Your nonprofit needs to manage grants. How do you choose the best service for your organization?

A grant administration service streamlines the lifecycle of grants, from application to reporting. It facilitates a structured application process, systematic review workflow, and efficient financial management. These services ensure compliance, enable monitoring, and offer robust reporting and analytics. By centralizing communication, collaboration, and document management, they enhance transparency and accountability. Integration with other systems further boosts overall efficiency in grant management.

To choose the best grant management service or online platform, like Submit.com for example for your organization, you should research and compare different options, identify your organization's needs, read user reviews, consider integration and customization, evaluate pricing and support, and contact software experts if needed. By following these steps, you can make an informed decision and choose the best grant management service or online platform that suits the specific needs of your organization.

Contar con un asesoramiento especializado siempre es una buena idea. En contra de lo que pudiera parecer, cuanto más peque?a sea la organización, más necesidad puede tener de ese asesoramiento en la gestión de subvenciones, tanto a la hora de solicitarlas como, sobre todo, a la hora de justificarlas, para evitar errores y minoraciones en los importes concedidos.

Many fundraising professionals offer consulting services both during employment and retirement. The costs for these independent contractor services are reasonable and help non-profits minimize costs while maximizing restricted revenues.

Contributing through continuous financial execution through monitoring the actives accordance the project targets, executing project planning and meeting project mandates though coordination

I don't agree that outsourcing grant administration is a good approach. From the donors perspective, when an outsider is writing the project proposal, he/she may not have the proper knowledge and understanding of the problem, proposed action, internal capacity and values of the non profit and associated risks. People who implement the project need to design it and report on it, financially and especially non financially. Accounting is the only service which could be external, as well as evaluation, and both are usually covered by the grant.

As a former consultant/grant administration service provider, I learned that it is imperative to spell out the relationship in enough detail that the external provider is welcomed into the internal circle of discussion, to keep information fresh and questions answered in a timely manner (well ahead of grant deadlines). This can alleviate gaps in knowledge and address security, access, or privacy concerns. If the contracted service is long-term (over one year), a good working style and pace can be developed. For short-term projects (under one year), there needs to be an understanding of the limited scope of the project, e.g., prospect research to identify most likely funders; gather miscellaneous narrative and create compelling content, etc.

A grant administration service is indispensable for organizations, providing efficiency throughout the grant lifecycle, from application to reporting. It ensures transparency in fund allocation, promotes compliance with regulations, and facilitates effective financial management. The service centralizes communication, fosters data-driven decision-making through analytics, and simplifies document management. Integration capabilities further enhance organizational efficiency, making it an essential tool for streamlined and impactful grant program management.

Nonprofits require grant administration services to effectively communicate with the grantor agencies and ensure proper management and administration according to the grantor’s executed agreement or contract. The administrator works with the grantor agencies to ensure effective communication throughout the grant process and grant lifecycle, including the execution of the grant contracts, submission of applicable progress, expenditure, desk monitoring, reimbursement request, and closeout reporting requirements in accordance to applicable laws (such as 2 CFR Part 200 federally). In addition, grant administration is necessary to coordinate with the budget and finance departments to ensure reconciliation of expenditures for annual audits.

Grant administration allows the program team to focus on day-to-day activities resulting in good outcomes. The grant administration team can help the grantee to monitor success or to identify potential problems. Compliance is a core reason for having grant administration services. Experts are typically trained and more informed about compliance requirements. Also, sometimes there are changes at the grantor’s level, you will benefit from a professional who understands what the rules are. Not having this experience on your end can make or break future funding opportunities.

Grants consultants specialize in specific areas of expertise with varied application and management processes and requirements. Selecting the organization or fundraising individual that best suits your NGO is about alignment of your NGO's fundraising needs with the expertise of the consultant. Traditionally the larger the funding amount the more complex the application and reporting process, expertise and agency knowledge requirements, and cost. These factors are an important component of the decision making process for any NGO. As a consultant I have often been asked if I could take the fee out of the grant award. This is typically not allowable and not the traditional practice as service payments are not contingent upon award.

Choosing the best grant administration service involves assessing your organization's needs, prioritizing features, and ensuring user-friendly scalability. Integration capabilities, compliance, and robust security are essential. Evaluate support, training, and cost transparency. User feedback provides valuable insights for making an informed decision.

To choose an optimal grant administration service for a non-profit, start by assessing your specific needs and goals. Conduct thorough research to identify potential providers, considering factors such as experience, services offered, technological capabilities, track record of success. Ensure the service is compliant with relevant regulations and fits within budget constraints. Request proposals, references, and evaluate each option on its alignment with your organization's goals, expertise, technological compatibility, affordability, client satisfaction. This approach will help select a service provider that effectively supports your grant management efforts, maximizes funding opportunities, and help achieve your organization's mission.

