Progress Reports
Some funders require that you submit a progress or interim report at a time they specify, typically six months. If a project started slowly, that doesn’t mean you can delay or skip the interim report. Send it in on time, explaining any delays with the program.
Usually, the narrative portion of an interim report is in letter form. Prepare these reports with great care. Anything stated in the progress report forms the basis for the final report. For example, don’t get yourself in trouble by overstating the progress that’s been made in the interim report.
If the grant was to make possible 1,200 free meals and after six months you’ve only served 300, you should explain why. Perhaps the program’s start was delayed or the health department closed down your kitchen or bad weather kept away clients. It’s better to take advantage of the interim report to explain why things aren’t going as planned than to find yourself at the end of the grant period telling the funder the program failed. If you need to make adjustments in the goals, request them in an interim report.
WORDS TO THE WISE
Writing the funder to modify a grant proposal, although not something you want to do often, is critical when a program does not go as planned. By modifying your proposal, your program’s final results will be judged against the revised one rather than the original, allowing you to report successful completion of your program.
An interim report also includes a financial report contrasting the proposal budget with actual expenses. Again, if it looks as if there might be a discrepancy at the end of the program, it’s better to inform the funder in advance.
Funders realize that in an imperfect world, conditions affecting your charity change. Asking to modify the grant contract should not be a big deal. Going all the way to the end of a program and then telling the funder the project was unsuccessful is a big deal. Never let your charity get in that situation.
If a funder does not require an interim report, it would still be a good idea to send something before the end of the grant period. In this case, it can be a feel-good letter of two or three pages reporting on progress that’s been made. Of course, if problems are accumulating with the project, inform all funders as well as those requiring a report.
Here’s an abbreviated interim report for the internship program for curators described in Chapter 14.
Dear Ms. Brown:
It is my pleasure to report to the Brown Trust on the Curatorial Internship Program since the awarding of your generous grant in September 2010. The program has thus far met or exceeded all our expectations and brought to us three very talented young curators.
City Art Museum conducted outreach for this program through letters sent to the career development offices at three local colleges with large minority populations and to six local galleries that are known for presenting the work of minority artists. We widely publicized the program through press releases, on our website, and on a number of Internet job-posting services. We also held a meeting for interested applicants at State College, which 60 potential applicants attended.
We received a record 30 applications as a direct result of these outreach efforts, which made it very difficult to select only three. The City Art Museum curators along with Sara Bright, curator of contemporary art at the Asian Art Museum, served as the panel to select the interns.
The panel selected five applicants. Because of the intense working relationship between the curators and interns, it was not possible for us to accept all five, even if funding had permitted this expansion. When approached, one applicant had already accepted another offer, so we invited the next three in the panel’s ranking to join the program, and all three accepted. We encouraged the fifth candidate to apply again next year.
The interns have since been working directly with the curators assigned to them on upcoming exhibitions. This has so far mostly included research using the museum’s library and other resources. The curators are very pleased with the interns’ enthusiasm and resourcefulness.
We look forward to reporting to you again at the end of the program year, by which time the interns will have begun preparations for the exhibitions they will curate at the end of their second year. Should you have any questions about this report, I can be reached at (414) 555-1234 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Susan Chin
Susan Chin
Head Curator
Susan Chin
Susan Chin
Head Curator
Note that the report comes from the head curator, not the museum director, who most likely would have signed the grant proposal, nor from someone in the development office. Having a curator sign the report emphasizes the curators’ direct involvement with the interns, from selection through their two-year term and beyond. Needless to say, the grant writer actually wrote the letter.
Because the program just got started, the report of necessity concentrates on the selection of the interns rather than what they’ve done. Now let’s look at the financial report that would accompany this letter.
Note that this budget covers two years, reflecting the program’s two-year time frame. Because this report comes after six months, exactly half of all personnel costs for the first year have been included in the Actuals column at the far right. Other expense items are not evenly distributed. For example, virtually all the outreach costs have already been incurred, but no exhibition costs are claimed because that part of the program takes place in the second year.
HOW TO SAY IT
You might well include a budget narrative with interim reports to explain the rationale behind the allocation of expenses. Even pointing out the obvious (such as the exhibition being part of the program’s second year) might save the funder time in figuring it out for themselves.
Income for this program came from a variety of funders, most of which made two-year commitments. Because most are making the grant in equal installments, the surplus in year one will balance an equal deficit in year two.
For an interim report, it would have been acceptable to delete the columns for the second year and the total project costs. This would have made a simpler presentation, but I thought it would be more helpful for you to see the full presentation.
Curatorial Internship Program
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