The Foundation's Guide to Grants Management Software
Your grants management system (GMS) holds the full record of your foundation's work: applications, approvals, payments, reporting, and the audit trail behind every decision. The wrong choice is costly and slow to undo. This guide helps you decide whether it's time for a new GMS and how to evaluate one against your requirements.
Inside the guide:
- The signs it's time to move off spreadsheets, a homegrown tool, or a legacy system
- Where a dedicated GMS saves staff time and strengthens your grantmaking
- The questions to ask vendors so you compare systems on your requirements, not their feature lists
Download the guide and make a GMS decision you won't have to undo.
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What Is Grants Management Software?
Grants management software brings intake, review, approvals, payments, and grantee reporting into one system, so your team works from a single record instead of reconciling spreadsheets and inboxes. It automates the administrative work across the grant lifecycle, giving staff more time for strategy and grantee relationships.
Download the guide for the questions to ask vendors and the answers to look for.
What Should Grants Management Software Provide?
- It evolves with you. Workflows and reports adapt as your programs change, without custom code.
- It gives every team clarity. Program, finance, and leadership see what they need at every stage.
- It's audit-ready by default. Approvals and payment records are captured as the work happens.
Is it time for a new Grants Management System?
It's time to evaluate a GMS if:
- You track grants in spreadsheets
- You rely on a homegrown tool or a legacy system that hasn't kept pace with your programs
- Your grants involve multiple reviewers, staged payments, or ongoing reporting
- Preparing for an audit or board meeting means pulling records together by hand
Choose a system based on your requirements, not someone else's. See it run on your own workflows, and talk to foundations already using it about implementation and support.