Some big foundations and companies that have lots of money to disperse to the public simply don’t because despite the tax write-off that they can get for giving money to business start-ups and charities just monitoring the process is too expensive. This is when it becomes time to educate administrators and foundation partners about just how inexpensive and easy it can be to run grant proposal management software out of a single office.

You Do Not Need to Develop A New Skill Set

There are not real additional skills that you need to develop to operate this type of program unless you are completely computer illiterate but chances are that if you are working in a government office, research institute or for an arts foundation that gives money a way that you were not hired in the first place unless you had rudimentary computer skills.

Some administrators may need a technical person to initial install and help them set up the program. It can, in some cases, take a few weeks to complete customize a grants proposal software program depending on the complexity of your organization in the first place.  For instance if you are an arts foundation that gives away six grants a year, you will have less set up time than a state organization with 48 grants that are given away with more than 160 rotating deadlines.

Yet another issue with regards to this is spending the time to input your basic information. This can mean hiring extra people to handle the data entry. Many of these programs, however, are designed to integrate with the databases that you already own and also with your existing branding.

Skills Required for Handling Proposal Automation

Many of the skills that are required of your job as a grant manager in the first place are the same ones that are required to manage automated proposal submission, evaluation and follow-up processes.

For example:

You can manage various project and management staff and communicate with them using various features and functions that are inbuilt right into the functionality of the software program.

You will be branding, proof-reading and ensuring that information is accurate on all forms and information but because you are now automated templates will help you automatically keep things uniform.

You will still be responsible for every aspect of your project design as well as evaluating only this  time you will be able to use the in-built programs in the software to monitor, change and consistently evaluate how the grant dispersement is progressing,.

You are responsible for making sure that all information is current, a job that used to be a chore. Now details that change (such as the amount of a grant or qualification requirements) can automatically be changed on all forms with the touch of a button.

You can check for the eligibility of a person to get funding by searching their granting history within your program and thereby preventing any exploitation of the funding process.

You will be able to easily follow up on those awarded grants with emails that are sent out by the program’s autoresponders and also ensure swift post-award implementation” including document transfer, post-award fiscal transactions and activity reporting.

You will be able to enforce the key elements of regulatory appliance by having them configured right into your applications and the processed that help you evaluate it.

You will be able to provide statistics about who is applying your grants as well as award statistics with a touch of a button as these programs will generate reports at the touch of a button. This saves you hours of research and wading through files and the way the reports are printed out in different views makes you appear organized and professional.

You will be able to communicate effectively with key stakeholders, funders and affiliates through the use of documents that can be viewed publically through sharing online and thus prevent expensive phone calls and travelling from city to city.

You will also be using all of your talents as usual to make the administration of the grant as smooth as possible so that both the public and your own funding bodies are as pleased as possible with the way you do your job. The result is most likely more funding to you for further automation.

Impress With Your Efficiency and Organization

Grant management software makes you look more organized and efficient to your financial partners. They will see your automation as a way of being as economical as possible because you have streamlined the entire process from front-end to back-end.

It is also very easy for government agencies that might be dispersing money to see that you are being fair in the way that you accept submissions and proposals. Traditionally, applications are collected and reviewed by one or several people which can sometimes be a biased factor. With grant management software, the entire process becomes more like a submission to a blind jury.  The automation of the filling out of the proposals online and their eventual acceptance is completely handled by an online software management solution that is not subject to making mistakes or judgments.

Build Credibility With a Professional Process and Appearance

Yet another thing that is appreciated when you have a sophisticated cross-platform software program like this is the standardization of your process.  As you can easily configure how the site online looks and integrate any existing logos and branding, you will look truly professional to any philanthropists or federal agencies that contribute to your funding.

If you are providing a user-friendly grant application process the positive feedback usually gets back to the powers that be at some point. This is important to government organizations as they want to be seen as funding granting projects that actually do good and that do not get all snarled up in the typical red tape.  These grant software programs allow you to finesse the experience for the applicant so it is as easy and fast as possible. This automated, non-stressful, inexpensive approach brings your organization in favor with both your funding grantors and with those who would like to obtain a grant from you.

Automation is particularly in favor with the government at the moment because it eliminates unnecessary costs in terms of manpower, mailing and paper supplies. Furthermore if the public is pleased with you they will likely be pleased with the government that funds you as well which could possibly result in a vote cast in their direction down the line.

