The Insider's Guide to Grantmaking: How Foundations Find, Fund, and Manage Effective Programs

Withholding Payments and Terminating Grants

As mentioned previously, once a grant is made, you lose a lot of clout. If the commitment is for multiple years, however, you retain some measure of leverage because subsequent payments are scheduled. The transgressions that could trigger withholding those payments include budgetary improprieties, reporting irregularities, and failure to achieve satisfactory progress toward outcomes. It is necessary to spell out the consequences for such transgressions during the postaward conference call. You need to discuss a number of key questions with grantees. What are the exact rules regarding the budget? What reporting is required, and by what deadlines? What benchmarks of progress must be achieved, and according ...