I recommend a review of your mission, goals, budget, financial audit, and strategic plan to select the best grant administration services for your organization. Each nonprofit must individually envision where they are, and determine where they want to be. Outline those objectives with your goals and your mission. Walk it out in your strategic plan. Ensure that you have a budget in place for the services which you require. Select the grants administration service that is most equipped, knowledgeable, experienced, and beneficial to your organization, considering where you are now and where you need to be.

When identifying the right grant administration service for your organization, evaluate their professional experience and references. Ask you sample writing for proposal writers and win rates. Put everything in the agreement as it relates to their level of involvement in managing the grant portfolio. Also, if you have a high-dollar value portfolio or funding from public sector grantors, make sure the grant administrator has exact or closely related expertise. As for fee structure, it is imperative to make sure the arrangement does not violate organizational, grantor, or industry standards.

Develop a communication plan to make it easier for you and the grant administration team. This plan should include how you plan to communicate and when. This plan includes a responsibility matrix. Everyone should understand their role in managing the grants and the responsibilities that are required. Meetings are necessary to discuss progress or any issues, this should happen throughout the contract. Also, requesting a briefing on reporting and the purpose for submission can be helpful to the program team. Sharing data and knowledge can help the overall mission and performance of the programs.

A grant administration service should serve as a capacity builder for your team, possessing expertise not only in grant writing but also in data collection and management. This enables them to assist your team in establishing robust reporting mechanisms to meet funder requirements. Moreover, when entering into a contract with a grant administration service, the emphasis should be on creating systems that empower your staff for sustained success beyond the contract period. The service should offer a comprehensive plan encompassing language refinement, identification of grant prospects, stewardship guidance, and evaluation support, all aimed at ensuring the success and growth of your organization.

It is extremely important to acclimate your grant administration service with your organization and all the team players, making these service professionals a part of your organizational team. Keep your grant administration service in the loop and in constant communication with your project managers. Your grants administration service will need your project managers, finance team, and subject matter experts to provide timely monthly, quarterly, and annual reports, as well as invoices and proof of payments for grantor reimbursement requests. The Grant administration service will need to know if there are any matching funds, or other grant sources tied to a particular program or project, to report funds accordingly. It’s a team effort.

I would suggest considering above all with the grants administrator, to thoroughly double check previous experience, due process compliance, timely deliverables, follow up systems and reporting. Grants management is extremely time consuming and it is mandatory to remain within budget so it is key to choose wisely.

It is important that you cultivate a good working relationship with the team who is providing grant administration services. This means putting in the effort to develop and maintain a strong connection with them since they are an extension of your support team. The more the team knows about the nonprofit the greater the chances of them selecting funding opportunities that best fit the nonprofit profile. Additionally, the nonprofit has to be able to trust the individuals offering the grant administration service because of the sensitive nature of the information shared. Also having clear goals and objectives, and having regularly scheduled progress updates are critical to the success of working with a grant administration service.

Grantsmanship is an art! Grants administration is a professionally technical, meticulous, painstaking, and precise work of art, which should be highly regarded as one of the most critical and vital funding mechanisms for the success of your organization.

Effective communication and collaboration are key when working with a grant administration service. It is important for the grant administrator to understand the organization's activities and goals in order to create a high-quality proposal and monitor the grant progress effectively. Ongoing communication, feedback, and reporting are essential to ensure transparency and accountability. The grant administration service should be valued as a valuable resource and asset, providing guidance and support throughout the grant lifecycle. By working together, the nonprofit and the grant administration service can maximize the impact of the grant and contribute to the organization's mission.

It’s important to know your organization when engaging the services of other nonprofit or for-profit groups. Decide who will coordinate the services being rendered to your organization to gain the greatest impact.

In deciding what may be needed with technical and subject matter expert support for grant administration and project delivery it is important to be mindful of what the Grantor requires for procurement. All government generated grants and many foundation grants set forth very detailed compliance requirements to do all types of contracting. It can be a mistake to assume that if you engage companies and/or individuals as subject matter experts that they will pay attention to the method of their engagement. Too often, that is not the case and the Grantor will ding the Grantee for not complying. Indeed, a good test as to the reliability and true commitment to compliance is to make sure the firm explains their engagement is compliant.

Based on my experience in the industry, I would suggest hiring professionals with relevant experience for government grants. There are multiple levels of responsibility and requirements. The administration of these grants requires a certain degree of expertise to make sure the program is successful.