Get the Reports You Need to Support Your Claims in Minutes

One of the most impressive things about grant management or proposal management software is that it can help you get the money that you need by displaying the facts to pertinent parties or benefactors. That is because these types of programs are very good at generating reports that can show them the results of your efforts – who got a grant and when, the actual statistics about your disbursements and who is applying for them.

These reports can be generated within minutes and can be printed as a text report or visually as bar graphs or pie charts. You can print them in whatever way you think makes the most sense to whoever is going to read them.

Of course having reports that can demonstrate your progress can help you back up requests for even more funding. Having hard core evidence in their hands creates an obvious justification for government bodies and philanthropists to hand over even more funds in the future.

The point is to impress those who are funding your smoothly run, respected granting process and if you are able to demonstrate that the public is happy with your process you might even get funding to invest in additional automation tools to help you receive and disperse grants.  In fact implementing this type of tool into your process might cut costs and impress everyone so much that promotions and raises might be in order.

Functionality

The best grant management software is fully customizable and allows you the granting staff the opportunity to configure every aspect of designing the online application. Every aspect of the project’s management and work flow can be automated. The entire process is streamlined and leaves a virtual paper trail that has details that can be located through search filters.

It is web-based so all of the appropriate parties and partners can easily access the tools necessary to operate the system. This also makes it easy for the information to cross over into different department.

Furthermore this software takes care of the entire management process from beginning point to end point so that you are focused on the adjudication process and finding money for your programs and not shuffling paper.

Frees Up Your Staff

Using this type of grant application management software frees up your staff to focus on what is important – the adjudication process and less time on organizational problems, paper flow management and answering questions from applicants. This is because the software provides a single point of contact online for grant applicants who do have questions.

Confidentiality and Security

This type of online application management system offers your applicants the ability to have their own secure private portal which can only be seen by authorized personal. This makes it difficult for grant information to be lost or stolen.  Never again will anyone’s application for a grant or scholarship not make it on time through the mail or be lost on the bottom of a slush pile.

Document Storing and Viewing

This portal can be made public online so that the appropriate external reviewers, funders or partners can also collaborate and evaluate the applications with you. There is no need to have meetings in person as this all can be done virtually. This can save travel time, hotel costs and hours of organizational time.

You can also generate full reports about all kinds of aspects of an application to help you assess the viability of an application for funding.

Improved Due Diligence

Grant proposal management programs also provide enhanced reporting and management as well as keep a history of each applicant. This helps you and your staff monitor who is applying and maintain due diligence. You will also be able to weed out those who are applying twice and evaluate the eligibility of those who have applied for other grants under their own names.

Furthermore the entire process is web-based so it is always backed up and you never lose a document. Quite simply all of your information is stored in a database application that is more efficient and more private than Google docs, MS Access or spreadsheets.

Configuration to Your Needs is Key

The best management system of this sort is usually one that is modular in nature so you can stack the applications you need. Good ones have the ability to include your GIS data and GIS applications in the package as well financial packages for the purposes of budgeting and controlling the disbursements of grants.

Configurability is absolutely necessary in case your policies or information change at any time and you should be able to change anything you want, including workflow and data requirements.

Here is a breakdown of all the benefits to your applicants if you use grant management software –

They will be able to apply for a grant online. This saves them time, money, gas, ink and all sorts of costs so that even the poorest and newest of citizens are able to apply.

They can select from a drop down menu or list of grants. If you are a big university or government agency you can configure these software programs to categorize and list your deadlines and types of grants so that they can decide which one to apply for first.

Eligibility for funding or a grant can be determined with just a few clicks of the mouse. The applicant that is not certain for eligibility can have it determined by answering a few well placed questions.

They can save their application in progress in an archive online and then come back to it and work on it later. There is no need for someone applying for a grant to even own a computer as many of these systems allow applicants to create a file archive online right inside the system. This means that even people who do not own a computer can apply for the grant from an internet café or a computer in a public library.

Prompts guide your applicant through the application process. Questions, fields with suggestions and prompts help guide those applying so that they do not have to email your office or make unnecessary phone calls. It makes it difficult for the applicant to miss an online field while applying and therefore end up with an application that is disqualified because it is incomplete.

The applicant does not have to second-guess the expected length. Word count limits can be placed in fields so the individual cannot send you too much supporting material to read.

Check lists help your applicant keep the application complete. Before proceeding to different application sections in the online version of the application the applicant must check lists or he or she cannot proceed. This also prevents him or her from filling out an incomplete application.

