July 25, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Despite the passage of a law three years ago aimed at streamlining paperwork requirements for nonprofit recipients of federal grants, organizations report continuing problems when dealing with the federal government, according to an online survey of charities conducted earlier this year.
A majority of the 365 respondents said they strongly support the goals of the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act, a 1999 law designed to reduce paperwork for nonprofit groups seeking and getting federal grants. The law requires federal agencies to develop uniform procedures for completing grant applications and evaluating the performance of groups that receive grants from federal agencies. Under the law, the government would have a completely revamped paperwork system in place by 2007.
But the leaders of many organizations complained in the survey that the federal-grants process remains redundant and too complex, and that it takes time and resources away from groups that have too little of either. Nearly half of respondents reported that as a result of cumbersome federal application and reporting requirements, the flow of government money to their organizations had been interrupted at least once.
The survey results come at a time when the federal government is “gathering momentum” on fulfilling the requirements of the law by studying how best to streamline procedures, says Kay Guinane, manager of community education at OMB Watch, a government-watchdog group in Washington, and one of three organizations that conducted the survey.
“What’s important now is that the states move in this direction as well, because so many of the federal grant dollars are funneled through the states,” Ms. Guinane says.
The survey was done by the Streamlining Nonprofit Grants Management Project, a research collaboration made up of OMB Watch; the Urban Institute, in Washington; and GuideStar, a Web site that offers data on charities.
Free copies of the report can be obtained from OMB Watch by calling (202) 234-8494, or by downloading the report from http://www.ombwatch.org/filemanager.fileview/12.
