Grants management at its best facilitates the process of making excellent grants, serving stakeholders both inside the organization (colleagues) and on the outside (grantseekers and grantees). Doing this well requires a certain service mindset and set of practical activities that many have called “customer service.” The analogy isn’t perfect, since grantseekers aren’t buying anything and will probably come back even if they find the experience exasperating1. But whatever we call this orientation toward service and facilitating efficient and effective work, no one can deny that it is fundamental to doing grants management well.

But what does really good service require and what does it look like? To answer this, Dr. Streamline turned to our Streamlining Interns – Megan Murphy, Michigan Health Endowment Fund; Cindy Alvarado, the Rockwell Fund; and Sara Guillaume, Colorado Health Foundation – who had wisdom to share about their orientation and approach to service. And not surprisingly, it comes down to more than a cheerful smile.

Read the full article by Dr. Streamline about grants management from  at PEAK Grantmaking