Repository sought for NGO grant info.

Four prominent advocacy organizations have issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to start the process of establishing a centralized repository of equivalency determination information on non-U.S, based non-governmental organizations (NGOS). It's intended to streamline international grantmaking in the United States.

Start-up costs for the repository were estimated from $100,000 to $900,000 in a feasibility study, and organizations vying for the host position must prove their abilities with a strong "serf-sustaining" business plan, according Rob Buchanan, director of international programs for the Council on Foundations (CoF) in Washing ton, D.C., one of the groups involved in the project.

The CoF is joined in the RFP by the Foundation Center in New York City, and Independent Sector and InterAction, both in Washington, D.C.

International NGOs must prove that they are comparable to a United States nonprofit under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) standards before a grant can be made. One way to meet the standards is to prepare an equivalency determination for each grantmaker, which includes information about NGO's organizational structure, charitable purpose, governing documents and financial forms in the NGO's native language and English.

The repository is intended to eliminate the replication by collecting the information in a central location, saving grantees and grantmakers time and money. Equivalency determination and vetting cost the surveyed 79 grantmaking organizations more than $2.9 million during 2005, according to the project's feasibility study.

"The system for getting there is not very efficient and using a lot of staff and financial resources that could be going to projects," said Buchanan, who also said he "doesn't want to speculate" the price tag for operating the repository.

"It's been a continuous issue as foundations have been grappling with it. As international grantmaking continues to expand at a very rapid rate, it's been more prominent," Buchanan said.

In 2006, Information Age Associates developed a feasibility survey that asked 79 U.S.-based international grantmakers, 56 non-U.S. NGOs and eight U.S.-based giving service providers questions to determine if a central repository would be beneficial. According to the study, 76 percent of grantmakers and 74 percent of service providers would favor establishing a centralized repository, and 98 percent of NGOs would agree to use it if requested by a U.S.-based grantmaking organization. Some 90 percent of NGOs and 86 percent of grantmakers thought that the "availability of a centralized repository containing up-to-date vetted nonprofit information would be a significant benefit."

Buchanan said that the "pressure was growing through the years" for a central database and compared the current practice as "reinventing the wheel."

Key representatives from the exploratory committee met with IRS Exempt Organizations Division officials, who invited the committee to present detailed plans at a later time and "indicated that if it meets their expectations, they would embrace it," Buchanan said.