As a grant professional, there’s no better feeling than winning a grant. It’s so exhilarating when those countless hours of hard work, strategic planning, and dedication pay off.
While it’s important to celebrate the win, it’s just as important to remember that with grant funding comes great responsibility.
Here at Instrumentl, we understand that the real work begins after the grant award ceremony. That’s why we are more than just a grant prospecting platform; we’re your trusted partner in navigating the world of grant management, ensuring that you not only secure funding successfully, but also maintain strong relationships with your funders.
In this article, we’ll dive into some essential strategies for managing your awarded grants effectively. Specifically, we’re going to explore how our innovative Awards View feature empowers you to stay organized, compliant, and proactive in meeting your funders’ expectations.
The Key to Staying on Your Funder's Good Side
As a grant professional myself, I can relate to the feelings of triumph after receiving a grant award notification.
However, I also know how it feels when the reality of post-award management sets in…and it can be stressful! Especiallyif you don’t have a strong grant management system in place!
As deadlines begin to loom and funder expectations soar, it’s super important to stay compliant with your funder’s requirements. Maintaining positive funder relationships while also balancing grant requirements is like walking a tightrope—it can be really tricky.
Here’s what I’ve learned: staying organized and being proactive are two things that will absolutely help you be successful in these efforts. And the way that I am able to do that is by using Instrumentl’s Awards View feature.
Awards View can revolutionize your approach to grant management; with this feature you can track deadlines, foster transparent communication, and ensure responsible fund utilization.
Here’s what Awards View shows you:
Total awarded grant amount
Breakdown of awards by funder type
Next report due date
Number of outstanding tasks
Let’s take a deeper dive into Awards View and explore some key strategies that will help you stay organized, manage your awarded grants, and remain on your funder’s good side.
Make Sure That You Never Miss a Report
Let me paint you a vivid picture: it was a busy Monday morning at my nonprofit organization, and my team was juggling a handful of projects and deadlines. Amidst the chaos, I suddenly realized we had overlooked a crucial grant reporting deadline. Panic ensued as my team and I scrambled to gather the necessary data needed to compile a report to our funder.
This scenario might sound all too familiar to anyone who has experienced the stress and complexities of managing multiple reporting deadlines.
In our case, failing to submit the report on time not only jeopardized our funding but also strained our relationship with the funder. This is truly a grant professional’s worst nightmare.
Enter Instrumentl’s Awards View. This ingenious tool has since served as our saving grace, streamlining the process of managing the post-award phase of grants with unparalleled efficiency.
With a quick glance, we can now see when the next report is due, complete with a countdown timer ticking away until the deadline.
Next to the countdown timer, you can see a comprehensive overview of incomplete tasks for the current month. Even better—since Instrumentl allows you to collaborate with your full team, everyone can see these deadline reminders!
In practice, this is big news for grant professionals—it means no more frantic emails about missed deadlines!
The importance of diligent grant reporting and post-award management cannot be overstated. And here’s why: it ensures that you remain compliant with funder requirements and serves to strengthen the trust and credibility between you and your funders.
If your organization is deemed as credible and trustworthy by your funders, you can expect more funding in the long run, which means more financial freedom and better sustainability. It’s a win-win situation!
Effectively Manage Your Grant Revenue
When you receive multiple grant awards but don’t have a streamlined management system in place, you’re taking a huge risk. Without a system in place, the process can become overwhelming, leading to confusion, errors, and compliance issues. Yikes!
Managing your organization’s grant revenue effectively is essential so that you can maintain financial stability and fulfill your mission.
Here’s where Awards View comes into play. This tool can play a crucial role in simplifying the financial oversight of your nonprofit’s grants and ensuring that revenue is tracked accurately across projects.
By providing a centralized platform to monitor expenditures, allocate funds, and generate comprehensive reports, Awards View eliminates the need for cumbersome spreadsheets and manual data entry. Great, right?
This will help you save time and reduce the likelihood of errors. Even more—it enhances transparency and accountability in how you’re managing your grants.
Here’s the last thing: effective grant revenue management goes beyond just tracking expenditures; it involves ensuring that grant funds are used in accordance with funder requirements. With Awards View, grant professionals can easily monitor spending patterns, identify areas of over (or under) spending, and make informed decisions to optimize resource allocation.
By maximizing the impact of grant funds, you can help your nonprofit strengthen its relationships with funders, demonstrate responsible stewardship, and ultimately, achieve greater outcomes in your community.
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Build Bridges with Your Leadership Team by Keeping Them in the Loop
As a grant professional, sometimes it feels like I’m speaking one language while the rest of my leadership team speaks another. I meticulously track every dollar and outcome, but somehow, translating that information into a language that the leadership team understands can feel impossible.
Can you relate? This is a common challenge in this profession, as frustrating as it is.
But here’s the good news—Instrumentl’s Awards View can help translate those important data pieces by generating comprehensive reports to share with your team. In fact, it’s never been easier! Whether it’s detailing budget allocations, tracking expenditures, or highlighting project outcomes, Awards View can help.
Let’s walk through how you can use this feature to generate some amazing reports to help show the impact of your grants to your team and stakeholders.
Step 1: Open the Tracker and Click on the Awards Tab
When viewing your Tracker, you’ll be able to see all of your awarded grants in one place by clicking on the Awards Tab.
In the Awards Tab, you’ll be able to see the most vital information for the grants that you’ve received, including the grant period, the grant status, the award amount, the next report due date, and any relevant notes.
Here’s a tip: the Tracker will default to sort by Start of Grant Period. You can change this by clicking on the Grant Period drop down.
Step 2: Located on the Upper Right, Click ‘Reports.’
When you’re on the Tracker view, navigate to the “Reports” button near the top right of your screen.
Step 3: Select ‘Create Report’ for the Awards Report
Select “Create Report” for the Awards Report.
Step 4: Select Projects, Statuses, Owner, and Date Range
Next, you’ll be prompted to select Projects, Statuses, Owner, and Date Range.
Once you’re finished, click “Create Report” > “Download CSV/Excel”.
Then, a CSV / Excel file will download with all of your awarded grant information. This includes columns such as: Year, Project, Funder Name, Opportunity Name, Owner, Grant Period Dates, Status, Amount Awarded, Next Report Description and Deadline, Notes, Contact Information, etc.
Seeing all of your grants in one concise report is so helpful, and will certainly help your team stay organized and on the same page.
We made it to the end, my friends! Let’s summarize what we’ve learned.
Winning a grant is just the beginning of the journey. It’s the dedication, strategic planning, and effective post-award grant management that truly sets professionals apart.
Instrumentl’s Awards View isn’t just a tool—it’s your trusted partner in navigating the many complexities of the grant management landscape. From ensuring compliance and transparency to maximizing grant impact and fostering strong relationships with funders and other leaders, Awards View empowers you to make a lasting difference in your community.
So, embrace the excitement and the responsibility of grant management with Instrumentl by your side, and let’s continue making positive change together. Sign up for your 14-day free trial today!
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