Processes & Resources to Manage Your Grantseeking Process and Deadlines

Debbie DiVirgilio, Faith Based Nonprofit

Resource Center

Debbie@non-profitconsultant.com

(443)406-7520

Tyler Kern, Foundant Product

Specialist

Tyler.Kern@foundant.com

(406)922-5206

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A1–2%2C+12%3B+1+John+1%3A6%3B+4%3A20&version=NIV&interface=print

The importance of grant calendars

Post-award steps for success

Resources to manage the process

Agenda

Deadlines

Tracking Funders/Grants

Remembering Reports

Sharing with others

Information backed up

Collaborating with others

Finding Funders

Organizing documents

And more …

Grant Management Challenges

Funder Search (FDO, GrantStation, grants.gov)

Funder Details (990’s focus, history)

Funder Contacts / Board Members

Grant Eligibility Requirements

Grant Application Forms & Instructions

LOI’s

Grant Proposals – Drafts & Final

Attachments

General Communications

Site Visit Presentation

Challenge:Researching Funders & Applying

501(c)3 Letter of Determination

Audited Financials

Mission Statement

Organization History

Statement of Need

Staff & Board Details

Letters of Support

Stories

Program Description(s)

Case Statements

Impact

Evaluation Methodology

Challenge:Assembling Application Elements/Documents

Grant Award Documents and Agreements

Grant Requirements

Reports and Evaluations

Closed Grant Summaries

Project Results

Fiscal Notes

Budget & Actual Results

Expenses

General Communications

Programs Adjustments

Future Recommendations

Impact

Challenge:

Tracking & Delivering Grant Requirements

Grant Management Techniques

5 Grant Management Techniques

Create a Grant

Calendar

Organize your

funders, track grant

history and keep

grant documents

organized

Coordinate your

team’s

responsibilities to

stay on schedule

Be ‘Grant-Ready’ Consistently report

on pipeline and

progress of grant

funding

Tip #1

Grant Calendar- What do you use today?

• White board / Wall calendar• Colored pens • Post-it Notes• String on your finger• Spreadsheet(s)• Shared email calendar• Project or tasks management system• Binders• File cabinets• Shared files / folders on network• Google drive / documents• Grant management solution

Tip #1

Grant Calendar

❑ Everyone has visibility to upcoming deadlines.

❑ Owners receive regular reminders when items are due.

❑ You are continually adding new opportunities to your calendar.

❑ Recurring funding opportunities are scheduled in advance.

❑ Communication of grant plan, progress, and results is facilitated.

Tip #2

Organize Funders & Grant History

Tip #2

Elements to Track for Each Funder• Funder Name• Areas of Interest• Min/Max Funding• Geographical Focus• Key Contacts• Address• Social Media Sites

• Board Members

• Deadlines

• Decision Process

• EIN

• 990s

• Website

• Funding History

• Others?

Tip #2

Grant Tracking• Funder Name• Grant Name• Status (Pending, Awarded,

Denied)• Amount Requested• Amount Awarded • Amount Received

• Deadlines

• Submitted Date

• Decision Date

• Grant Term

• Restrictions

• Submission Link/Login

• Award Details- reports due, etc.

Tip #2

Organize Grant Documents

❑Have we applied to this funder before?

❑What did the funder request from us?

❑What was outlined in our award letter?

❑What should we do differently next time?

❑Where is a record of the LOI we sent? Where’s the proposal?

❑ Did we navigate the funder relationships successfully? If so, how?

❑What reports did we turn in?

❑What were our program outcomes?

❑ Did we back up our files before the laptop crashed?

Don’t waste time searching for misplaced items, recreating the same response, and trying to rebuild funder relationships.

The average employment period for a development director is 18 months!

Tip #3

Coordinate Team & Stay on Schedule

Tip #3

Send Email Notifications & RemindersSome grant management solutions can be configured to send

notifications to team members when they are assigned a task and also send reminders of deadlines when they are approaching.

Tip #4

Be “Grant Ready”

• Prepare solid answer templates for a quick first draft.

• Track answers with different character counts.

• Tag answers by program name so you can quickly find the

appropriate one to use.

• Accumulate stories of how your organization has impacted

the population you serve.

• Track statistics that show the need for your service and

programs.

Tip #4

Create a grant ‘tool kit’

You can complete up to 80% of the effort to

create a grant proposal before you start searching

for funding opportunities.

Tip #4

Assemble Your “Answer Library”

Tip #5

Effectively Communicate Status

https://resources.foundant.com/grantseeker-resources/8-grant-reports-metrics-kpis

5 Grant Management Techniques

Create a Grant

Calendar

Organize your

funders, track grant

history and keep

grant documents

organized

Coordinate your

team’s

responsibilities to

stay on schedule

Be ‘Grant-Ready’ Consistently report

on pipeline and

progress of grant

funding

Approaches to Grant Management

4 Approaches to Grant Management

Use what you have

(free tools + duct tape)

Leverage Donor Management

or Content Management

System (DMS/CMS)

2

Purchase Grant

Management Solution

3

Build your own Solution

4

1

01

02

04

03

1. Piecemeal Solution

Tools + Time + Duct Tape:

• Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets / Smartsheet

• Email and Calendar System

• Task Manager (Asante / Trello)

• Document Management Solution (DropBox, etc.)

• Donor or Contact Management System (see next slide)

2. Leverage Your DMS/CMS

• Donor Management • Solutions (DMS)

• Donor Perfect• Raiser’s Edge• Bloomerang

• Contact Relationship Management / Systems (CRM / CMS)

• Salesforce

Idealware report: http://www.idealware.org/reports/consumers-guide-low-cost-donor-management-systems/

3. Purchase a Grant Management Solution

https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/grant-management-comparison/?deployment_id=&market_products_sort_order=&market_products_sortby=nb_reviews&more=true&price_ranges=1&stars=&segment_id=&platforms=&int_site_code=&subsize1_id=#buyers-guide

3. Purchase a Grant Management Solution-Examples

• Online Grant Management– Altum’s PhilanTrack– GrantHub by Foundant Technologies

• Add More Grant Spending/Financial Tracking:

– StreamLink’s Amplifund

– GrantVantage

– Grant Maximizer

– eCivis

3. NOTE: Potential Confusion with Grant Management Solutions for Funders

Beware – They are NOT for Grantseekeers.

• Foundant Grant Lifecycle Manager (GLM)

• MicroEdge / BlackBaud

• WizeHive

• FLUXX

• FluidReview

• ZoomGrants

• SurveyMonkey Apply

• Submittable

• SmartSelect

• ….. (lots)

4. Build Your Own

• Number of grants you apply for

• Number of grants you are awarded

• Number of funders (New & Past)

• Type of funders (Corporate, Foundations, Government)

• Collaboration with your ‘grant team’

• Use of outside grant professionals

• Reporting requirements

• Financial & Grant expense tracking

• Integration with other systems

• Budget, Time, Resources

• Support for solution internally

How to Choose Between the Options

???Questions???

Tyler Kern, Foundant Product Specialist

Tyler.Kern@foundant.com

(406)922-5206

Debbie DiVirgilio,Faith Based Nonprofit Resource Center

Debbie@non-profitconsultant.com(443) 406-7520