Applying for grants is no easy task, and applications typically require plenty of planning. Most nonprofits heavily rely on funding from grants to keep their programs running or to launch new programs. Staying on top of the grant application process can be tricky when the nonprofit is applying for dozens of grants at the same time for different programs. This template is the ultimate tool and guide to keeping track of each organization offering grants, the grants the nonprofit is eligible for, the deadlines, the team members, and the application statuses. This template can help guide the nonprofit and navigate the grant management process. It can identify which team members are best suited for the largest grants due to their extensive experience. It can identify which organizations have awarded repeated grants and which organizations are worth dedicating more applications towards. Federal grants tend to be very extensive and thorough, although they do usually award a higher amount of money. Grants from federations also can be very helpful to maintaining a smaller program with lower, but still helpful sums. Keep track of all grants in one place, this database. Easily pull up previous grants awarded, and grants that the nonprofit was denied. Identify areas of improvement based on denied grants. Stay in touch with the contacts associated with the organizations, maintaining a solid relationship with the organization decision makers. Take a closer look at the features of this template, by table:

Grants

Grants provide an organization with the opportunity to fund projects and programs that the organization would otherwise not be able to financially support. There is often intense competition when it comes to grants. Instead of focusing on all the deadlines, use this table to organize all the grants, and shift your attention to the application content instead.

Fields

• Name. The name of the grant.
• Status. This single select field indicates the application status for the respective grant. Has the application been submitted? It it still being drafted?
• Funded by. This field links to the Organizations table, displaying the specific organization that is funding the grant.
• Description. A brief description of the grant.
• Application. Upload a copy of your actual application in this field. Each grant has different pieces they may want included in their application, and it can be included here.
• Deadline. The last date to submit an application in year/month/day format.
• Applied by. This field links to the Team members tables, displaying which specific team member worked on the grant application itself.
• Intended to fund. This field links to the Programs table, identifying which program the grant is intended to fund.
• Was awarded. This formula field indicates whether the specific grant was secured and awarded or not.
• Amount received. This field displays the financial amount awarded through the grant.

Views

• All grants. Displays all grants sorted in alphabetical order.
• Awarded. Displays grants that have been secured and awarded, sorted in alphabetical order.
• High value. Displays grants that awarded over 10,000 of the current currency, sorted by lowest amount to highest amount awarded.
• 2021. Displays grants secured in the year 2021, sorted in order of the earliest deadline to the latest deadline.
• Current year. Displays grants secured in the current year, sorted by earliest deadline to the latest deadline. It’s important to note that this view will filter based on the current year, and thus will change every year without changing any filter. Use this filter to track current grants and applications active.
• By status. Displays all grants, grouped together by their status in the form of a kanban view.
• New grant. Displays a shareable form used to add a new grant to the list.

Organizations

Grants come from a variety of organizations. Some come from federal government while others can come from regional governments such as state or city governments. Additionally, many grants come from foundations. Keeping a running log of all grants secured from each organization can help identify where the nonprofit can dedicate more energy due to previous secured funds from the organization.

Fields

• Name. The name of the organization.
• Type. Is this organization a foundation or is it a government organization?
• Description. The organization’s mission statement or their self description.
• Associated grants. This field links to the Grants table, displaying the specific grants this organization has offered.
• Website. The URL used to organization’s website.
• Point of contact(s). This field links to the Contacts table, displaying the specific contacts that were used to communicate about the grant.
• Total amount awarded. This formula field pulls from the Grants table to calculate the sum of all of the grants awarded by this organization. This field is very handy when identifying which organizations have awarded the most money.
• Number of grants. This formula field displays the number of grants the organization offered that your company either is or has applied for.

Views

• All organizations. Displays all organizations sorted in alphabetical order.
• Top funders. Displays organizations that have awarded your company more than 20,000 of the currency used, sorted by lowest amount to highest amount.
• By type. Displays all grants grouped together by the type of organization.
• New organization. Displays a shareable form that can be used to add a new organization to the repository.

Programs

Nonprofits typically have a variety of programs geared at ultimately helping the community. Some of these programs are research focused, while others directly involve community members and rely on their engagement as well. Each grant application pertains to a specific program as a part of the proposal that goes within the grant application. This table tracks the required funds, acquired funds, and remaining amounts the nonprofit must secure for the program to run.

Fields

• Name. The name of the program.
• Focus. The primary focus of the program. Is the main goal of the program to do research, to engage the community, to develop a product, etc.
• Description. A brief description of the program and its goals.
• Grants secured. This field links to the Grants table to display the different grants the nonprofit is hoping to use to fund the specific program.
• Amount awarded. The amount of money the program has received from various funds added together.
• Total required. The amount of money required to fund the program successfully.
• Over/under budget. The amount of money the program still needs, or the excess money the program has received. If the number is negative, that means the program is lacking that amount of money. Any currency can be used.

Views

• All programs. Displays all programs sorted in alphabetical order.
• Expensive. Displays programs that require over 100,000 of the currency used, sorted by lowest amount required to highest amount required.
• Fully funded. Displays programs that have met their funding goals, sorted in alphabetical order.
• Underfunded. Displays programs that have not reached their funding goal, sorted by largest deficit to smallest deficit.
• By focus. Displays all programs grouped together by each of their focus in a kanban view.
• New program. Displays a form that adds a new program to the list.

Contacts

Maintaining positive relationships with people associated with an organization is helpful when applying for future grants from the same organization. It’s easy to lose track of who’s who, so use this table to handle the organization for you.

Fields

• Name. The name of the contact.
• Role. Their position within the organization or their relationship to the organization.
• Picture. The contact’s picture. It’s important to recognize them and say hello at various events.
• Associated organization. This field links to the Organizations table, identifying which organization the contact represents or is associated with.
• Phone number. The contact’s phone number.
• Email. The contact’s email address.
• Notes. Any additional notes pertaining to this contact. Do they prefer email? Are they most responsive early in the morning? Jot it down here.

Views

• All contacts. Displays all contacts sorted in alphabetical order.
• Contacts gallery. Displays all contacts in the form of a gallery view sorted in alphabetical order.
• By role. Displays all contacts grouped together by their role in the form of a kanban view.
• New contact. Displays a shareable form used to add a new contact to the roster.

Team members

Grant management requires a team skilled specifically in grant applications. The team members must have proper writing skills to be able to sum up the program, its requirements, the need for the funds, and all other requirements of the grant application itself. Use this table to track all team members and assign them grant applications accordingly.

Fields

• Name. The name the team member goes by.
• Role. The position or role the member holds.
• Phone number. The phone number the member can be reached at.
• Email. The email used to contact the member.
• Grants applied for. This field links to the Grants table, displaying the specific grants the member has applied for in the past.
• Number of grant applications. This formula field calculates the number of grants the team member has applied for in the past.
• Number of grants secured. This formula field calculates the number of grants the team was awarded.

Views

• All team members. Displays all team members sorted in alphabetical order.
• Experienced with grants. Displays team members that have applied for more than 3 grants in the past, sorted by highest number of grant applications to lowest.
• By role. Displays all team members grouped together by their role in the form of a kanban view.
• Team gallery. Displays all team members in alphabetical order in the form of a gallery view.
• New member. Displays a shareable form that can be used to add a new member to the team.