Grantsfire and the hGrant Format

The Foundation Center now makes it possible to share grants data through Grantsfire and its innovative hGrant technical specification. For grantmakers using Fluxx, a new open-source grants management system, Grantsfire is built right in. Read on to learn more about hGrant, the value it brings to foundations and the philanthropic community, and how to get started.

How can I use Grantsfire and the hGrant format to submit grants data?

Grantsfire's technology allows recently-published grants information to be pulled directly from grantmakers’ web sites or feeds. The data can then be made available to the general public through an RSS feed or API. Grantsfire facilitates grant reporting for grantmakers and increases the timeliness and accessibility of grants information for all.

What is hGrant?

hGrant is a simple way to mark up grants information on a web page using a variation of HTML code known as a microformat. In effect, this code lets you publish your grants information so that it may be read and understood by both people and software. This process allows grants information to be automatically collected and aggregated so that it can be searched, categorized, and viewed in new ways.

What is the purpose of hGrant?

hGrant was developed as part of the Grantsfire initiative, which helps foundations publish and share their grants information. Doing so will:

• make it easier for nonprofits to find grants information, while improving the quality of grant applications to foundations.
• foster new knowledge about what is and isn't being funded in the nonprofit sector.
• encourage grantmakers to be more open and transparent by making near real-time information about their grants more readily available.

How will hGrant impact my organization’s web site?

You retain full flexibility over the look and feel of your web pages, and you can use your traditional web publishing tools to generate content.

Is hGrant the same thing as Grantsfire?

No. They are related, but different. hGrant is the technical specification for publishing grants information on the web. Grantsfire is a project of the Foundation Center that encourages grantmakers to publish their grants information using hGrant. hGrant was created as part of the Grantsfire project.

How do I use hGrant?

All you have to do is modify the grants information on your web site to use hGrant, which is a variation of HTML.

Does hGrant cost anything?

No, hGrant is royalty-free.

What is a microformat?

Most web pages are designed for humans to read. Sometimes, we'd like software to be able to read web content also. The traditional way to do this is to define some new language — usually some variant of XML — to describe your data. Microformats let you use HTML — the standard and most commonly used language of the web — to describe your data. In other words, the same web content that is readable by humans is also readable by machines, with only minor changes to your web site. It's a very simple way to start publishing aggregate information.