Council Releases First-Ever Minnesota Common Report Form
A New Time-Saving Tool for Nonprofits and Funders

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (March 20, 2001)  The Minnesota Council on Foundations, a regional membership association for philanthropy, has released the first-ever Minnesota Common Report Form -- a new tool designed to improve communication between grantmakers and the nonprofit organizations they fund.

The Minnesota Common Report Form provides a standardized format for a nonprofit grantee to use in reporting to different grantmakers about the work it has accomplished with the grantmakers’ funds. For grantees, the form can help reduce the amount of time they must spend rearranging basic information to fit funders’ varying reporting requirements. For grantmakers, the form can help strengthen and streamline their post-grant assessment process.

"The Common Report Form is one more way in which the Council and its members are working to improve the grantmaking process, so that both nonprofits and grantmaking organizations can devote more time to their important community work," said Council president Bill King. More than 50 foundations and corporate giving programs have already agreed to accept the form.

A Council committee developed the form with input from nonprofits and funders. "We strived to design a form that is as simple as possible to use," said Karen Kelley-Ariwoola, a committee member and associate vice president for programs at The Minneapolis Foundation. "We also tried to make the form applicable to all types of nonprofits -- from arts to human services."

The Minnesota Common Report Form was inspired by the success of the Minnesota Common Grant Application Form, which the Council released in 1996. The Common Grant Application is now accepted by more than 130 Minnesota grantmakers in lieu of their own grant application forms.

At the Council's Web site you can download the Minnesota Common Report Form and view an up-to-date list of Minnesota grantmakers that accept the form. Go to:
www.mcf.org/mcf/grant/commonreport.htm

Founded in 1969, the Minnesota Council on Foundations is a regional membership association of grantmakers working to improve the vitality and health of our communities. The Council’s broad and diverse membership includes private foundations, community and other public foundations, and corporate foundations and giving programs. The Council’s mission is to strengthen and to increase participation in philanthropy.

CONTACT: David Biemesderfer, director of communications and external relations, 612/335-3597, dbiemesderfer@mcf.org.

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