Services
For Grantmakers Engaged Across Borders
Paragon’s services cover the core elements of reviewing a cross-border grant: due diligence on prospective grantees and their partners, country risk and operating conditions, and grantmaking compliance support. Paragon also helps funders build and refine their grant portfolios.
Due diligence
Third-Party Risk
Paragon’s Third-Party Risk services address integrity, financial crime, and reputational risks that arise when grantmakers engage organizations, intermediaries, and financial channels across borders. These services help funders identify and manage exposure to terrorist financing, corruption, political influence, sanctions risk, and related third-party vulnerabilities that may affect cross-border giving.
Four-Tier Framework Services
Paragon’s four core due diligence services make up the tiers of its Four-Tier Framework. Each tier is a separate service and includes everything in the tier below it. Funders start at the tier that fits their risk profile or policy and move to a higher tier when specific risk indicators are identified.
ATFSAnti-Terrorist Financing Screening
Establishes the baseline for cross-border due diligence by screening organizations, leadership, and banking relationships against global terrorism and sanctions lists to identify potential exposure to terrorist financing risk.
Tier 2 serviceATFS-HRHigher-Risk Anti-Terrorist Financing Screening
Builds on baseline anti-terrorist financing screening by expanding sanctions, adverse media, and banking checks to address elevated risk associated with higher-risk geographies, complex operations, or government-linked entities.
Tier 3 serviceIRIntegrity Review
Builds on higher-risk anti-terrorist financing screening to assess corruption, governance, political exposure, and reputational risk through expanded PEP screening, adverse media review, and policy analysis across leadership, partners, and financial channels.
Tier 4 serviceIDDIntegrity Due Diligence
Builds on the Integrity Review by applying enhanced verification, litigation and enforcement record searches, and expanded ownership mapping to document integrity-related risks in higher-risk or complex grantmaking environments.
Targeted Risk Screening Services
Targeted Risk Screening Services provide focused insight into specific categories of third-party risk commonly encountered in cross-border grantmaking. Each service may be engaged on a standalone basis to address a specific risk question or applied within Paragon’s Four-Tier Framework as part of a broader, proportionate review.
Politically Exposed Persons Screening
Identifies political exposure by screening organizations and key individuals against global PEP databases, helping funders assess corruption, influence, and reputational risk linked to politically connected leadership or counterparties.
Adverse Media Screening
Monitors global media sources to surface historical or emerging reputational concerns, including fraud, corruption, financial misconduct, or other material issues, that may be relevant to grantmaking decisions.
Financial Health & Controls Screen
Reviews submitted financial and governance documentation to identify indicators of financial weakness, control gaps, or operational risk. Supports early assessment of an organization’s financial capacity and stewardship practices.
Rapid Validation Services
Rapid Validation Services are no-contact, registry-based reviews designed to support early-stage vetting before funders commit staff time, request documents, or initiate formal compliance or due diligence processes. They rely exclusively on publicly available sources and do not involve engagement with the organization under review.
Country context
Jurisdictional Risk & Foreign Country Requirements
The risk of fund diversion, financial crime, and regulatory noncompliance varies significantly across jurisdictions, influenced by governance quality, corruption levels, terrorist activity, and the strength of local financial oversight. Through jurisdiction-specific reporting, Paragon examines exposure to money laundering, corruption, and terrorist financing, with particular attention to conditions that affect nonprofit integrity and accountability.
Complementing this research, Paragon’s foreign country requirements reviews identify the in-country regulations and restrictions that govern the receipt of foreign funding, enabling clients to anticipate compliance obligations, protect grantee operations, and sustain lawful, transparent charitable partnerships worldwide.
Country Risk Report
A country-level analysis of governance conditions, financial crime exposure, and nonprofit sector risk. The report synthesizes corruption, AML/CFT environment, regulatory effectiveness, and operating context to help funders understand how national conditions may shape risk exposure and diligence needs.
Review of Foreign Country Requirements
A jurisdiction-specific review that surfaces known laws, administrative requirements, and restrictions affecting foreign funding of nonprofits. The review highlights considerations funders may need to account for when structuring, timing, or implementing cross-border grants.
For U.S.-based grantmakers
Compliance Support for Cross-Border Grantmaking
Paragon manages the operational side of Equivalency Determination (ED) and Expenditure Responsibility (ER): documentation, grantee communications, and pre- and post-grant workflows. Both services come in a standard and a Higher-Risk version, shown below. Where funders need more visibility into a grantee’s integrity, they can add Tier 3 Integrity Review or Tier 4 Integrity Due Diligence.
Equivalency Determination PLUS
U.S. grantmakersManages the full Equivalency Determination workflow, including documentation collection, grantee coordination, and liaison with an independent qualified tax practitioner.
Expenditure Responsibility PLUS
U.S. grantmakersFacilitates Expenditure Responsibility compliance from pre-grant due diligence through post-grant reporting. Supports funders in meeting IRS requirements while streamlining operational execution.
Advisory
Strategic Grantmaking Support
Paragon Philanthropy provides strategic grantmaking support grounded in cross-border research, risk awareness, and deep field insight. We draw on a distinguished roster of Senior Advisors with deep issue-area expertise and a global network of NGO and nonprofit partners.
We support global grantmakers operating in challenging and high-stakes contexts, including new portfolio development, crisis response, and work in fragile or post-conflict settings. Paragon advises foundations, corporations, DAF sponsors, and philanthropic institutions across the European Union, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Australia.
Drawing on our curated database of more than 3,000 pre-vetted nonprofits, rapid vetting tools, and deep sector expertise, we help clients move efficiently from exploration to action.
Related
Paragon’s Four-Tier Framework helps funders align vetting depth with risk.
Regional Guidance
How the framework applies to grantmakers based in Canada and the European Union.
Canada 
European Union Selected Clients
14 yearsServing global grantmakers
100+Countries, including higher-risk jurisdictions
3,000+Vetted nonprofits in the registry
The Rockefeller Foundation
Chicago Community Trust
Greater Houston Community Foundation
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
