Are you a nonprofit professional struggling to find the right grants management tool for your team? You’re not alone! It can be hard to navigate the many options out there, but we’re here to help.
Below, we’ll evaluate the top alternatives to Grant Holster, a common grants management platform—and in the process, we’ll help you find the perfect fit for your nonprofit. The alternatives we’ll explore are:
Why You Might Look for a Grant Holster Alternative
Though Grant Holster has a small-scale loyal customer base, here are some reasons you might look for an alternative:
Outdated Interface
Upon first glance, it’s clear that Grant Holster’s interface is dated and more difficult to navigate than some more advanced tools we’ll explore.
In diving into Grant Holster customer reviews, the most common user criticisms are frequent errors with unclear error messages, issues loading pages on the site, the inability to send push notifications or alerts, and difficulty importing data.
Grant Holster users seem eager for more intuitive features overall.
No Prospecting
Although Grant Holster provides tools for managing grants once they are secured and manually logged in the system, it lacks any prospecting capabilities.
Grant Holster doesn’t have a searchable database of funders or active grants that users can source opportunities from. What this means is that Grant Holster users need to invest in separate grant search tools to actually find funding before managing it within Grant Holster’s platform.
As the nonprofit space becomes more complex and competitive, many organizations require comprehensive tools to better support their work across the entire grant lifecycle from start to finish.
Lacks Advancements in Technology
Grant Holster comes up short when it comes to keeping up with quickly advancing technology.
For example, Grant Holster doesn’t offer integrations with other software systems to help streamline processes and keep everything in sync. There are a lot of moving pieces in nonprofit fundraising, so having siloed and fragmented tools that can’t work together can be a huge disadvantage.
If Grant Holster falls short of your team’s needs, there is no need to worry! There are plenty of other options out there.
Below we’ll go over general features, funder library capabilities, user friendliness, popularity, and pricing of five possible alternatives.
1. Instrumentl
Instrumentl is widely known as a top-of-the-line grants sourcing and management platform. Its streamlined interface and automated processes help ensure nonprofit teams of all shapes and sizes are set up for success. The system is also built for the entire grant lifecycle, from prospecting through post-award management.
Features
Instrumentl is a trendsetter when it comes to state-of-the-art features. From sourcing opportunities to submitting applications to managing grants with your team, Instrumentl has it all!
Automated smart matching to open opportunities and funder profiles: As new opportunities arise that meet your project needs, you’ll get automatically notified.
Advanced funder insights: Instrumentl’s funder profiles are rich with valuable information, including contact information and key people, average award amounts and financial details, past grantees and willingness to fund new grantees, and more.
Collaboration with team members made easier: Assign tasks and communicate with team members within the platform.
Document library: Store all of your grants-related documents and notes in one place.
Grant tracking and management capabilities: Organize your grants so that you never miss a deadline.
Types of Funders Listed
Instrumentl's database includes over 400,000 funders and more than 15,000 active opportunities. Those funders include:
Corporations
Private foundations
Federal and state funders
User Friendliness
The user interface of Instrumentl is extremely intuitive and easy to navigate. It is clear that the platform is built for purpose and keeps in mind its many types of users, from small nonprofits to consultants to large national foundations.
Instrumentl has a sophisticated look and feel that will be clear from the first day of your free trial, if you want to see it for yourself!
Popularity
Instrumentl’s customer reviews speak for themselves. Of the five alternatives to Grant Holster we’ll explore in this article, Instrumentl scores the highest, averaging 4.9 out of 5 stars on reliable review sites Capterra, G2, and GetApp.
“Instrumentl is the, and I mean, the, institutional fundraising platform built specifically for your grant prospecting, tracking, and management all in one place.” - Sheleia Phillips, Founder and Principal Consultant of SMP Nonprofit Consulting.
Pricing
Instrumentl offers three tiers of membership: Basic, Standard, and Pro, which range from $179- $499+ per month.
There are also customized enterprise packages available for large institutions like universities or hospitals.
