“Finance is not merely about making money. It’s about achieving our deep goals and protecting the fruits of our labor. It’s about stewardship, and therefore, about achieving the good society.” ~ Robert J. Shiller

8.1 Introduction

In grant management, stewardship is a core value. They want to know that their money will not be misused and that the awardee will have long-term results from the funding. It is really important to have a team that has a clear system built on ethics with leadership in place to deliver what they promised. In grant management, stewardship includes using funding wisely and transparently, being accountable to the donors and community served, and maximizing the impact of every dollar awarded.

8.2 Importance of Responsible Grant Management

Grant management is about honoring trust and building long-term credibility. This demonstrates itself in a grant through outcome measurement, clear budgets, evidence of past success, and sustainability planning.

Accountability for Funders

Mismanagement of funds can lead to distrust and hinder future funding. Funders are trusting the organization with their resources to achieve a shared mission. They will expect to see evidence of impact, clear reporting, and compliance with all terms and conditions. Some government grants come with strict regulations. It is important to be able to demonstrate how the organization will be both legally and ethically compliant in terms of use of funds and audits. There are sometimes severe consequences for using grant funds on unallowable costs including fines.

Efficiency and Impact

It only makes sense that the better the organization is with spending resources, the more impactful the funding will be. Good management helps allocate funds strategically. This will ensure that the funds go directly toward the intended outcomes of the grant, aligning the goals to the mission.

Public Trust and Sustainability

A great way to demonstrate sustainability in a grant is to teach others how and why to continue the work after the grant period ends. This Chinese proverb is a perfect example of sustainability: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” When an organization can bring something that is valuable and long-term to a community, it builds its reputation and sometimes garners media attention. This may assist the organization in attracting multi-year or unrestricted grants.

Learning and Improvement

Being fiscally responsible and tracking outcomes allows the organization to collect quantitative data and identify what is working. This also allows for reflection on what is not working and provides the opportunity for course corrections. As both qualitative and quantitative data are collected, reporting success stories will please stakeholders and funders, improving their confidence in the grant team.

8.3 Ethics and Integrity in Grant Writing

Ethics in stewardship is about managing funds and programs with fairness, accountability, and transparency. It can also look like respecting the community and beneficiaries. The Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) believe that ethics are about being community-centered, not just funder-facing. Prior to writing the proposal it helps to design the project with, not just for, the people served^[1]. Accurately stating needs or outcomes to get funded will demonstrate truthful representation. Avoiding misleading statistics or inflated success rates are also ethically responsible when writing a grant. Lastly, ethical grant writers will cite models and tools that are developed with others or if they have borrowed information from outside sources. They acknowledge partnerships and other collaborators giving credit where credit is due.

Integrity in grant writing includes being honest with your intentions and proposals. Outcomes or project goals should be realistic and achievable supported by a sound plan. Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching. In grant writing, think back or reflect on past mistakes and be accountable. Share what was learned and how the data will improve outcomes.

In stewardship and reporting, ethics and integrity are of the utmost importance to maintain great relationships with funders. Here is what it might look like:

Using accurate financial and impact reporting

• Do not falsify data, inflate numbers, or ignore budget discrepancies.
• Submit truthful and timely reports even when outcomes fall short.
• Complete all quantitative and qualitative data that is needed by the grant funders.
• Ensure that data is collected and distributed to the funders during the final year of the grant and the predetermined time after the grant is completed.

Spending funds and resources as agreed

• Never re-allocate funds without receiving prior approval from the funding agency.
• Spend money only on activities included in the approved budget.

Maintaining strict confidentiality and privacy

• Protect all personal information by handling participant data ethically.
• Gain consent for all stories and photos.

Giving gratitude and acknowledgement

• Recognize the funder’s role in publications, media, and all communications during the grant period and after.
• Thank any and all partners who had a hand in the success of the grant.

8.4 Ensuring Accountability and Transparency in Grant Projects

To ensure the grant team understands who is responsible for action items that take place during the grant, it is common for the group to create a table that denotes the various elements with descriptions and requirements. A table like the one below also adds transparency to the project. This one could be used by grant writers or directors for tracking milestones and actions.

8.5 Quotations and Stories of Successful Grant Stewardship Practices

Direct Quotes from Wisconsin Grant Writers – hopefully we can do this in a fun way that will look great on the page. I was thinking about comment bubbles. Do you want pictures?

Wisconsin is a beautiful state full of much more than countryside and farm animals. With a total of 16 technical colleges and 56 four year colleges, it has been the winner of many grants that have helped with the development of industry, education, youth services, and workforce. Below are just a few quotes taken from grant writers who are living and working in the state of Wisconsin.

Dr. Anne Hoeltke

Long time Minnesota consortium grant director Dr. Anne Hoeltke shared, “Embedding sustainability into a grant proposal is not just a commitment to being a good steward; it’s a pledge to foster long-term social and economic resilience, ensuring that funded projects continue to benefit communities and science and research well into the future.”

Jodi Petersen

Youth Justice Supervisor in Portage, Wisconsin, Jodi Petersen, addresses how the youth in her area have been provided an effective alternative to being issued youth justice referrals because of the community developed Youth Enrichment Services or YES program. When a youth is referred to the program, the YES Specialist meets with the parent and the youth to review program expectations and the YES Program social worker completes evidence-based assessments (YASI, GAIN-SS, ACEs) of the youth’s behaviors and social history. Based upon the results of these assessments and collaboration with the youth, parents, schools, and other providers, an individualized member plan is created for each youth to determine which services will provide the greatest benefit such as art therapy, music activities, Taekwondo, Carey Guides, BITs programming, and other evidence and research-based programs. The results are seen in the avoidance of future duplication of services.

Sarah King

Stateside Grant Director, Sarah King, at Mid-State Technical College in Stevens Point, Wisconsin says that when it comes to transparency and stewardship with both grantors and her grant team project members, she will always try to “4-C” (foresee) the grant administration process – focusing on communication, collaboration, commitment, and clarity. This is a great philosophy for open and ongoing sharing of successes, changes, and problems.

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