The site visit is an opportunity for The Denver Foundation to develop a deeper understanding of your organization and your proposal. The assigned program officer will get a chance to meet you face-to-face and discuss specific details about your organization’s programs, staffing, financial situation, board of directors, etc. It is also an opportunity for you to bring your organization “to life” in a way that just doesn’t happen by reading a proposal. While program officers necessarily ask a lot of questions, we strive to have the site visit be a two-way exchange of information. Site visits normally last about 1 ½ hours.

We were contacted to set up a conversation, not a site visit.  What does that mean?

During 2012, we will also be visiting nonprofits in our community to ask for their thoughts and insights as we move forward with our Strategic Plan.  These visits will not be formal site visits nor will they have an impact on any pending grant proposals; rather, they will be informal opportunities to gather your unique perspectives. 

At this discussion, you may wish to invite a key staff or board member who you think would also have helpful insights to offer.

About 5-10%. Many organizations, however, receive less than the amount they requested in their proposal.

Not really, since funding depends on many factors. Program officers think of themselves as being advocates for the organization they are reviewing. Assuming the site visit goes well, if an advisory committee member attends the site visit your organization will have two advocates, rather than one, at the meeting where funding is decided.

Too many people can overwhelm a site visit and also extend the time by quite a bit. We definitely recommend against having a really big group – say, more than three or four people. Your program officer will make suggestions about who you might include. Someone else from The Denver Foundation may accompany the program officer. That may be another staff member, a member of the advisory committee that will be reviewing your proposal, or a donor. If this is the case, the Program Officer will let you know who else will be coming.

You are the expert about your organization, so you will probably be able to answer most questions with little difficulty. The most important thing is to re-read your proposal and to have it available during the site visit. Try to imagine what kind of questions you would ask if you were just learning about your organization. Some program officers develop a list of questions that they will forward to you before the site visit, but there are always questions that arise spontaneously during the discussion. A site visit is not a test, it’s a discussion, and if there is some information you don't have readily available, it can be supplied later to the program officer.

During 2012, our staff will spend most of their time gathering feedback from the community and planning for 2013.  Therefore, we will be doing fewer formal site visits than in the past.  Many submitted proposals, especially from organizations which our staff have visited recently, will be thoroughly reviewed by staff and receive a phone call with questions, but won’t have a formal site visit.  This doesn’t mean that your proposal is weaker than it may have been in the past, or that it’s not being reviewed.