Serving as a Grantmaker Representative on a Grantee Board

As a condition of receiving grant funds, some grantmakers require that a foundation representative serve on the board of a grantee during the course of a project funded by the foundation. In some cases, the grantee may be a start-up nonprofit and the foundation believes that it is able to offer critical technical assistance and management functions to the grantee by placing a representative on the grantee’s board. In other cases, the foundation may wish to keep close oversight over a multi-year project that represents a significant grant for the foundation and a substantial undertaking by the grantee.