The applicant is sent confirmation and follow up emails. After the grant application is submitted, the applicant is sent emails informing them of the results of decisions. The applicant also usually logs in online and can see the status of his or her application in the adjudication process.

Money is directly transferred into a bank account. After a grant application is approved as a yes then the requested funds can also be transferred automatically into a bank account.

Automating Your Granting Process Helps Your Public Image

In essence any big university, government agency or foundation that automates their process greatly enhances their images not only in the eyes of the public, who often see the computerized process as being easier, more efficient and blind to race, creed and color but also to your funding sources who appreciate that you are not wasting manpower and money on paper, envelopes, phone calls and sending out emails. In fact, becoming automated is one of the best ways for you to increase your funding from your sources the next year because you will have developed such a good reputation for using the money that was given you fairly, efficiently and wisely.

Here is a breakdown of all of the benefits to agencies and organizations using grant management software –

Branding your application materials is cheap and easy. You can easily brand your website with your logo and other materials and be set up and running much quicker than if you kept printing envelopes and applications with new information on it.

You can change and correct documents efficiently. If any aspect of your granting changes such as an amount or the name of a grant or the names of the sponsors, qualifications or rules it is as simple as a few clicks of a mouse to change it.

You can still send out applications in the mail if requested. If need be you can still print out applications or any other hard copies of information on hard copies and send them out to applicants that do not have computers.

Your program can be customized to be bilingual or multilingual. You can purchase grant management software that will automatically translate your formatted software into different languages so that indigenous people or people who live in a bilingual area (like New Orleans) are not exempt from applying.

You control the application process – not the applicant. You can use grant management systems to create a format of the application and guide the applicant through the process with fields and questions. This prevents the applicant from making mistakes or forgetting to include information.

Non-contenders can be weeded out early in the process. Applications that are missing information or do not meet basic requirements are automatically sent back to be redone by the applicant or you can use an incomplete application status as a way of disqualifying applicants. This is often a simple way to whittle down thousands of applications to hundreds if you are dealing with having to adjudicate massive amounts of grants to grant application.

No application is ever misplaced! Applications are never late or lost in the mail because confirmation emails are sent out to people who send them in electronically.

Report monitoring automatically follows up with applicants. The winners and losers of grants are immediately sent an email so that they are not resorting to phoning your office to find out the results of the adjudication.

Reminder emails keep winning applicants on track. Winners of grants are sent emails that remind them to submit progress reports, budgets and other information that might have been a requirement of receiving the grant.

Here are some tips for managing grant proposal systems so that they work for you and you do not waste time deciding how to use software that should be saving your organization time in the first place.

Tip #1 – It Can Pay Off to Buy A System That Can Multi-Task

A grant proposal system can be a smaller or large investment depending on how bare bones you want to be. You can sometimes purchase an overall multi-purpose submission management system that is capable of doing several things including  –

• Processing grant or proposal applications for people applying for funding
• Processing applications for events and competitions
• Processing resumes to notify of hiring
• Processing the results of surveys
• Resume management and recruitment management system
• For universities the processing of acceptances into courses, scholarships and special clubs

This type of system is excellent for large places like universities, state governments and city councils that must hand out masses of amounts of information back out to the public in the form of acceptances or rejections of any kind, whether it is for a job, investment money, acceptance into a group or winning a grant.

Tip #2 – Hire A Professional to Customize Your System

Unfortunately grant proposal systems rarely are sold in a universal “ready to go” state where you push a couple of buttons and are ready to accept submissions. Usually you have to customize the general aspects program so that it fits in with all of your policies, requirements and branding.  It is a good time to hire a professional to tool with the nuts and bolts of the program and if you belong to a big government organization or foundation it is highly likely you already have this type of personell in place.

The smaller the program the easier it is for a grants officer or an administrator to operate the actual perimeters and fields within the system but this might need a technical expert to put together as well. In short, the more variables there are on the general submissions management system that you purchased, the more likely it is that you are going to need a techie to help you work it.

Tip #3 – Look for Software That Runs Online in a Browser

When you go shopping for this type of software you are going to find two kinds when it comes to actually presenting your applicant with forms to fill out.  You will be able to buy a program that either tells your applicant to download the program onto their own disk and then email it or you will be able to buy one that allows them to access online in a browser.

There is a drawback to asking applicants to download a document as not all people are capable of doing this on their computers. In fact many disadvantaged people in society will find themselves in a library or an internet café and they will not have a disk of their own to download your information onto as they work on filling out their application. It may be more difficult for them to save their work in that case.

