Comic Relief has pledged to make its funding processes “as straightforward and accessible as possible” after feedback from grantees.
The funder said it collected anonymous feedback every two years from the organisations it works with.
It commissioned nfpResearch to conduct a survey of more than 200 funded organisations, of which 65 per cent responded.
In a statement announcing the key findings from the research, Comic Relief said the outcomes were broadly positive and “showed strong improvements in our relationship and contact with funded partners”.
It said: “Funded partners told us that they feel Comic Relief is a highly trusting, flexible and collaborative funder. Staff support is a major strength.
“Funded partners highlight the helpfulness, responsiveness and understanding of grant managers, describing relationships as open, honest and genuinely partnership-based.”
But the research also highlighted areas in which the funder could improve, such as streamlining the application process and reporting requirements.
“Smaller organisations especially showed that the process is more of a burden for them and some partners shared that they experience duplication of requests, detailed reporting requests and tight turnaround times,” Comic Relief said.
The funder said its grant management system “works for the majority, but around one in five find it somewhat difficult, citing navigation challenges, upload issues and a desire for offline templates or refresher support”.
It said: “Our funded partners also want to see greater transparency around funding cycles and longer-term funding are recurring requests. Some partners shared that we could provide clearer information about open calls and funding priorities.”
Comic Relief said it was “continuing to bring together feedback from our partners and reflect on how it can inform our future funding strategy and our grant operations”.
It said it would share an update later in the year.
Asked for more detail on any potential changes, Catherine Muge, director of funding at Comic Relief, said in a statement: “We’re grateful to everyone who took the time to share their experiences through the survey.
“While the findings were broadly positive, we value all feedback and see it as an opportunity to learn and improve.
“We’re committed to making our funding processes as straightforward and accessible as possible, and we’ll use these findings, alongside further feedback still coming in, to help shape our approach over the coming months.”