✨Plan your Round
Standing up and running a grants round is a task that requires significant coordination and commitment from the Round Operator and core team members.
Key Role
When one person or a group of people wish to stand up a Round, the first thing that should be done is that a Round Operator should be identified who will drive & be accountable for all aspects of the round. Having one person who can raise their hand to own this role is important for the sake of accountability, transparency, and clear communications.
Round Operator Description
Each round needs one clear owner who is accountable for making sure enough matching funds are raised, onboarding a sufficient number of grantees into the round, outlining the eligibility criteria, marketing, grantee relations, and all other tasks related to the round. The Round Operator does not need to be someone who has been a full-time contributor at the organization necessarily.
Once a Round Operator has been appointed, next steps involve determining the timeline, followed by outlining the structure and eligibility criteria for the round. Here is an example to illustrate how to construct the timeline for your round.
When planning the timeline for a round, it's important to follow best practices to ensure smooth and effective execution. Here are some key guidelines:
Ensure that all details of your round are finalized at least a week in advance, preferably two weeks before the date of the announcement or the opening of applications, to prevent any last-minute haste.
You have the option to make the announcement date and the application opening date the same, allowing people to apply as soon as they hear about it. Alternatively, if you want to give applicants time to prepare, you can announce the round 2-3 days in advance before the applications open.
The period for applications(when grantees apply) should be a minimum of two weeks. The rationale for setting a two weeks application period is to accommodate those who may discover the opportunity late or make errors in their applications. Significant awareness and marketing efforts are necessary for this. A minimum two-week application period is recommended to attract a higher number of quality grantees.
For donations, a minimum duration of two weeks is crucial as the success of the round heavily relies on the volume of donations received. This timeframe is necessary to achieve the desired number of donations.
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