Real-time reporting of grant-making in the US has come a step closer as a result of a union between The Foundation Center and Grantsfire a web-based system to capture and publish grants information using Web 2.0 tools and technology.

The joint effort will “ensure that all those who care about philanthropy's contribution to the public good will have access to the most up-do-date information possible,” they say.

Grantsfire, funded in part by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, will become part of the Foundation Center's existing electronic grant reporting system – the Philanthropy In/sight mapping portal used by 450 foundations throughout the world which Philanthropy UK featured in our March newsletter.

According to Gavin Clabaugh, vice president and chief information officer of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, "The Foundation Center-Grantsfire union is a match made in heaven. By adding the magic of Grantsfire to the Foundation Center's already impressive data collection processes, everyone's a winner. Adopting the Grantsfire toolset will make grant information available without the muss and fuss of imports, exports, uploads, and downloads."

Foundations that submit their most recent grants directly to the Center in a standard electronic format ensure that the most timely, accurate data is available to the tens of thousands of people who rely on the Center for information on US funders and their giving. In return the Foundation Center provides each participating foundation with free interactive maps and charts of their grants.

"The Grantsfire technology gets us one step closer to having real-time grants information," said Bradford Smith, president of the Foundation Center. "This is central to our long-standing mission of increasing transparency so that people can see exactly what foundations are doing on the issues about which they care most."

"Our vision for Grantsfire has always been to facilitate better collaboration among foundations through access to real-time data. By combining our technology with the Foundation Center's years of experience and expertise, that vision is becoming reality," said Jason Ricci, a founder of Grantsfire.

The Foundation Center expects to deploy the new system later this year.