Site Visits
A divergence of grantmaking practices among foundations is especially evident in
the area of site visits. Some foundations don’t conduct them at all, others
rarely, others often.
At the King Foundation, we make site visits to about 70% of the agencies we
review each cycle. A site visit is not a signal that your proposal will be
funded, and the absence of a visit does not mean your proposal will fail.
Geographic, time, and staff limitations prevent us from visiting every agency
each cycle. For similar reasons, we do not conduct pre-proposal site visits.
A typical site visit takes between one and two hours, sometimes a little longer
(not including travel time to the site). A few preparations can make site
visits go more smoothly for both your agency and the Foundation, and show your
agency to its best advantage.
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Find the best time.
We want to get a real picture of what is going on at your agency, so help us
find a time when we can see your programs in operation. For example, if you run
an afterschool program, a visit in the late afternoon when the kids are around
might be best.
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Read the proposal.
The reviewer will ask questions raised by the narrative of your proposal and
supporting materials, and everyone present at the visit will give a better
impression if they have at least read the proposal. The reviewer will have
analyzed your submission thoroughly before the site visit, so don’t waste time
during the visit restating the basics of the proposal.
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Make the guest list carefully.
Think about who should be present. Make sure they understand the importance of
the visit and are prepared for it. We will tell you when we set up the visit if
there is anyone in particular we want to see. But you should also think this
issue through, as we may not know who is in the best position to answer
questions. That said, don’t overdo it. Keep the guest list as small as
practicable. Having a single program officer and ten agency representatives in
the same room is very awkward.
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Reschedule if necessary.
Don’t be afraid to reschedule if the needed people are not available or they
have to cancel at the last minute. An apologetic call to reschedule is much
better than having the poor lonely soul who is left to conduct the visit say,
“I don’t know” repeatedly in response to questions.
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Be flexible.
The reviewer will want to talk to you about a range of matters, such as the
project details and questions suggested by your supporting materials. It is not
necessarily a bad idea to have a schedule for the visit in mind. But be ready
to set it aside. If you try to overschedule the reviewer’s time at your agency,
or insist on spending a large segment of time on a video or PowerPoint
presentation, the reviewer will not have time to get the information she needs.
Allow her to get a full picture of your organization.
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Be careful of sending messages inadvertently.
For example, an executive director who doesn’t participate in a site visit can
convey the impression that she thinks fundraising is someone else’s job. Just
as a good site visit can improve the prospects of a request that doesn’t shine
on paper, a site visit “gone wrong” can hurt your request’s chances very badly.
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Follow up.
At the end of the visit, confirm any actions or items you need to address: “You
want me to send our 2006 audit and ask our facilities manager to call you. Is
there anything else?” Then write down any follow-up items and deal with them
promptly—within a day or two, not a week or two.