However, some organizations purposefully use software that must be downloaded as part of a way of a “weeding out process.” It prevents too many submissions from hitting their offices en masse at once.

In most cases it is best to go with the type of software that engages your application process within a browser as going to a website is easy for most applicants. Even more ideally they should be able to register and save their documents within a browser much the same as you can save a document on Google docs.

Even though it should be a simple matter, shopping for this type of software is not always an easy task. You need to take your own budgets and needs as well as the traits and needs of your applicants when choosing this proposal grant management software.

Key Features of Great Grant Management Software

Before buying realize that a quality program will have:

• On-line forms
• Template letters
• Contact management
• Tracking and monitoring
• Document management
• Payments management
• Customized look and feel

For ease of use, you might also want to make sure that it is a cascading document style of software that allows you to easily put together to do lists, store lists and contacts and automatically forwards you to the next task.

Information Tracking is Essential

The very best grant management software is meticulously designed and can be customized to meet the demands of all kinds of different contests and competitions. It should also be able to handle a huge bulk of proposals.

When evaluating software, be sure to look for grant management software that is designed to track information according to the following categories:

• Proposal type
• Award type
• Funding agency
• Agency number
• Budget period
• Project period
• Due date of project reports
• End dates of projects

The information reporting does not stop there. It should also have such grant management software features capabilities as compliance monitoring and the ability to tell you how much time and effort was put into each project. It should also keep track of all of the applicant’s emails and when exactly reports need to be delivered back to the funding agencies.

Many of the best of these software programs will have their own email autoresponders built right into the system. This means that if it is time for an applicant to submit a progress report then it should happen immediately.

Grant Accounting Software Solutions

If you are handing out a lot of grants, loans or scholarships then you might need to find a submissions handling program that also comes with grant accounting software solutions.

• Federal grants
• State grants
• Gifts
• Endowments
• Trusts
• Publishing income
• Clinical income
• Investment income
• Revolving fames

This build-in in a grants management program prevents your online ledger from becoming so thick and fat with information that you can barely handle it or keep up the records.

Untangle Your Bureaucratic Snarl!

A good grant management software program will be able to be kept up to date and also can be easily viewed by all authorities concerned with the proper running of your foundation or organization including financial managers, accountants, grant administrators and technical people.

You should also choose a friendly looking “skin” for your online site for application submission and make sure that it is fully branded and user-friendly. This will cut down on the phone calls to your office asking for help with the granting application process.

Remember that the whole purpose of buying grant management software is not to create full time jobs for a team of software engineers or keep you up late working at the office trying to figure out how the thing works. Rather it is all about convenience and ease of use for yourself and also for the users at the other end of the granting administration process: your applicants!

Grant proposal management software is created for state and city governments, charitable organization, arts funding groups and other organizations that give a LOT of money away. It is an in invaluable processing and evaluation tool to any type of governing body, corporation or company that receives hundreds or even thousands of applications for grants.

A good example of the type of body that might use grant proposal management software would be the state that suddenly receives a lot of money from the federal government for “green programs.” It then becomes necessary for that governing body to put out the word to businesses, schools and individuals in cities and towns in their state that they can receiving grants for projects that help save the enviroment. The result of such an appeal can be a flood of applications that have to be categorized and processed somehow!

Hiring employees to categorize, process and evaluate applications by hand can be expensive and slow, so that is where grant proposal management software comes in handy.

A Submission Management System That Works!

Grant proposal management systems or grant proposal software as it is also called is simply known as a submission management system. The purpose of this type of collection is to track and manage electronic submissions.

Most submission management systems are located on the web and the individuals or groups applying online can just do so right in their browser.  However, sometimes this type of software is shipped in the form of a desktop application as well.

Common Features of Grant Proposal Management Program

Grant proposal management systems and software usually have some features in common.  Usually they have –

• A provision for the start time and end time when submissions can be collected
• A mechanism that helps categorize applications and store them
• A mechanism that assists authorized people to view the proposals
• A mechanism that accepts and rejects submissions
• A way of sending back relevant feedback to those who have made provisions
• A way of requiting resubmission of incomplete or error-ridden submissions
• A way for applicants to view their submissions and any comments made on them

There are a lot of generic systems for submission management on the market that can be customized in-house to give the organization what it needs to process those applications, swiftly, fairly and accurately.

A Way of Quickly and Fairly Shortlisting Applicants

For the most part proposal application management programs help the evaluators shortlist those who are eligible to receive money.

