3 Reasons Your Foundation is Not Too Small for an Online Grants Management Software System

If you think your foundation is too small to warrant a grants management solution, think again.

While you may instinctively understand that technology can dramatically improve your day-to-day work, sticking with what you know is tempting. Perhaps you sidelined research into new technology due to other pressing priorities, concerns about costs, or the stark realization that making a change isn’t always easy.

It can be a lot to get your head around – it’s true – but here’s what you need to know: As time advances, so does technology. Innovative technology creates new opportunities for small and midsize foundations to eliminate human error, save time, increase efficiency, and be more responsive grantmakers.

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Take the Rochester, N.Y.-based Farash Foundation, for example. When Farash launched its grantmaking program in 2010, it had only three staff members. Not long after establishing the foundation, Farash leaders connected with a recently launched Fluxx and began using Fluxx grant management solutions.v Shifting from paper-based to electronic processes has allowed the Farash Foundation to move to a more flexible, remote workforce. Since transitioning to a professionally staffed organization in 2011, the Foundation has invested more than $90 million in grants and program support, with assets totaling more than $300 million.

Is your foundation making the most out of its technology buying?

Here are 3 reasons to take a second look at grants management software for your small foundation:

1. 20/20 vision. One of the biggest benefits of grants management software is increased visibility, with information for each grant proposal linked together throughout the entire lifecycle. Having this information in one place allows you to easily track the status of grants; search by organization’s name, EIN, and application ID; and track data across multiple records.

2. Nurture grantee relationships. A grants management solution can help you track grantees' many interactions with individuals at your organization. You can also associate multiple contacts with an organization, define their relationships to you and a particular grant, keep a log of outside communications, including calls and emails, and store all system-generated letters and emails for each grant.

3. Improved online applications. A grants management solution can make online application processes much more robust and user-friendly for your foundation and applicants. Would you like to allow individual applicants and organizations to apply for grants from the same program? Create different online forms to support different grant programs? Support multiple logins for grantees on a single application to allow? Grants management software should give you that ability.

These are just some examples of how grants management technology can create a more connected, transparent, and accessible grants management ecosystem – for foundations of all sizes. More grantmakers are using grants management software than ever before. In fact, From 2018 to 2022, the market expanded at a CAGR of 8.2 percent, according to a Future Market Insights report. The same report indicates that the grants management software industry grew almost 1.5x between 2022 and 2023. Grantmakers are becoming fully aware of how these tech solutions can improve their workflow. 

Just because your foundation is small doesn’t mean technology can’t help increase your impact, too. Click here for more information about how grants management software can benefit small foundations.