The grant application process is one of the most transparent ways a foundation can communicate its operations. If the process is transparent, structured, and fair, the grant applicants will understand what the foundation values, the staff will be able to process the applications quickly without compromising the process, and the leadership will be able to trust the process.
In this guide, we will explore the importance of the grant application process, what it entails for the grantor, what it feels like for the grant applicants, the need for simplicity, the need for complexity, the importance of the reporting process, and how we can help you achieve the ideal process.
Why Your Grant Application Process Is Important
The grant application process is more than just a process for the grantor, as it is the backbone of the foundation's operations. It determines the speed at which you can disburse the funds, the speed at which you can evaluate the applications, and the degree of defensibility of the process.
A well-structured process also ensures the grant applicants are well taken care of, as it removes any form of ambiguity, minimizes the duplication of application information, and establishes the expectations of the application process. This way, the grant applicants will be able to understand what you are looking for, and in the end, the applications received will be of high quality, as they will know how to apply for the grants in a manner that meets the expectations of the grantor.
The Grant Process from the Grantor Perspective
From the grantor’s point of view, the ideal process is centered on the repetition of basic steps that can be easily replicated and support strategy, governance, and efficiency. The first step in the process is to determine what constitutes a ‘complete’ application, what the eligibility requirements must be, and what the evaluation criteria will be. This helps the staff filter out the misaligned and inappropriate grants and focus on the ones that best match the goals and objectives of the foundation.
The next step in the process is to ensure that there are clear handoffs and transitions between the different steps. This means that the program staff must be provided with the necessary tools to assess the suitability and impact, the finance staff must be provided with the necessary information regarding the budget and payment, and the leadership team must be provided with the necessary information to ensure approval.
The ideal grant application process from the grantor point of view is as follows:
- Guidelines and requirements: Determine the eligibility, priorities, and requirements.
- Intake and validation: Collect the application and validate the completeness.
- Eligibility screening: Determine the basic requirements.
- Programmatic review: Determine the suitability and potential impact.
- Due diligence: Determine the risk, capacity, and readiness.
- Scoring and recommendation: Determine the scoring and recommendation.
- Approval routing: Determine the routing and approval.
- Award setup: Create award terms, reporting needs, and payment schedules in a standard format.
- Ongoing monitoring and reporting: Monitor deliverables, due dates, and progress against goals.
- Closeout: Review final reporting needs, outcomes, and documentation, then close the grant record.
What the Process Should Look Like For The Applicant
What the ideal grant application process should look like for the applicant is a process that is easy to understand, clear in its needs, and respectful of the applicant's time. The needs should be clear, the questions should be relevant to the purpose of the funding, and the process should be easy to understand.
A well-thought-out grant application process for the applicant is one that is easy to get through. Instead of making the applicant guess what the questions mean or what information is necessary to provide, the process should walk the applicant through the necessary information in a clear and concise manner. The applicant should know what is necessary to provide, what the process entails, and what the next steps are.
Simple or Complex?
The ideal grant application process is not necessarily the one that is the most detailed. Simple is better when the grant is for a smaller amount of money or when the volume of grants is high. In these cases, the grant application can be a short form that only requires a few fields that correspond to the applicant's eligibility, need, budget, and outcomes.
Complexity is appropriate when the level of risk is higher. A higher award, a multi-year commitment, reimbursement structures, multi-partner projects, or programs with strict compliance requirements are examples of higher levels of risk. The objective is not to be complex for the sake of being complex, but rather to match the level of the process to the level of the award, the level of the funding, the level of the risk, and the level of the reporting requirements. Grantmaking organizations that do this well keep the default experience simple, then add complexity as needed to meet the requirements of the award.
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Factor
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Simple Process
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Complex Process
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Best For
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High-volume, lower-dollar programs
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Higher-dollar, higher-risk, multi-year, or highly restricted programs
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Application Length
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Short, just the bare necessities
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Longer, more narrative, more budgets, more attachments
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Review Stages
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Fewer stages, fewer handoffs
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Many stages, many handoffs
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Due Diligence
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Light, just the basics
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A little deeper, more due diligence
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Decision Timeline
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Fast, optimized for speed
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Longer, optimized for rigor
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Scoring Approach
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Simple rubric, just a few key criteria
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Detailed rubric, detailed scoring, detailed rationale
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Governance
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Few approvals, perhaps just staff
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Many approvals, perhaps including finance, leadership, board
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Reporting Expectations
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Light, perhaps just a simple report
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More frequent, more detailed reporting
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Audit and Documentation
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Simple recordkeeping
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Robust audit trails, robust documentation
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The Importance Of Reporting
The grant application process is only as good as the ability to connect the dots between the decisions made during the grantmaking process and the outcomes of those grants. Reporting is what turns a funded grant into an accountable grant.
When the reporting requirements are established early on, they actually lead to better applications. Applicants know exactly what is expected of them when it comes to delivering the required reports. Reporting also helps us internally as a way to do portfolio learning. Foundations can see exactly what types of investments are working and where we need to invest more. Reporting is not an afterthought as an administrative function; it is the culmination of a process that starts when we begin the application intake.
How Fluxx Handles The Process For You
We can assist foundations by bringing order to the entire grant application process, from application intake to review, decisioning, payments, and finally reporting. With Fluxx, you can bring all the data related to a grant application under one place, eliminating the need for using multiple spreadsheets and emails.
Foundations can also standardize application forms, define workflow stages that resemble real internal processes, and manage reviews and approvals according to role-based permissions. Reporting requirements, deadlines, and document collection can be managed as active tasks, not static reminders relegated to email inboxes. With dashboards and portfolio visibility, leadership can also quickly understand the status of the pipeline, approvals, reporting deadlines, and areas of potential bottlenecking. This is a process that is clear to applicants, easy to manage for staff, and defensible for the foundation.
Building A Process That Scales With Your Portfolio
The perfect grant application process is one that is consistent as the volume grows, fair to all applicants, and defensible in case of audit or review. It is one that makes it easier to fund your mission, not harder to administer it. When the process is clear, defined, and includes reporting that connects dollars to outcomes, the foundation can move with speed, confidence, and accountability.
Are you and your team ready to streamline the application process, reduce review and application friction, and create a more transparent and trackable grant lifecycle? Schedule a demo and see how Fluxx can support your grant application process from application to final report.
