Finding the Best Grants Management Systems for Your Organization

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By Trevor Johnson


Individuals who have worked in grants management understand that it is a time intensive and detailed process. However, there are many programs available to help make it easier. Online grants management solutions are usually the best bet for an organization today. Bringing the entire process online helps a great deal when it comes to collecting, reviewing and rating grant applications; storing and tracking data; and enabling constituents to collaborate on grantmaking. The best grants management systems are built by companies with years of experience in the philanthropic industry.

Grants management systems provide organizations the necessary tools to streamline the giving process and gain maximum insight into the effectiveness of their grantmaking programs. A good solution allows the user to accept online applications. These applications link grantees to the application process, saving the grantmaking organization time due to reduced data entry and making it easier to collaborate to enhance impact.

The online system makes it much more convenient for constituents to work collaboratively with all grant applications. Grantees, reviewers, board members, and organizational leaders connect and contribute to the giving processes, making it easier for all participants to work together to enhance the impact of giving.

With an online program, internal and external stakeholders can go online to connect to your processes. Applicants use intuitive web-based tools to complete applications, file progress reports, and get the information they need. Staff members and reviewers focus on making smart choices, not managing a mountain of paper. Automated workflows keep processes moving. Board and family members access personalized homepages that visually summarize the data they need to see. Detailed grant tracking and reporting enables organization leaders to make better, more informed decisions. The result: more efficient, meaningful, and collaborative giving.

A good grants management solution will offer integrated tools to simplify budgeting and financial management, allowing you to create payment schedules, link payments to a fund or your general ledger, and view payment forecasts. Using this tool, you should also be able to allocate funds and view real-time budget, commitment, balance, and payment data.

Reporting on results is key when it comes to grants management. Your solution should allow you to easily measure and understand results. You should constantly have instant access to your entire giving portfolio, so that you can more effectively measure the impact of your giving. In this way, you can easily assess how the results of your giving are contributing to your organization's mission.

In a good online grants management system, all data will be securely stored. Regular backups and offsite storage of duplicate copies protect the data, keeping historical grant information safe in the event of anything from a lost laptop to a catastrophic fire.

An online system will provide your organization a valuable tool that can keep costs down, improve productivity, and allow staff members to focus on what matters most - increasing the impact of your giving.




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