OVERVIEW
The “Vault” is the shorthand term for a central electronic repository for New York City nonprofits’ standard institutional documents. Currently in the design phase, the Vault’s purpose is to reduce nonprofits’ administrative burdens; instead of repeatedly submitting the same organizational materials with each separate funding request, an agency can store its key documents online in one place, accessible to any of their public and private funders.
RATIONALE
There is near-universal agreement in the nonprofit sector for the need to reduce the administrative burdens associated with fundraising and grants management. Calls for funders to streamline their processes are proliferating, and practitioners are increasingly seeking ways that online technology can make their work more efficient.
In the digital age, it is particularly troubling that many application processes call for nonprofits to submit paper copies of their institutional documents – sometimes requiring numerous copies of the same materials for the same grant. When government is the funding source, the problem can be even worse. For example, providers who have, or seek, multiple contracts with New York City have traditionally been required to submit the same documents for every contract action, even if that contract is within one agency. Providers that contract with more than one City agency may have additional requirements, such as the same form required in different formats or with small content differences (see addenda below).
The Vault concept has broad support. Within New York City government, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda Gibbs is integrating plans for the Vault into the overall reform of how the department procures services from nonprofit agencies. Private funders have independently raised the need for centralized record storage, and coalitions such as the Donor Forum and Philanthropy New York are helping their members get involved in the design process. Nonprofit umbrella groups like the Human Services Council and the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York endorse the idea.
DOCUMENT LIST
Please click here to view the list of documents to be included in the Vault.