Public and Private Conversations

Projects have a number of stakeholders, and all of these stakeholders should be part of the site visit. The obvious ones are the foundation and the applicant organization, but others include partner organizations, community-based organizations in the areas that will be targeted by the grant, the people living in these areas, interested policymakers, and so on. For the most part, the conversations during the site visit should be open, or public, and be accessible to all of the stakeholders. There are times, however, when private conversations—with only one or two of the stakeholder groups present—are legitimate or even necessary. For example, there may be personnel issues surrounding the project, and it is appropriate for reasons of confidentiality under such circumstances for only you and the representatives of the applying organization to discuss such matters.

It is essential to have private conversations with such groups as community residents or youth advisory boards. Always the least powerful of the partners in any given grant proposal, these groups are often intimidated into silence, a silence that may be broken if you have a chance to speak privately with them. It is also a useful test to observe the reactions of the representatives of the applying organization when you request such private meetings. If they are exceedingly uncomfortable with the idea, it suggests that there probably are some issues with the partnership, such as power imbalances, that need to be explored.

Remember, however, that you should use private meetings sparingly. In any partnership situation, it is desirable to conduct as much of the business as possible as openly as possible. You should use private meetings only when confidentiality must be preserved or when you are unlikely to get at candor in any other way.

The final public conversation should provide a summary of the site visit, so that there are no misunderstandings about what has transpired. You should also use this opportunity to remind the applicant that there can be no assurances that the request will be funded, and then discuss the next steps (including an estimated timeline) leading to the foundation's decision on the request. The clearer you are at this point, the better for all involved.