Amplifund advertises itself as a one-stop-shop for the entire grants process, both for recipients and grantors. But is it a fit for your organization?
Features
Amplifund shares some of Instrumentl’s helpful features including;
Collaboration tools
Document storage
Award management
Recipient reporting portal
Risk management
In addition, they feature an ROI calculator that can help your team determine what you could save by investing in the system.
Although Amplifund has some helpful features, it is uniquely structured to support government funding and because of this focus, their scope is not nearly as broad as alternative tools in the space. For example, a nonprofit looking for foundation funding may not be able to easily navigate those types of RFPs through Amplifund.
Types of Funders Listed
Amplifund is unique in that it really highlights its work with government funders and organizations including;
State Governments
Local Governments
Tribal Governments
User Friendliness
As a newer tool, user experiences seem relatively mixed. One user complains about having “no support” and that the system is “finicky, (with) poor features - zero flexibility.”
However, others find the platform easy to use and set up
Popularity
Amplifund averages 4 out of 5 stars on well-respected review sites Capterra, G2, and GetApp. Overall it has very few, mixed public reviews.
Amplifund also appears to be the go-to for state and other government entities. If your organization has applied to state or local dollars before, you may be familiar with this system already!
Pricing
In order to get accurate estimates for your organization, a demo is recommended. However, Amplifund does have an option of a flat rate of $15,000 per year, which covers unlimited users. Compared to the other tools here, this cost is significantly more expensive.
3. Foundation Directory Online
Foundation Directory Online (FDO) is one of the most popular grants tools out there. Let’s explore it in more detail.
Features
Foundation Directory Online has a huge database of funders, both active and historic. FDO is helpful for organizations looking to learn more about different foundations and their giving priorities.
Although FDO can be helpful in discovering potential funders, it puts less of an emphasis on open RFPs. Finding the limited active grants on FDO requires manually searching for them—which can take considerable time. FDO also does not support automated systems for grants management, and collaboration within the system is extremely limited.
Types of Funders Listed
FDO offers access to a wide range and variety of funders:
Community Foundations
Gov Orgs
Public Charities
Corporate Funders
Independent Funders
Having access to such a wide range of funders is definitely a pro of FDO. However, the inability to know which funders actually have open opportunities to apply to is a major drawback.
User Friendliness
FDO comes across as a historic strong player in the world of philanthropy. However, it does not seem to have caught up with more modern and automated tools. FDO lacks multi-user collaboration and does not allow for teams to store shared documents for future use.
Popularity
FDO has a long standing reputation and it shows. FDO averages 4.6 out of 5 stars on Capterra, G2, and GetApp, and its users have a lot of good things to say.
“The Foundation Directory Online is one of the most valuable resources for researching funding opportunities. It is comprehensive and has been around for a long time. I remember the days when it was a printed directory, and it was valuable back then.” (Monica, Reviewer and Director of Dev).
Pricing
FDO offers various subscription tiers:
Essential Plan: Starts at $54.99/month and provides access to a substantial portion of the database.
Professional Plan: $219.99/month, offers enhanced search capabilities and additional funder data.
Enterprise Plan: Tailored for larger organizations—pricing is available only upon request.
4. GrantHub Pro
GrantHub Pro is a strong tool for grant management. If you’re not looking for a tool that can also handle prospecting then it could be a good fit.
Features
GrantHub Pro shares a lot of Instrumentl’s grant management capabilities:
Notes for saved opportunities
Statuses across stages of an application
Submission tracker and grant calendar
Multi-user collaboration and communication capabilities
However, it does not offer internal researching and prospecting features. If you’re looking for a system to support the entire grants journey, GrantHub Pro will likely fall short.
Types of Funders Listed
GrantHub Pro relies on other sites for funder resources, including GrantStation and FDO. Though this means there is a huge number of potential funders, they are not organized or filtered through the site itself.
User Friendliness
GrantHub Pro has a more advanced and professional look than Grant Holster. The platform is more straightforward for users and allows for team collaboration with a document library, reporting, tasks, and saved application responses.
