Our aim was to distribute £1 million over six weeks. During that time, our team committed to improving and modernising how we support changemakers. We took a critical look at our methods for evaluating applications, simplified our due diligence procedures, and found more efficient ways to get funds where they’re needed. The ultimate goal of this sprint was to create a funding process that’s more effective, equitable, and impactful for driving social change.
Here’s a week-by-week glimpse into how that process took shape, highlighting the key improvements and innovations that emerged from this period of intense, focused work.
In the second week, we turned our attention to improving the assessment process. We introduced blind reviews for some applications and expanded our network of recommenders to bring in more diverse perspectives. This approach helped us fine-tune our evaluation system, making it fairer and more efficient.
We kicked things off with a deep dive into our existing grant process. By carefully mapping out each step, we quickly identified areas that needed improvement and put together a plan to tackle them. By the end of the week, we had a clear roadmap in place that really energized the team about what was ahead.
In week four, we streamlined our due diligence process. We built key checks into the initial conversations and removed unnecessary barriers to distributing funds. This approach boosted efficiency without compromising integrity. By simplifying our evaluation system, we made the process easier and less stressful for applicants. By the end of the week, we had a solid plan to seamlessly integrate due diligence into our grant-making process.
In the third week, we focused on mapping out and refining our process. We reviewed every step of our grant-making journey to spot areas for improvement. One big change was implementing a Calendly system to streamline our Changemaker chats, which boosted efficiency. This methodical approach allowed us to rethink the entire process, making it more user-friendly and effective. By the end of the week, we had a solid plan ready to roll out.
In the final week, we focused on tying up all the loose ends of our revamped grant-making process. We carefully reviewed our Changemaker conversations and fine-tuned the grant agreements to make them clearer. The team also created concise summaries for trustees and streamlined approvals using Loomio, boosting efficiency without sacrificing the integrity of our decisions.
By the end of the week, we had a fully integrated plan covering everything—from initial contact to final approval. We wrapped things up on a high note by sharing the great news with our successful changemakers, marking a successful overhaul of our grant-making process.
Here’s an example the types of iterations we made through this process:
Original process:
Recommended > Online research > Introduction > Initial chat
Iterated process to a more direct and efficient:
Recommended > Direct contact > Initial chat
If you’re interested in a more detailed view of how we iterated the different stages of the fund design, you can take a look here.