Key Things to Track with a Grant Management Software

One thing that does become quite bothersome most of the time in the complex world of grants is keeping track of and managing a whole lot of information associated with applying for grants, funding, and compliance. Strong grant management software can make a lot of good happen on the basis of providing efficiency, accuracy, and compliance through its features. In this blog, we will explore what to track with grant management software and how you manage these with tools that bring efficiency to the built-in grant management processes.

What is Grant Management Software?

Grant management software is the software that serves to handle the practical parts of the grant life cycle, starting with applications and ending with reporting. Features in these systems allow you to track grant applications, handle disbursements of funds, manage compliance, and report. Grant management software reduces administrative burden technically and improves on transparency effectively through automation and centralization of these tasks.

How Grant Management Software Works

Proper use of the grant management software denotes observance of some key aspects of the grant process. Here is what should be looked at to ensure good and effective grant management:

• Application Management: Provides automation to the application process, enabling the applicant to add a proposal online and then letting the same be reviewed and sanctioned online. For instance, automated reminders can be used to remind applicants of upcoming deadlines.
• Fund disbursement: Monitoring the allocation and disbursement of funds to ensure that each and every dollar is given direction and spent as per the grant terms. An elaborative record of budget variance reports related to fund allocations as such is very helpful in identifying areas that have been overspent.
• Compliance Monitoring: Assures that every activity executed is in accordance with specific requirements of grants and acts, thus minimizing the likelihood of non-compliance. The system tracks compliance deadlines to ensure reports are submitted without delays, which could lead to penalties.
• Reporting: It generates periodic reports on the activities regarding the given grants, the financial position, and outcomes, thus enabling the highest form of transparency and accountability. Also dashboards may be used for the representation of financial information to trace trends hence serving the reporting function too.

Things Grant Management Software Will Track

1. Application Status: This is very important. It helps in the monitoring of progress from submission to award of the grant. There is a need to make sure all requirements are included in the submission. Automated reminders can be utilized to send notices on deadlines.
2. Funding Allocation: This involves maintaining an explicit record of funds that have been allocated to each grant, checking for expenses to ensure that funds are used properly. Budget variance reports can help in generating possible areas of overspending.
3. Compliance Requirements: Requirements that have to be monitored under the grant so that activities performed under the grant are within guidelines and conformance to regulations—financial audits, progress, etc. These deadlines for compliance also have to be monitored for documents to be free from penalties.
4. Milestones and Deliverables: This involves tracking the key project milestones and the deliverables outlined in the grant agreements. Outlined herein are the activities interim and final project reports. Performance metrics can track the grant-funded projects on their success rate.
5. Financial Reporting: This refers to detailed reporting on expenditure from grant funds and ensuring transparency for auditors. Dashboards can be used to visualize financial data and identify trends.
6. Communication Records: These must be kept appropriately for transparency. A repository of all communication can include applicants, reviewers, and funders. Utilizing a single platform – either email exchanges or meeting minutes – can help in centralizing such communication logs.
7. Impact Measurement: This refers to the measurement of the results and impact of the various funded projects, such as the number of beneficiaries or any improvements made within a community. The data analysis will thus evaluate the efficiency and scope of coverage for grant-making programs.

Who Benefits Most from Grant Management Software?

Grant management software is particularly useful for organizations with elaborate grant-aid processes in place that necessitate an effective regime for compliance purposes and follow-ups. This can be in government agencies, public charities, and private foundations.

Government

Government departments at all levels—most notably in the federal system—streamline the method of public fund distribution and monitoring. For example, the report provided by the Urban Institute revealed that governments in the United States disbursed over $660 billion in grants during 2020, hence underscoring the great scope of grant management that is administered in this sector.

Public Charities

Public charities and nonprofits, handling numerous grants at a time, may manage their public funds effectively to reach the maximum goal. The National Center for Charitable Statistics states that more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations operate in the U.S., of which many rely greatly on grants for their operations.

Private Foundations

Private foundations have also now taken to managing the grant process from inception to completion, which involves reviewing applications, disbursing funds, and measuring impact. In fact, Foundation Source noted that private foundations in the U.S. enacted nearly $87 billion of grants in 2021.

Conclusion

Whether an organization is looking to automate, organize, or centralize its grant processes, grant management software is clearly crucial. These systems take care of applications, funding, compliance, milestones, financials, communications, and impact. This investment— the right grant management system—translates to more good, more alerted about the approach to compliance, and more successful grant outcomes.

Are you ready to bolster your processes for grant management? Book a personalized call with Fluxx today!