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“We had a great year. The program helped so many people who really needed these resources.”
Have you ever received a response like this when writing a grant report? Program staff usually know if their program was successful. However, when it comes to telling the person responsible for submitting the report, they may struggle to articulate their accomplishments.
According to Shauna O’Toole, MA, CFRE, GPC, of Assel Grant Services, good program design and an evaluation plan on the front end are the best offense. However, sometimes a grant professional must simply do their best to produce a report without these. Here are three strategies for getting information from executive directors and program staff.
- Ask probing questions
When receiving overly generalized responses, you can acknowledge what was said and then follow up with a question.
“That’s so interesting. And what time frame did that cover, again?”
“Thanks for sharing that insight. Tell me more about [topic].”
“Ok, so most families were successful. Did that information come from an observation? Or maybe the database?”
It can be easy to feel defensive when asked difficult questions. Knowing this, frame questions as a partner rather than an adversary. This strategy works best in a conversational setting, such as on the phone, in a virtual call, or face-to-face.
- Put the bottom-line up front in written communications
In written communication, it might be important that the reader understand the context of the question, the time frame information is needed by, and how much the writer values their time and expertise. However, it can be easy to bury the lead.
Instead, put the direct question first and then follow up with context.
Instead of, “We have a report for XYZ Foundation coming up and I need some information from you by [date]. We only need to look at Site A for this report. I know you are really busy, but if you could let me know how many participants improved their score on the assessment, that would be great.”
Try something like this: “How many participants from Site A improved their assessment score last year? I’m asking because we have a report for XYZ Foundation. Can you please reply by [date]?”
People often will read and reply to emails while multitasking. By being clear and direct about what you need, you are more likely to get a timely and accurate response. Plus, this is the most respectful of the reader’s time.
- Get access to existing organizational collateral
In addition to requesting specific data points or answers to questions, ask to receive any existing reports or meeting notes. As an internal grant professional, could you utilize the organization’s raw dataset to disaggregate data, thereby reducing reliance on program staff for repetitive information requests?
You might be shocked at how much information you can glean from reading the board meeting minutes. When using this strategy, ensure that any necessary confidentiality agreements are in place first, and that any sensitive data you don’t need access to is redacted first.
