Making an international grant from a U.S. foundation or DAF requires more than just Equivalency Determination or Expenditure Responsibility. We help you meet the requirements for direct cross-border grantmaking and provide specialized back office support to save your team valuable time and effort.

Compliance Services for Cross-Border Grantmaking

Equivalency Determination PLUS. We manage the full Equivalency Determination workflow — with an average turnaround of 4–6 weeks — coordinating with an independent Qualified Tax Practitioner to deliver the ED letter and detailed written analysis.

Expenditure Responsibility PLUS. We facilitate Expenditure Responsibility steps — from pre-grant due diligence through post-grant reporting — helping you safeguard compliance while streamlining your workload.

Risk Management Services

Global Sanctions and Watchlist Screening to safeguard against the diversion of funds. We screen foreign grantees and affiliated individuals against OFAC, UN, EU, UK, FBI, and Interpol lists to help prevent fund diversion, reputational risk, and anti-terrorism compliance violations — protecting your mission across borders.

Local Sanctions Screening. In today’s complex regulatory environment, global checks are only the first line of defense. Paragon’s Local Sanctions Screening goes deeper by identifying domestic sanctions, blacklists, and enforcement actions issued by national, provincial, or regional authorities in countries where your grantees operate. This step helps protect your grants against local regulatory violations, corruption risks, and reputational exposure at the ground level.

Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) Screening. We screen grantees and key individuals against global PEP databases to identify heightened risks tied to political influence, corruption exposure, and reputational vulnerabilities. This critical review helps protect your grants from hidden risks — including potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) — by flagging relationships with foreign officials or politically connected persons that could trigger anti-bribery compliance concerns.

Reputational Risk and Adverse Media Screening. We monitor global adverse media sources to detect historical or emerging reputational risks — including fraud, financial misconduct, discrimination, harassment claims, and other material issues — safeguarding your foundation’s credibility and funding integrity.

Mission and Program Alignment Assessment. We review grantee programs, project narratives, and public materials to ensure strong alignment with your foundation’s mission and charitable purposes. Early identification of alignment risks helps protect regulatory standing, strengthen reporting accuracy, and sustain public trust.

Political Activity and Lobbying Risk Review. We examine proposed funded activities, organizational materials, and public-facing content to flag any political or lobbying risks. This critical screening helps ensure your grants remain fully compliant with IRS restrictions and avoid exposure to prohibited expenditures.

Review of Foreign Country Requirements and verification of grantee compliance. Many countries impose their own restrictions on the receipt of foreign funds by nonprofits — from mandatory registration requirements to outright restrictions on cross-border philanthropy. Noncompliance with these local laws can expose grantmakers and grantees alike to fines, penalties, asset seizures, grant invalidation, and serious reputational harm.

Ongoing Grantee Monitoring. Some risks — such as regulatory suspensions, sanctions, or reputational events — can arise well after a grant is awarded. Paragon Philanthropy offers streamlined monitoring throughout the grant term, including annual regulatory status checks and periodic watchlist re-screenings, helping you anticipate emerging risks and maintain full compliance with confidence.

Portfolio Development and Strategic Grantee Research

Building a resilient, mission-aligned grant portfolio demands clear, comprehensive insight into organizational strength, leadership credibility, and sector reputation.

Paragon Philanthropy delivers tailored research services to empower family foundations, corporate funders, and DAF sponsors to make informed, confident grantmaking decisions. We produce detailed profiles of prospective and current grantees, evaluating organizational history, program outcomes, financial health, leadership credibility, sector reputation, and strategic alignment with your philanthropic objectives.

Our research also identifies potential risk factors — such as governance concerns, leadership turnover, or reputational vulnerabilities — enabling you to curate grant portfolios that are not only compliant, but resilient, impactful, and sustainable.

Back-Office Grant Administration

Paragon Philanthropy provides secure, streamlined administrative support for every stage of your grantmaking operations — from grant agreement execution to post-grant reporting. We coordinate DocuSign processing, securely collect and verify wire instructions through dual confirmation protocols (including verbal verification with grantees), and proactively safeguard against fraud or misdirection of funds.

Following disbursement, we confirm fund receipt, monitor grant reporting deadlines, collect interim and final reports, and compile a complete, audit-ready grant file — protecting the integrity of your grants while saving your team valuable time and resources.