The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, in Owings Mills, Md., plans to introduce a program that will significantly streamline and hasten the grant-making process for nonprofit groups in Maryland, reports The Baltimore Sun.

The Maryland Small Grants Program will allow nonprofit groups that provide direct services to poor people to apply for up to $100,000 each over two years and get a response within 50 days on whether they received a grant. The Weinberg foundation normally takes about 90 days to process grant applications. The foundation has $2.3-billion in assets.

Shale D. Stiller, the foundation’s president, said, “This is a way of encouraging these smaller organizations that do good work to apply and not have to go through the normal turmoil.”

Aaron Dorfman, executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a watchdog group in Washington, said of the program, “A 50-day turnaround is phenomenally responsive and will be a great help to nonprofits. Most foundations, you’re looking at a five- to six-month turnaround. So this is a huge improvement, and I hope other foundations copy them.”

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