SmartSimple Blog

In any given year, the auditing requirements of government agencies are challenging to navigate. For state and local governments in the US, compliance with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) means closely tracking funds received from federal awarding agencies and disbursed to a wide array of subrecipients – non-profits, public agencies, health facilities, businesses, higher education institutions, tribal governments, individuals, and other organizations—and reporting all pertinent data back to the federal government.

When reflecting on the events of 2020, the word that leaps to many of our minds is “unprecedented.” From the crippling COVID-19 pandemic to the calls for justice and equity heard across the United States, companies have had to absorb a number of unprecedented shocks to the way they do business, and the way they carry out their mandate of corporate citizenship. Many organizations have shifted their missions to respond to the ongoing crises – for example, by directing funds toward addressing employee hardship, improving digital education, or advancing advocacy work.

Post-grant reporting is a vital last step in the grant process. It’s not only confirmation that you’re investing in the right places, but it’s also a way of demonstrating the full impact of those investments against your organization’s mission and objectives.

Impact and outcomes measurement have been popular buzzwords in the philanthropic community over the last few years. But what does measuring your organization’s impact, outcomes mean? Why is it necessary to measure the value of your investments, and what data do you need to ensure your measurement process provides accurate, meaningful results?