We value feedback as an important part of improving our work and processes.
The Medina Foundation periodically participates in the Center for Effective Philanthropy's Grantee Perception Report. View our most recent CEP survey results here.
In an effort to collect continuous feedback from our grantees, peer funders, and other community members, we invite you to provide anonymous feedback through GrantAdvisor.org, a platform that helps other nonprofits read reviews of foundations.
If you are submitting a form through our E-Grant System, you may also submit feedback through the comments section at the bottom of each form. While we typically can't respond directly to feedback submitted through forms, we do appreciate all feedback and periodically make adjustments to our website (see our General FAQs and E-Grant System FAQs) and our application processes in order to address any issues that are reported. You can also email us any system feedback.
As always, please feel free to contact us directly with any immediate questions or comments. Foundation staff makes every effort to be accessible and responsive to the community, and we appreciate your feedback.
You can read more about our approach to soliciting grantee feedback in this blog post by our Grants and Operations Manager.
In an effort to collect continuous feedback from our grantees, peer funders, and other community members, we invite you to provide anonymous feedback through GrantAdvisor.org, a platform that helps other nonprofits read reviews of foundations.
If you are submitting a form through our E-Grant System, you may also submit feedback through the comments section at the bottom of each form. While we typically can't respond directly to feedback submitted through forms, we do appreciate all feedback and periodically make adjustments to our website (see our General FAQs and E-Grant System FAQs) and our application processes in order to address any issues that are reported. You can also email us any system feedback.
As always, please feel free to contact us directly with any immediate questions or comments. Foundation staff makes every effort to be accessible and responsive to the community, and we appreciate your feedback.
You can read more about our approach to soliciting grantee feedback in this blog post by our Grants and Operations Manager.
Examples of improvements made as a result of applicant feedback:
- Add additional (optional) file uploads for Co-Executive Director resumes.
- Add clarification for preferred length of answers to full application questions (in addition to LOI questions).
- Created unified application process that uses question branching, allowing repeat grantees (those who have received a grant 3 or more times within the past 7 years) to access our "Streamlined Application" which includes fewer questions. This also still applies to smaller organizations (with budgets of $500k or less) who are requesting $15k or less. (Note: this new process also accounts for Fiscally Sponsored organizations, and overrides the need for a separate access code for those orgs.)
- Tested allowing applicants to submit financial documents and budgets in multiple documents and any format (2023) and ultimately updated our process to allow the financial documents to be submitted in any format, as long as they show last year's actuals and current year's budget side-by-side (2024). This is a compromise between what our Trustees ask for during review, and what is easiest for our grantees.
- Made changes to our processes to reduce burden on grantees wherever possible, including removing the 990 upload requirement on the application, and making final reports submittable in either our format or alternate formats (ie, grantees can submit a report prepared for another funder, or an existing annual report).
- Maxed out character limits for longer narrative questions, in order to reduce the amount of time applicants spend editing, and provided guidance on length of responses.
- Added “Budget Comments” field to LOI.
- Added sample documents to website (linked in e-grant system form instructions), listing questions in both PDF and Word format, to allow users to prepare answers in advance.
- Added larger, clearer button on “Guidelines” page to enter E-Grant System.
- Updated instructions on LOI and application forms to improve clarity and answer frequently asked questions.
- Updated Excel version of Budget Template used to most recent version of Excel.
- Updated instructions on Budget Template, to make projected “next year’s budget” column optional regardless of timing of request.
- Updated instructions on Other Contributors template to encourage users to limit the threshold of “major contributions” and keep list to two pages. Also allowing users to upload this information in another format, if already prepared.
- Increased character limits on employee “title” fields to accommodate longer titles.
- Added separate “Fiscal Sponsorship” process to include clearer instructions for fiscally sponsored programs (note: access code is required – reach out to request access).