How to approve/deny grants

Use this flow chart to approve and deny grants.

*There is a waiting list for Macintoshes, laptops, CRT Monitors, LCD Monitors, and Printers. Other items on that list just need to be gathered.
We do not always have these items.

Verifying the contact's association with an organization

1. Do they have an organizational e-mail?

2. Is their name on the website or on the organizations entry in the Business registrars?

3. If the answer to both of the above questions is "no", call another contact from the website or Business registrars if possible. Can they vouch for the person who contacted Free Geek?

Red Flags

These signs should make us look more closely at a grant. They do *not* mean that a grant is in ineligible.

• Anything that seems a little "off", including:
  • Non-organizational e-mail
  • No extra contacts provided
  • Not in the business registry or not listed as "Public Benefit"
  • Shipping materials overseas
  • Vague purpose for equipment
  • Vague purpose of organization

Options For Verifying Grants

Unless we've granted to an organization before, we should always be checking the Business registrars.

If there are any red flags, you can use some of the following to determine whether or not an organization is legitimate:

• Check website.
• Check contacts from website: like board members, other people in positions of leadership.
• Ask for paperwork like brochures, etc.
• Ask to see organizational plan.
• Interview them about projects, past, present, and future.
• Ask them about what they intend to use the equipment for
• Check in Guidestar or Charity Navigator
• Ask them to produce their Certificate showing that they are a 501(c)3 organization (only works if you are a 501(c)3 organization)
• Use whois command in commandline to figure out who owns the website.