Submitting proposals is the first step of the process and in order to apply, all the applicant has to do is go online. They go to their browser and to a URL and they are then guided online through the submission process and asked to provide documents, fill out fields and provide information. If for some reason the information is not complete when it is evaluated by the program, the application is either sent back for correction or disqualified from the adjudication process.

Not only are these systems efficient, but they are also quite fair. The online software is unable to deploy a bias of any kind as these applications are evaluated thus preventing unfair profiling practices and prejudices to be part of the evaluation scenario.

Furthermore, submitting and evaluating these proposals online really does go a long way towards cutting down on the cost of staff, paper, ink and office equipment. It also shortens the time between the adjudication and notification of the money to the applicants. Perhaps the only people that this process does not benefit are those applicants who do not know how to use a computer or who do not have access to one.

Summarize the Proposal

You should include a summery at the being of your proposal.  It should be in the form of either a cover letter or executive summery.  In your cover letter or executive summery, you should include the following information.  A synopsis of the project and why you want help with funding.  A brief history of previous projects and achievements of your company along with the amount of money that you feel that you will need to complete the project.   Perhaps, most importantly, do not forget to include your contact information.

Body of the Proposal

This is the main part of your proposal.  In this section, you should include information about your company.  You should explain how your staff’s experience would help the proposal succeed.  What the mission of your company is and its vision for the future.  The amount of employees that will be working on the project and what benefits that the completed project will bring to the community.

Be specific about where the money that you want to will receive will go.  This information should be backed up with good research with statistical data that backs up the research.  You should also include information about your projects goals and objectives.  You do not have to be too specific on the goals, but the objectives should be more to the point.

You should include where you think or have received other monies.  Most grants will not cover the entire cost of a project so they are interested in how the project will get completed and where the other money will come from.

Budget

The budget that is in your proposal needs to be specific in nature.  Budgets are usually broken down into two sections, administrative and operational.  You must make sure that you include all costs that you think you will incur during your project, even miscellaneous ones.  Some grant agencies have their own budget forms that they want completed.  If that is the case with your proposal, make every effort to fill it out completely.

Conclusion

Here you will summarize the need for the grant.  Unlike the summery at the beginning of the proposal, here you will summarize the entire proposal to include other sources of funding and how your project is going to benefit the community.

Appendix

Here you will include forms and attachments such as, your company’s certificate of incorporation and its bylaws, resumes of key employees that will be involved in the project.  Any letters of recommendation, financial statements of the company for the past year, and your IRS determination letter along with any other information that the grant making agency requests or requires in order to make their decision.

Know Your Proposal

Make sure that you clearly define what your program is and how it will benefit the community.  The foundations that award grants want to know where their money is going and how it will affect more than just your business.  You have to identify the correct grant funding organizations that will be interested in your project.  Going through all the work and submitting a proposal to a grant funding organization that is not interested in your project is a waste of your time and will cause unneeded delays in getting your project off the ground.

Know the Guidelines

Grant awarding organizations will have different guidelines depending on the amount of funding and type of project that they are interested in helping.  It is important for you to know these guidelines when submitting your proposal so you have a better chance of being awarded the money.  A grant awarding organizations guidelines cover topics like the format, margins, spacing, deadlines, and who to contact regarding the grant.

Clearly Define Your Project

When submitting a proposal you need to clearly define what it is you want to do.  You do this by explaining the goals and objectives of the project.  When describing goals you do not have to be too specific, however when you describe the projects objectives they must be clear, realistic, measurable, and precise.  Having a well-developed time line will show prospective funders of your project that you have done you homework and are on top of your project.

Know the Budget

A critical part of clearly defining your proposal is including a detailed budget.  You should be able to show that your project will be able to be completed with the budget that you have outlined.  Your budget should include any funding that you have received from other grant awarding organizations.  Some grant organizations have their own paperwork that they want filled out when it comes to budgets.  If this occurs with your project make sure that you fill out the request paperwork to the best of your ability.

Include All Relevant Information

It is important for grant awarding organizations to know the people who are in charge of the project.  To do this include the resumes of people who are overseeing the project along with the key employees who are doing the actual hands-on work.  Give a list of references of people who can attest to your ability to get work done on time and on budget.  If you have completed other projects through outside funding be sure to describe them and how they benefited the community.

By following a few easy steps your grant proposal will have a better chance of winning and your project will get underway just by submitting an effective and detailed plan.