68 survey respondents
Location: 111 18th Street Se, Washington, 20003 DC
EIN: NA00001
100%
0%
10 hours
Median
100%
0%
97%
3%
2017 Deadlines:
Types of Grants Awarded:
Geographic Focus:
For Fiscal Year
Total Assets:
Total Grants:
Change in Assets FY :
Amount of Grants to Minnesota Nonprofits:
Largest Grant:
Smallest Grant:
Average Grant:
Grant Applicant - applied in 2019
In my view, ORA are the most professional funder in my company's space, which is the African energy access space. They are very fast; in our case, less than 1 month from the first contact to a decision. They are smart and well-organized. They do have a specific and narrow mandate and stick to that. But, as long as your funding need fits in their funding mandate, they are the best in the business!
Positive leader in the field, Risk taker, Insightful, Friendly, Responsive
District Of Columbia
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2019
Good
Good
Make sure your funding need fits in their funding mandate.
They are fast, because they are well-organized in a lean process, have a smart and pragmatic team, and they know what they are looking to fund.
20
Reviewer 6087 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2019
We started with a warm introduction to an Open Road investment officer. This really helped get the process moving quickly. The application process was quite straightforward and the investment officer is there to help you pull together the best application/proposal. Use their knowledge.
It became clear quickly that Open Road would be most interested in our plans were in best-case, worst-case, and likely case scenarios. I wasn't immediately prepared to propose terms for a loan, but the investment officer helped with that. I think thproposing to draw down on our loan in tranches based on financial risk milestones helped with our application's success.
Positive leader in the field, Risk taker, Friendly, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive
Washington
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2019
Good
Very approachable and our investment office was highly responsive.
Good
Open Road is designed to help impact-focused organizations get through roadblocks, and I think they are achieving exactly that. Their criteria of the funding being catalytic and discrete - solving the roadblock for good - can be challenging, but forces you to plan for this to be a one-time solution. They are entrepreneur-friendly and in our experience fill a significant gap in the funding landscape for social enterprises and charities.
The application form was simple and straightforward. However I think some of the fields could be clarified, and new fields added. For example, in the section around describing the organization's structure, mission, business model, and so on, the investment officer suggested structuring the response differently than what was listed on the website. I think the investment officer had a good handle on what was required so the form could simply be updated. Also, it might be useful to provide more context as to the type of loan terms you might want the applicant to consider, and provide indication of whether or not to propose funding in tranches.
This organization walks their talk - their criteria are clear and straightforward, and the information materials they publish on their website seem to match how they evaluate funding opportunities.
Communication, flexibility, and responsiveness!
8
Grant Applicant - applied in 2019
Best to have a meeting prior to submission of the application and continue to engage with the funder
Risk taker, Insightful, Builds relationships, Openminded, Responsive
District Of Columbia
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2019
Good
Very impressed with how accessible the funder was
Good
Continued engagement with the funder will be key to helping them understand your mission and goal, and the impact of funding to help moving forward
Continued communication, ensures alignment of mission and goal, structures financing to business needs
24
Grant Applicant - applied in 2019
This is an invite only application and best to discuss with them beforehand your current need and situation.
Positive leader in the field, Insightful, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive
Array
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2019
Good
Good
I think they could better prepare people for the final meeting with the financial team. Perhaps there is a standard sheet the could share with the steps of the call? It was a very intense call and because done on the phone, and not video, hard to gauge how the conversation and information landed. I questioned how deeply to go into depth on programming as I had been told grant committee were generalists and yet the questions were very specific. I would have appreciated knowing more about the scope of the call beforehand.
They worked with us on the application and really helped us shape it and prepare it-- that level of feedback was amazing.
40
Reviewer 4180 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
It was great to be able to communicate with the OpenRoad team prior to the final submission as they gave feedback and inputs to avoid too many questions during the actual review.
Insightful, Friendly, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Responsive
Array
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2018
Good
Good
The amount of materials are pretty long for small amounts of funding so perhaps cutting down the materials needed and supporting documents would help.
It really helps to have a flexible funder that fills in unexpected gaps!
Communicates well!
20
Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
Open Road Alliance strives to be grantee-centric, and they absolutely live up to that goal. It was really quite remarkable and illustrates just how far most other grantmakers have to go to similarly support their non-profit partners. Our Investment Officer spent an hour with us on the phone, helping to refine our case. After we submitted our LOI (no full proposal required) we received additional feedback - and had the opportunity to make edits! The Investment Committee probed thoughtfully and gave the impression that they understand the non-profit perspective and experience. Finally, we received a response within a couple of weeks of the meeting. Even had we not received funding, I was still very impressed with the experience.
Positive leader in the field, Risk taker, Friendly, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Responsive
Array
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2018
Good
Good
They are among the few funders who understand that occasionally urgent roadblocks arise, despite good planning and efficient fund management. They respond quickly and are considerate about timing - their process doesn't take much time, and the staff is very supportive.
10
Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
It is worthwhile to speak with an existing grantee to understand the specificities of ORA's "implementation gap" definition. ORA does not fund operations, which can be a challenge for NGOs as many implementation gaps exist around operational challenges.
Positive leader in the field, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive
Array
Grant currently pending
Funded for amount requested
2018
Good
The model ORA uses is innovative, efficient and empowering. The challenge with existing NGO funding modalities is that the investment of time needed to complete an application is significant and the probability of success is limited. ORA inverses this reality and sets up applicants for success or they ensure that they do not waste NGO's precious time by making them fill out a lengthy application that in the end will not be funded.
Good
Perhaps reframe the definition of "implementation gap." The definition may be too strict and preclude NGOs doing valuable work from applying.
The pairing of applicants with an Investment Advisor is extremely valuable and this is something we wish other funders would do.
10 to 15 hours
Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
Do your research first. They have very specific ways they get involved and these standards are not flexible.
Positive leader in the field, Risk taker, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive
Array
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2018
Good
While the staff is highly informed, relational and well-researched, the ultimate decision makers seemed less so. For example, they seemed less versed on our organization despite having already submitted the proposal they requested and one of them asked the exact question her colleague asked on two different occasions during one call. This illustrated a lack of focus during our call which we have not encountered from the staff. My advice would be that each person joining the call read the information first and be prioritizing the conversation during the conversation.
The staff are exceptional. They understand the issues NGOs face and are willing to take risks that most other funders are not open to considering. I hold the founders and the staff in high regard for their thoughtfulness on how to engage in the sector in a manner that has high levels of impact.
This funder found a niche that is much appreciated. They are high risk and they create an environment in which both parties can be transparent.
6
Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
They will dig into the minute details of your application to ensure that you did indeed try every option before coming to them for emergency funding, so be prepared to give when, how, what dates, how many times you tried to "save" funding for a project before asking them, for example.
Risk taker, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2018
Good
Good
ORA focuses on giving emergency funding in cases of unforeseen needs (e.g. a pledged funder backs out and the project is in jeopardy without the full funding amount). Regarding this, we believe ORA was efficient, professional, and accommodating of our extraordinary circumstance.
Streamlined grantmaking process. It was a preliminary call, 2 iterations on a grant application, a final call, then in 24 hours the decision made.
20
Reviewer 2371 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
ORA team is Very approachable, responsive and have the most effective and quick decision making process for Social enterprises that meet a roadblock mid implementation and needs quick funding to overcome the roadblock to be back on track.
Positive leader in the field, Risk taker, Friendly, Builds relationships, Openminded, Responsive
(Unknown)
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2018
Good
Very approachable.
Good
I believe they are successfully accomplishing their current philanthropic set goals.
Still pondering.
N/A
They are probably the quickest in determining an application.
1
