How to publish
Publishing open grants data involves three key stages: planning, preparing and publishing.
- Planning is when you decide what data you want to share and consider data protection.
- Preparing is when you transform the data you have about your grants into the 360Giving Data Standard format.
- Publishing is when you make your data available online as open data.
Once you’ve published your data for the first time, you will then need to decide how frequently to make updates to add new grants. This normally means repeating the process again, starting in the preparation stage.
What does publishing data involve?
- At its heart, publishing open grants data involves taking the useful information you have about your grants and transforming it so it can be shared online and used by people alongside data published by hundreds of other grantmakers. We have templates, guidance, tools, and lots of experience supporting grantmakers of all shapes and sizes, using a range of methods from simple spreadsheets to bespoke grantmaking systems.
- You will be working with data in files, so some familiarity with spreadsheets is an advantage. But you don’t have to be a data expert to go through this process, we can support you with the technical elements.
- If you are going through the process for the first time, you’ll need to make some key decisions about what information you’ll share, how often you’ll publish, and where you’ll make your data available online. Navigating these questions will take some thought, but our guidance provides pointers on what to consider and we’re always happy to discuss your plans if you’re not sure what to do.
- Although preparing your data involves some technical steps – keep in mind that, once published, your 360Giving data will tell a story about your grantmaking. Thinking about the important things you want people to know about what you fund and why can guide your choices.
- You are in control of the process: publishing data is something your organisation does, not something being done to you. There are pragmatic decisions you can make, and it is possible to start with simple data and then decide what more you could share once you see what that looks like and have a chance to use it in 360Giving’s tools.
- Once you’ve prepared your data, you’ll use our Data Quality Tool to check that it is formatted correctly. When your data passes these checks and you’re happy with the contents, it means you’re ready for the final step.
- To publish your open grants data you’ll need somewhere online to host your files. For most funders, this means uploading the files to their own website, but it’s possible to publish data using file-sharing services or open data platforms too.
- Last but not least, you’ll need to let us know about your published data by submitting it to our Data Registry. Then the next day your grants will appear in our tools, alongside data from hundreds of other funders.
How to publish updates
- To keep your grants data up-to-date, you’ll need to repeat the preparing and publishing process regularly. How often is a decision you’ll need to make, but this should be at least once a year.
- The decisions and steps taken during the planning stage don’t need to be repeated each time, so you’ll start the cycle by preparing data when you publish updates. This means it should be quicker and more straightforward than the first time around.
Taking over responsibility for publishing in your organisation?
We encourage publishers to record the key steps they take as a reminder when the time comes to share data again. But if you’re new to publishing 360Giving data and not sure where to start, or if you get stuck, don’t worry. We can help you get up to speed so you can feel confident and make the process your own.
How to get support
We are here to help at every stage, whether you’re publishing for the first time or the fiftieth.
Our Complete Guide to Publishing covers each step of the publishing process whether you want to publish grants to organisations, grants to individuals, or both.
- Those starting out on their publishing journey for the first time or who need a refresher should read Useful information before you start.
- Existing publishers should read Updating your 360Giving data to get tips on the best approach.
We also offer introductory workshops and 1:1 support calls, and you can contact our Publisher Helpdesk directly via phone or email.