ABOUT SITE VISITS

An important step in the Foundation’s competitive and donor-advised grantmaking programs is the site visit.

A personal visit by ACF staff to see a program "in action’ adds dimension to what’s written in the grant proposal and periodic reports. A site visit offers us the chance to meet the key staff, board, and volunteers involved with an organization, as well as to see the location where a nonprofit provides services or the venue for a specific program.

Grantees should take advantage of the opportunities offered by site visits to educate visiting Foundation staff about their organizations mission and activities, as well as the specific program funded. Here are some quick tips to make the most of a site visit:

Show us what you do. If possible, when we call, try to schedule the site visit at a time when we can see activities in progress. On the other hand, don’t schedule mock programs just for us. The reason we’re visiting is to get a real picture of what’s going on with both a program currently being funded and with your other activities.

Be prepared. Let anyone who will be involved in the site visit know the purpose of the meeting. You might even have your own small group meeting of key staff before we visit to decide how to make the best use of this time.

Include Board members. We are always pleased if one of your board members can join the site visit. Knowing, however, that board members are usually volunteers with full-time jobs, we don’t expect that they will be able to attend. Typically, a site visit takes between one and two hours.

And finally. Site visits are an opportunity for a dialogue between the Foundation staff and the nonprofit staff and board. You may have questions about the Foundation’s grant process, applying to the Foundation in the future or how to best utilize other Foundation resources such as the grant research library. This may be a good time to talk about Foundation priorities and new programs. 
 

QUESTIONS? Call the Foundation Office at (505) 883-6240 or e-mail us at foundation@albuquerquefoundation.org