Volume 4 • Issue 2 2006 fall Home
Survey gives high marks to Historical Commission grant program
Logo of Non Profit Finance Fund
Non Profit Finance Fund
The Historical Commission hired a respected consulting firm, the Nonprofit Finance Fund, to evaluate the Commission’s grant program.  We asked the NFF to assess the clarity and effectiveness of our guidelines and procedures, evaluate how the Commission supports the needs of its grantees, assess the program’s impact on short and long-term sustainability of its grantees, and offer recommendations for how the program might be improved.  We also made sure that the results were presented to us in aggregate form, so that organizations that responded to the survey were guaranteed anonymity. 

The report is now in, and the results are gratifying.  Eighty-eight percent of the respondents rated their experience with the Commission as good or excellent; 89 percent said the grant guidelines were clear, 96 percent agreed that Commission staff were readily available to answer questions, 92 percent said the requirements for interim and final reports were clear.  These positive results were consistent among all categories of respondents to the survey – both large and small applicant organizations and those organizations that had been turned down for grants as well as those that had received funding. 

The survey respondents also made a number of useful suggestions for improvements in the grant program, which the Commission has now implemented.  For example, we revised and streamlined the application form to make it more user-friendly, and launched a continuing education program to provide professional development for applicant organizations. 

The Historical Commission welcomes comments and suggestions from the public on how can fulfill our mission to enrich the lives of the public by preserving the historical record and advancing interest in and awareness of New Jersey's past.