What is the Grant Management Process?

The grant management process is the standard for how organizations or philanthropists decide how to fund nonprofits, businesses, or individuals with grant money. This process can be a long and complicated one, often requiring proposals and paperwork that can, at times, seem arduous and overwhelming. 

Creating a Successful Grant Process

When starting the grant process it is important to develop a plan for how you are going to accept applications and how you will review them to determine who will be issued funds. The grant management process should include these steps:

1. Create clear guidelines that define what information is required for issuing grant money, and what requirements are necessary for the grant seeker to have met before seeking funds.

2. Offer clear deadlines to potential grantees so they know when they need to complete each phase of the grant process. 

3. Make submission effortless so that potential grantees can easily supply any information that is needed and meet all of their deadlines.

4. Offer those seeking funds a way to clearly monitor where their application is throughout the process. Finding a grant manager software solution that enables greater communication and insight into this step of the process helps eliminate any confusion and creates the ability for greater communication and collaboration between the grant maker and the grant seeker.

5. Establish a clear review and approval sequence of operations to vet applications and make informed decisions on who to award a grant

6. Manage payments to the grant seeking organization.

7. Enable clear communication so that when funds have been awarded the grantee is notified and is able to quickly move to the next phase of the engagement.

8. Set requirements for tracking and reporting output and outcomes, enable grantees to easily share their progress with the granting organization.

9. Develop reports on all aspects of the grant making lifecycle that are easily accessed and are able to be automated, allowing grant makers and grant seekers to see where they should focus to create maximum impact

Whether you are the one issuing funds or the one receiving them, finding a grant management tool that makes the grant process seamless and easy to complete is essential to creating a successful grant process. 

The Right Questions to Ask

• Would you benefit from a software solution that helps your organization define grant requirements and set deadlines?

• Would a software solution that helps you maintain compliance standards help your organization?

• Does your organization need help collaborating with potential grantees?

• Would a software solution that allows for easy access to reports for both the grant maker and the grant seeker be something that would be helpful for your organization?

• Is automation of redundant reports something you're looking for?