3 Best Grant Management Software with Buyers Guide

EGrAMS - Electronic Grants Administration and Management System

Comprehensive Configurable Web-based End-to-end grants administration and management software Supports all functional areas of the grant life cycle from Planning through Close-out Exhaustive features Implementation of grant programs

ZoomGrants

Robust Intuitive Online application management system Affordable Easy-to-use Cloud-based system Managing programs from receiving and reviewing applications Decisions gathering post-decision reporting data & and invoices from approved applicants Capture applications Provides complimentary technical support 

GrantsConnect

SaaS-based CSRconnect Platform Fully hosted Managed solution Engage volunteering giving & sustainability initiatives Helping grants administrators corporate & foundation philanthropic programs Supporting over 4.2 million employees in 160+ countries 140 Fortune 1000 companies

Grant Management Software

Grant management software offers a guide to nonprofit organizations through all sets of the grant-seeking process which include from researching and applying for grants to nonprofit accounting and compliance functionality. The term “grant management” is used in relation to grant recipients. It can apply to grant providers. Grant management means writing proposals and reports, keeping track of funds, and ensuring that grant requirements are met for recipients. Grant donors help in managing the other side of the equation by :-

  • Setting up the grant
  • Reviewing applications
  • Selecting worthy recipients
  • Disbursing grant funds
  • Ensuring their money is being put to good use

Grant statistics indicates 80% of grant makers struggle with inefficient grant management processes. Effective grant management is necessary throughout the entire life cycle of a grant. It be broken into three stages:

  • Pre-award
  • Award
  • Post-award

Each stage needs actions from the grantor and the applicant. The pre-award stage encompasses that happens before the grant recipient is chosen, including both the planning and application processes. The granting organization must work through the following steps: 

Development. Finalize the details of the grant opportunity to offer. What is the purpose of the grant? How much will be offered? Who will be able to apply, and what criteria will you use to select the recipient? What will you require of the grant recipient, and how will the organization report to you?

Announcement. Once the details get sorted, it’s time to announce new grant program. Just like running a successful scholarship campaign, must ensure qualified applicants know about grant and how to navigate application process. Vast amounts of grant funding go unclaimed; you’ll want to thoughtfully promote your grant opportunity to ensure you reach the right people.

Consideration. After the application window has closed, user will require to retrieve and review all the applications. Streamlined grant management tools make it easy to collect, organize, and screen all the applications user receive. During the award stage, the grantor decides which applicant(s) will receive grant funding. Once the recipient has been selected, the grantor should notify all applicants of the decision. The grantor must then draft an agreement that grant making spells out the terms of the grant. The recipient and grantor both sign the agreement, and the funds are disbursed to the recipient. Although this might seem fairly straightforward for grants with a single recipient, managing awards for a larger grant program can quickly become overwhelming without a strong grant management system in place.

After the grant agreement has been signed and the funds have been disbursed, the post-award stage begins. During this stage, the grantor and recipient work to ensure any expectations or requirements outlined in the agreement are being met. As the grantor, user may need the recipient to send periodic reports about how the funds are being used and what is being accomplished. User can set up an auditing program with on-site visits and in-person interviews.

Advantages of Grant Management Software

Find more grant opportunities. No manually searching the web for new grant opportunities

Spend less time on applications. Store documents, templates, and assets for users to reuse and adjust for organizations without a dedicated grant writer.

Fewer missed deadlines. Tracking deadlines associated with grant applications. Set alerts for upcoming submission dates.

Better collaboration between team members. Assign tasks to individuals and collaborate through the software’s project management-esque functionality.

Increased success rate. Easier to identify the elements of proposals succeeding and proposals revised or thrown out.

Features of Grant Management Software

Compliance management. Verifying adherence to company policies and industry-specific regulations.

Grant application management. Tracking status of grant opportunities throughout the application’s life cycle.

Grant award tracking. Complying with deadlines, submission requirements, and financial documentation for awarded grants.

Collaboration. Working on projects with colleagues and sharing information across team in real time.

Contract management. Storing and managing client/customer contracts for easy reference.

Financial reporting. Generating analytics-driven reports for gauging business performance and identifying trends.

Grant discovery. Automating search for funding sources and setting alerts for when new grant opportunities arise.

Payment tracking. Tracking sent and received payments, invoices, and bills.

Quote/proposal creation. Creating custom quotes/proposals and storing them in a database for reference.

Price of Grant Management Software

Most products in the market are priced on an annual basis. Pricing can be divided into three pricing tiers based on their starting price.

Considerations while purchasing Grant Management Software

User access management. Many sellers provide software with user access management functionality to give administrators the ability for restricting access to modules and documents to qualified users or roles.

Stand-alone software versus software suite. Buyers can buy grant management systems as a stand-alone system or as part of a comprehensive nonprofit fundraising software suite.

Deployment method. Grant management software helps in deploying through the cloud, ideal for small and midsize businesses with limited resources or as an on-premise solution.

Grant Management Software Trends

Ensuring grant eligibility. More than 1,000 grant programs exist in the U.S., grants are going up to $500 billion annually. Competition for grants is fierce, making it more critical for organization for finding and implementing grant management software to get upper hands on others competing for the same funds.

Secure your data. Cyber security is critical for organization, especially critical for nonprofits, which adds to the responsibility of being ultra transparent with contributors. Protect private information—and donors’—by selecting grant management software with data encryption and various security features.

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