyze the foundation’s award history since 2000.

Grant seekers can use the tool to analyze whether the foundation supports programs that align with their missions and identify patterns and trends, says Eric Brown, a foundation spokesman.

“What happens is foundations identify their work in ways that are very specific,” Mr. Brown says. “This tool shows you what our program does and what the different areas are and allows you to determine if you do the same kind of work we fund.”

Similarly, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has developed an interactive map that shows recently awarded grants.

Hope Woodhead, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said the organization wanted to provide grant seekers a way to determine how their projects fit the geographic scope of Johnson’s work but also allow them to see detailed descriptions of how the foundation’s money is being used.