[Chapter-delegates] On funding dedicated to chapters

Thu Sep 30 14:22:55 PDT 2021

Hello Andrew, all,

With 90% of the money going to other external parties, one cannot seriously
say that "the chapters are at the centre of what we do and the Foundation's
grant-making activities." On the contrary, I think that Nazar is right: why
does the foundation and in fact all of ISOC does not concentrate on its
core constituency, the chapters, and its core cause, the internet? If
Afrinic is truly going through a rough time, why is ISOC not jumping in?
These are important comments that deserve a direct response, a response
that goes further than explaining what was done in the past.

And why is only 30% of project applications successful? Adding some extra
safeguards to a process managed by just three people might be a better idea
than blaming it all on the chapters and thinking that some extra
information will fix it all. Mind you, there is currently very little from
keeping this committee to make the wrong choices, and wasting hours and
hours of volunteer time, like it happened in my case and in the case of a
few other chapters. I have suggested an appeal procedure, anyone has other
ideas?

Finally, a lot of people on this list are complaining that it is not worth
their while adding their view, because nothing ever changes and discussions
on this list never yield results. That is another thing to take seriously.
Let us see what happens (but I am afraid they are right...)

Met vriendelijke groet,
Kind regards

Alexander Blom
ISOCNL

Op do 30 sep. 2021 om 22:02 schreef Andrew Sullivan via Chapter-delegates <
chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>:

