Working with Paragon
We Enable Direct, Regulator-Aligned Global Grantmaking
Paragon serves as an operational partner to grantmakers, managing the due diligence, administrative, and evidentiary steps that make direct cross-border grantmaking possible. We provide the procedural expertise, documentation, and administrative framework that allow foundations and donor-advised fund sponsors to give directly, efficiently, and with confidence.
Our model allows funders to work directly with grantees while avoiding the added cost and opacity of intermediary structures.
We coordinate information flow among grantees, clients, and external legal reviewers (where applicable), maintain the documentation required for regulatory review, and ensure that every grant proceeds with clarity and continuity.
Why Leading Funders and Institutions Work With Paragon
Global Fluency, Boutique Scale
Our multilingual team operates across multiple jurisdictions, fluent in the regulatory and philanthropic standards of the U.S., EU, UK, Canada, Australia, and beyond. Clients receive institutional-grade precision paired with boutique responsiveness and direct access to experienced professionals.
Speed and Efficiency
Paragon delivers the rigor of a global compliance framework with the responsiveness of a small, specialized team. For example, equivalency determinations for U.S. grantmakers are typically completed within two weeks after all required documentation is received from the grantee. This balance of speed and precision enables funders to move confidently from intent to implementation.
Direct, Transparent Grantmaking
By providing the operational expertise and implementation support for direct cross-border giving, Paragon enables foundations to make grants directly to overseas organizations rather than through intermediaries. Funders retain direct relationships with their grantees, avoid percentage-based cross-border fees, and gain full visibility into every stage of the process.
Documented Integrity and Assurance
We maintain structured, evidentiary records that support audits and demonstrate procedural alignment across jurisdictions. Our documentation gives institutional funders confidence that each grant cycle is conducted with transparency, consistency, and verifiable integrity.
Our Process
For due diligence and related validation and screening engagements, Paragon applies a risk-proportionate operating model that aligns the depth of review with the risk context identified by the funder and the nature of the engagement.
Contact-Based Due Diligence Engagements
When a funder has determined that direct engagement with a prospective grantee is appropriate, Paragon follows a structured, repeatable workflow designed to ensure clarity, continuity, and defensibility:
Collect & Verify: Paragon works directly with grantees to collect, translate, and verify required documentation. This reduces administrative burden for the funder while supporting completeness and consistency.
Evaluate & Facilitate: Our team conducts screening and integrity review within the scope defined by the engagement, assembles due diligence findings, and prepares materials for client review and, where applicable, for independent legal or tax professionals.
Deliver & Record: Final reports and documentation, including, for example, Expenditure Responsibility (ER) or Equivalency Determination (ED) materials for U.S.-based grantmaking where applicable, as well as comparable eligibility or compliance reviews required in other jurisdictions such as the EU, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland, are delivered through the secure portal. This creates a permanent, audit-ready record.
No-Contact Validation and Screening Engagements
In other cases, funders need early validation or targeted risk information before initiating grantee contact or committing to a fuller diligence process. These services are designed to support funder-led scoping, prioritization, and decision-making, without placing an unnecessary burden on prospective grantees. For these engagements, Paragon applies a parallel, no-contact workflow based on independent sources and verified data:
- Organizational legitimacy and registration checks
- Sanctions, PEP, and adverse media screening
- Jurisdictional and structural risk indicators
A Consistent Methodological Standard
Whether an engagement involves direct grantee contact or independent validation, Paragon applies the same methodological discipline: risk-aligned execution, documented reasoning, and procedural integrity. This allows funders to move efficiently when risk is limited and to apply deeper review when their own risk assessment or obligations call for it, without defaulting to unnecessary process.
For more than 13 years, Paragon has supported foundations and donor-advised fund sponsors in conducting cross-border philanthropy with integrity, transparency, and documented assurance. We combine institutional rigor with the agility and responsiveness of a specialized team.
Selected Clients
The Rockefeller Foundation
Chicago Community Trust
Zoetis Foundation
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Marin Community Foundation
Douglas B. Marshall, Jr. Family Foundation
Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Foundation
Whittier Trust
Communities Foundation of Texas
Greater Houston Community Foundation