Over the past two years, Global Ties U.S. has undergone an extensive effort to ensure it is in line with guidelines for grantees receiving federal funds. A large part of that process involves working closely with our community-based members (CBMs) to ensure they are following federal guidelines for grantees. While the process is at times arduous, it is necessary in order to maintain a strong and vibrant network of organizations dedicated to international exchange. It is done to strengthen our members’ capacity and ensure that they have the necessary policies and procedures that will help them continue to be strong organizations and good financial stewards of federal funds.
As part of this effort, Global Ties U.S. provides CBMs with an annual benchmark report, which gives them an assessment of where their organization stands, and in many cases, compares their organization to other similar organizations in the Global Ties network. The over 75 data points used for the benchmark report are culled from the End of Year report; the IVLP Sub-Grantee Eligibility form; and the Community-Partnership Grant application. Of the 90 CBMs currently active with Global Ties U.S., 82 completed the necessary reports to allow their data to be included in the final 2014 Benchmark Reports.
The over 75 data points used for the benchmark report are culled from the End of Year report
In analyzing the data for the Benchmark Reports, we are happy to report that our efforts to work with, train, and guide our members through the process has led to significant increases in the adoption of robust policies for effective nonprofit management. Special attention was paid to ensuring CBMs enacted best practices in their policies related to time-and-effort record-keeping; financial management standards; procurement; and employee, board member, and volunteer codes of conduct. Analysis shows that there was the most growth and improvement in these four areas network-wide. Additionally, all 15 compliance indicators reported by CBMs in 2014 either increased or remained the same.
We are also happy to report that our CBMs continue to have diverse sources of revenue. Other non-federal grants or contracts make up the largest percentage of our CBMs’ revenue. Included in this category were programs funded by the German Marshall Fund; Eisenhower Exchange; Google Awards; and various fee-for-service programs our members have actively sought. Network-wide, the Community Partnership Grant (CPG), which comes from the Office of International Visitors, U.S. Department of State, accounted for 13.4% of our CBMs’ reported revenue. Special fundraising events, at 8.7%, were also a large source of revenue for our community-based members.
We are also happy to report that our CBMs continue to have diverse sources of revenue.
While the 2014 Benchmark Report highlights significant growth in key areas across the network, the data also points to key areas of future work and improvement. Specifically, although that number of CBMs that had independent audits increased, Global Ties U.S. will work with our members to increase the number even more. Additionally, the number of total volunteers engaged across the network saw a slight decrease in 2014. Global Ties U.S. will work with our members to help broaden their volunteer base and include volunteers in meaningful and robust ways. Global Ties U.S. is dedicated to continuing to work with our entire network and provide whatever assistance we can to see both of these important indicators rise. We will continue to build upon the successes of our efforts to ensure overall diversity in programs and revenue streams, as well as continued compliance and good financial stewardship.
By: Carlton McLellan, Global Ties U.S.