Popularity
Grant Hub Pro scores relatively high amongst this group of management systems, averaging about 4.6 out of 5 stars on Capterra, G2, and GetApp.
A real user, Molly H. says;
“GrantHub replaced all the spreadsheets, file folders, lists and messy methods I have tried to streamline grant writing over my 15 years in the business. It's intuitive, easy to use and accessible by all in the process who need to see/approve/add information”.
Pricing
GrantHub Pro is priced at $349/month with an additional one-time $500 implementation fee.
5. GrantSeeker
GrantSeeker is a popular grant management platform. It used to be part of Fluxx, which is software designed specifically for grantmakers.
Features
GrantSeeker shares some of Intrumentl’s strengths, including:
Foundation profiles and reverse profiles of nonprofits like yours
Strong collaboration and reporting mechanisms
Submission tracker and grant calendar
Modern user interface
However, unlike Instrumentl, GrantSeeker requires a lot of additional manual work, from searching for grant opportunities to managing workflows. There are fewer automations and it is also limited when it comes to CRM integrations.
Types of Funders Listed
GrantSeeker deals with a wide variety of funders and highlights their ability to incorporate government funding in the system.
User Friendliness
GrantSeeker’s user interface seems to be one of their strengths. However, GrantSeeker does not have smart matching or automated reminders, two Instrumentl features that are extremely useful to nonprofit users.
Popularity
GrantSeeker comes in at the middle of the pack amongst these grants management tools, averaging 4.2 out of 5 stars on Capterra, G2, and GetApp. It certainly is popular in the philanthropy space though!
Pricing
Pricing for GrantSeeker is dependent on the scope of work provided during initial calls with their team. For more about the pricing of the various GrantSeeker plans, refer to this Instrumentl article.
Is Instrumentl the Best Grant Holster Alternative? There's Only One Way To Find Out
Although we admit we’re a bit partial here at Instrumentl, it’s for good reason. Instrumentl is the best tool for grant research, sourcing, management, and tracking. Its features allow hardworking nonprofits to spend less time on burdensome admin work and more time winning grant opportunities.
Here are some of the things that set us apart:
Automagical Deadline Reminders
Who doesn’t want a little magic in their grants management?
I think we can all agree that more reminders are always better when it comes to grant application submissions and funder timelines. With Instrumentl’s automated reminders it’s easier to keep your team on track and avoid missing important deadlines.
The automation also takes some of the pressure off of managers to continually check in with their team members. If all staff are on Instrumentl, there’s already a built in system for ensuring things don’t slip through the cracks.
Integrated Information From IRS 990 Forms
As useful as 990 forms can be, they are quite lengthy, full of jargon, and unless you have a strong background in finance and/or legal, they can be difficult to decipher. Instrumentl does the hard work for you, breaking down the 990 so you can review the most important information more quickly.
Intelligent Matching to RFPs and Funders
Seeking out right-fit grant opportunities can be one of the most challenging pieces of fundraising. There are so many potential grants out there, but how do you know if they fit the mission and current needs of your organization?
Instead of time consuming manual searches, Instrumentl’s Smart Matching search tool matches open opportunities to your specific requirements.
Easy Collaboration and Task Management
Instrumentl makes it easy for teams of all sizes to communicate effectively through a shared grants calendar, tasks, and notes.
Instrumentl was built for teams to work together and communicate as smoothly as possible so that nothing gets missed.
Find Foundations Open to New Grantees
Unfortunately, not all funders are open to newbies.
Luckily, Instrumentl calls this out for you by recognizing what funders are open to new grantees. Instead of wasting valuable time on funders that aren’t likely to open their doors for you, you can prioritize those that are way more likely to welcome you with open arms.
At the end of the day, the search for a grants management system is personal to each organization. Investing in a high quality grants management platform can save you and your colleagues invaluable time and energy, keep you organized and on time, open you up to new and exciting funders, and overall increase your chances of winning more grants.
To dive into Instrumentl’s state of the art system, take advantage of your 14-day free trial now, no strings attached.
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