> Dear colleagues,
>
> Of late there has been some discussion on this list about various
> concerns, some of which involve money for projects.  This message is
> perhaps too long, but it is an attempt to lay out information about certain
> parts of the way we fund chapters & I'm not good enough to make this
> shorter and still complete.  I offer an initial summary for those who don't
> want all the detail.
>
> The short version:
>
>         The Internet Society and Foundation provide more than one way for
> chapters to receive money of differing amounts. Some chapters cannot
> receive any money, due either to local restrictions, or US laws and
> regulations, or both.  Some of the money is available specifically to fund
> projects that chapters want to undertake, and that availability is subject
> to grant processes the Foundation has adopted according to sector best
> practices.  Sometimes, chapters are disappointed in their applications
> because their application did not meet all the requirements of those
> processes, but Foundation staff normally attempt to work with applicants to
> explain how they could be successful.
>
>         The chapter-dedicated grant program, Beyond the Net, has been
> mostly consistent in its successes, but it could be better. We are working
> both to improve the grant processes to make them as easy as possible, while
> also offering the training and advice that chapters might use to improve
> their potential to receive more grant money not just from the Foundation,
> but from any source.  We undertake consultations with chapters to help with
> that work. Many details below.
>
> Background:
>
>         There are two mechanisms of dedicated funding for chapters.  The
> first is the chapter admin fund.  This is a general subsidy provided by the
> Internet Society to any chapter that applies and can meet certain minimum
> requirements to receive the funds.  We cannot provide money from this fund
> to chapters that cannot have a bank account in the name of the chapter;
> that restriction is in part due to US tax law (to oversimplify, if it goes
> to an individual "on behalf of" the chapter, it's US-source personal income
> and the individual becomes subject to the US Internal Revenue Service.  We
> also can't demonstrate in that case that the money went to support our
> charitable purpose.  I hope it is obvious why these things are bad).  We
> also cannot provide money to chapters in a jurisdiction where the laws make
> it illegal for us to transfer the money in (for I hope even more obvious
> reasons).  Finally, we will not provide funds to chapters who are not in
> good standing.  (This is an Internet Society policy and could in theory be
> changed, but I think I have never heard anyone who was not a representative
> of such a chapter ask me to extend funding to a chapter not in good
> standing.)
>
>         The primary means of _project_ support from the Internet Society
> for chapters is the Beyond the Net (BtN) grant program.  This program is
> several years old.  When the Foundation was being established (obviously,
> before any Foundation staff had been hired), the Internet Society hired a
> consultant to do a general evaluation of the grant programs the Internet
> Society was operating.  The evaluation of BtN, which included conversation
> with many different community members, was that it was good but had
> opportunities for improvement.  The first was to ensure quality control for
> grants.  The second was to streamline the process.  The third was to
> improve measurement and evaluation.  The fourth was to strengthen the
> ability of applicants (in this case, chapters).
>
>         When the Internet Society Foundation was established, we adopted a
> principle that straightforward grant activities in general should be
> managed by the Foundation, because it has the necessary grants management
> expertise and infrastructure.  Therefore, BtN is operated by the
> Foundation.  Under this program, the Foundation provides funds to the
> Internet Society with restrictions on their use, such that they must be
> directed according to the original application.  The reason the flow
> happens through the Internet Society, despite the Foundation granting the
> money, is because the Foundation is allowed only to grant money to other
> 501(c)(3) charities or equivalent.  Many chapters do not qualify for such
> status, so only the Internet Society can actually transfer the money.
> (Please note that this does not mean that the Internet Society can grant to
> anyone: OFAC restrictions and national law restrictions in the target
> jurisdiction still apply, and there isn't a way we have found to get around
> those restrictions without breaking laws.)
>
>         It should be noted that there is no restriction on chapters
> applying for other grants within the Foundation programs, and we have had
> chapters apply to other programs (sometimes with partners) and succeed.
> Those other programs, it must be noted, have barriers for chapters who
> cannot qualify as the equivalent of a US public charity, or who do not have
> a record of handling larger amounts of money.  This is an extra reason why
> we believe the BtN program is so important: it not only provides a
> chapter-dedicated source of funding, but also provides a means by which
> chapters can develop their skills at obtaining grants from many sources.
>
> General principles:
>
>         There are several principles that guide the Foundation in awarding
> grants to applicants.  These are in keeping with best practices across the
> philanthropy sector, and I think they should be largely uncontroversial:
>
>         • Is the application complete?
>                 If an application is incomplete, then by definition it is
> not ready to receive the funds.
>
>         • Does the application meet the eligibility requirements?
>                 An application that does not meet this test should not (or
> cannot) be funded.  For instance, an application to BtN that comes from an
> organization that is not an Internet Society chapter should not, by
> definition, receive funds under BtN.
>
>         • Does the applicant have history of capability with a grant near
> to this scope?
>                 In order to ensure that grants are made prudently, it is
> important to know whether the recipient is likely to be able to manage the
> funds in question well.  A good way to know that is to know about a history
> of managing funds of similar or smaller amounts well.  The application of
> this principle, obviously, rises according to the amount; but must also
> take history into account.  Someone who has  consistently handled $100 at a
> time well, but never more than that, might be overwhelmed by $500,000; but
> also someone who has repeatedly failed to handle $3000 properly (never mind
> $500,000) should not be a candidate for another $3000.
>
>         • If a previous grantee, did the applicant fulfill the terms of
> that grant?
>                  One particularly important requirement of grants is that
> they always deliver a report to show that the money was used for the
> purposes for which it was granted.
>
> Beyond the Net Small:
>
>         The BtN small grants program description is found at
> https://www.isocfoundation.org/grant-programme/beyond-the-net-small-grants/.
> Chapters  must be in good standing to be eligible.
>
>         It is fairly tightly scoped, with a maximum grant of $3500 and a
> maximum duration of 6 months.  There are some constraints on what the money
> may be used for, but this is the most successful BtN program.  Roughly 80%
> of applicants are successful, and this has been consistent for many years.
>
>         If an applicant is unsuccessful, then Foundation staff prepare an
> explanation to the applicant and offer suggestions on what might address
> the reasons for the application being declined.
>
> Beyond the Net Large:
>
>         The BtN large grants program description is at
> https://www.isocfoundation.org/grant-programme/beyond-the-net-large-grants/
> .  As with the Small grants, the applying chapter must be in good standing
> to be eligible.
>
>         These grants are for up to $30,000 with a maximum duration of 24
> months.  The Large program has some thematic areas in which they try to
> work (as of this writing, they are establishing or facilitating
> connectivity, growing local Internet-related knowledge and skills,
> understanding Internet usage and local needs, and promoting innovation; but
> they can change from time to time).  On an exceptional basis, grants might
> fall outside the thematic areas.  The selection committee includes members
> of the community, and its make-up at any time can be found on the web page.
>
>         As is probably expected, larger grants require more application
> effort, and the application is expected to include some Key Performance
> Indicators as part of the proposal.  As with small grants, any time an
> application is unsuccessful staff explain the reasoning and offer
> suggestions on what could lead to success.
>
>         It is clear that we have more to do to make the application
> process work better for chapters, because the success rate for large grant
> applications is rarely higher than roughly 50% and so far this year the
> success rate has been only 30%.  Staff work to try to help applicants
> sharpen their applications in an effort to improve the success rate, but
> ultimately the decision is made by the selection committee.
>
>         Historically, the biggest impediment in the BtN application
> process was the deadline, which meant that applicants were sometimes
> frustrated because they could not achieve everything in time.  We removed
> that restriction, which also means that a declined application can be
> adjusted and re-submitted if the applicant wishes.  We are always, however,
> trying to refine and streamline the process.  Note that there is a survey
> out now in an effort to better support the Chapters and ensure a
> participatory approach.  The survey closes on 13 October, so if you have
> views please send them.
>
> Community support:
>
>         In an effort to make all applicants to programs of the Foundation
> more successful, the team has put together a number of resources to help.
> See https://www.isocfoundation.org/resources/.
>
> The Internet Society chapters remain at the centre of what we do and the
> Foundation's grant-making activities, and the Foundation team is committed
> to developing and supporting chapters' capacity building in order to
> increase the grant amounts, and generate and diversify the funding
> opportunities.
>
> I hope this overview is helpful to the community.  If you have further
> questions regarding Beyond the Net, please direct them to the Foundation at
> <beyond_the_net at isocfoundation.org>.
>
> --
> Andrew Sullivan
> President & CEO, Internet Society
> sullivan at isoc.org
> +1 416 731 1261
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