Port Phillip Community Group executive officer Karen Sait has sat on both sides of the table when it comes to grants, so she understands what it takes for funders to make things easier for recipients.
The simple answer? Good partnerships.
In practice, it can be complicated, but achieving better partnerships can reap extensive rewards for both parties.
As a councillor for four years with the Port Phillip Council – based in Melbourne’s lively beachside suburb of St Kilda – Ms Sait has seen a diverse range of grant programs in action.
She’s also been involved in approving grants while working in senior management roles with Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission and inner-city health services.
It’s a broad perspective for a community group executive officer whose organisation is reliant on grants, and who is grappling with the smallest budget she’s ever had.
Ms Sait spoke at the Grantmaking in Australian conference alongside grantees from McAuley Community Services for Women and the North Melbourne Football Club’s community engagement program.
She told delegates she acknowledges there are challenges for funders and grantseekers when it comes to dealing with grants processes.
After the panel session, she told Grants Management Intelligence that the panel members – who represented community, anti-violence, housing security and sports outreach organisations – had common goals and challenges. Each organisation was seeking to grow, dealing with complexity in the services they were delivering, and relying on grants to get that business done.
While she understands that grantmakers are expected to get the best value for money they can, and be accountable for their programs, grantseekers are under pressure to deliver services and “make a difference”, she says.
“It’s about how to make that marriage work.”
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