The Grant Management Checklist For A Growing Nonprofit

Before we go any further, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about what grant management is and why it’s so important.
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According to the National Grants Management Association, grant management is the process of overseeing all activities related to a grant throughout the entire grant lifecycle, including prospecting, application, and post-award management.

As you look to grow your organization, grants offer substantial funding that’s often renewable year after year. You want to do everything you can to meet the grant requirements and maintain strong funder relationships.

The consequences of poor grant management could be devastating to your nonprofit and stagnate your growth.

Disorganized grant management could lead to:

• Missing good-fit opportunities: A lack of organization can cause you to miss deadlines for great funding opportunities.
• Failing to meet grant compliance: Without a clear system, you may miss reporting deadlines or program requirements that are set out in the terms of your grant.
• Loss of funding: Funders won’t want to work with you if you’re disorganized, so you could even lose the grant altogether or sour the relationship in the future.

Daniel Jenkins, President of Lutheran Braille Workers, dealt with the consequences of poor grant management in real-time:
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“Each year, we managed about 40 different [funders] with different requirements, deadlines, and policies in addition to dozens of other foundations we looked at. There was no way to keep up. Things were falling apart, and it was frustrating. It was frustrating for some of our funders, too, who wanted to give us money, but we weren't able to meet deadlines or didn’t include key documentation. It was very important that we had everything together in one place.”

Daniel was able to use grant management tools to help get his organization back on track and scale their grant submissions by more than 150 percent.

If you’re struggling in the same ways Daniel was, keep reading and we’ll walk you through a checklist to set your organization on the path to grant success.

Prospecting is an incredibly important part of the grant management process. You’ll want to research potential grants and funders that align with your nonprofit and set a plan of attack to help you through the application process.

Research and Identify Relevant Grants

At any given time, there are hundreds of thousands of funding opportunities available with varying requirements. You won’t qualify for all of them, so how can you streamline your search to find the most relevant opportunities?

• Utilize a grants database: Grant databases are fantastic tools, pulling together funding opportunities in a single platform so you don’t have to waste time searching in multiple locations.
• Narrow your search criteria: Only search for grants that align with your nonprofit’s mission and goals, as well as the project you’re looking to fund.
• Review funder insights: Check funder’s Form 990s for their past grantees, giving history, and areas of focus to see if you’d be a competitive applicant and if the grant is worth pursuing.

Doing the research upfront to determine if a grant is a good fit will help you avoid wasting time and resources on opportunities you’ll never win.

Develop a Grant Calendar

Once you have an idea of all the grants that you want to apply for in a given year, it’s time to plot down key deadlines on a grant calendar.

When used correctly, your grant calendar will be your best asset. It will give you a comprehensive look at your grant pipeline and your workflow. You can track:

• Grant application tasks
• Grant submission deadlines
• Reporting requirements

Make sure you share the grant calendar with your team and keep it up to date with the latest information. Your calendar is only as good as the data in it, so make sure to stay on top of deadlines and deliverables.

Our checklist can also help keep you on track so you don’t miss key steps during the grant application process.

Gather Necessary Documentation

Your grant application may require specific documentation, so you'll have to review the requirements to identify what you need.

Common documentation may include:

• Project proposal: A compelling overview of the project you plan to implement. Make sure it’s tailored to the grant’s objectives and priorities.
• Budget forms: Specific details on how you plan to allocate the funds if you receive the grant.
• Letters of support: References from community partners and other key stakeholders that can testify to your nonprofit’s impact and the community support you have.
• Organizational information: Documents that represent your history, governance, mission, and other key information.

You should keep these documents organized in a specific folder or document library for ease of reference.

As you work on your proposal, keep the following advice in mind from Veronica Kulon, Grant Professional/Consultant at Empowerment Solutions:
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“Tailor your grant proposal and communication to the specific preferences and priorities of the funder. Understand their unique criteria and adapt your materials accordingly. Take the time to research the funders' past grant recipients and projects they've supported. If your work aligns with their past interests, make this connection explicit in your proposal.”

Assign Roles and Responsibilities

If you have a team, you’ll want to create a project plan to make sure everyone is clear on their roles and responsibilities. Create a timeline with deadlines and assign tasks to your team members to ensure accountability.

Sample tasks include:

• Budget details
• Proposal drafts
• Application reviews
• Grant submission

Make sure to build in a buffer in case members of your team miss their deadlines. You don’t want to be too tight that you could miss the grant deadline.

Review and Edit Proposals

You want to be thoughtful with your grant applications, and that means putting your best foot forward. Even if you are in a rush, do not skip the review and editing process.

These additional steps can help catch errors and verify accuracy within your proposal. They’ll also add a new perspective that can add depth to your proposal, making it feel more complete.

Just keep in mind that people may add too many details, so you’ll have to use your discretion on what edits to keep and which you can politely decline.

Winning the grant was just the beginning. Now is when the real fun starts—implementing the project and meeting reporting requirements.

Set Up a Tracking System

Review the grant agreement. It will outline all that is expected of you. Once you have a good idea of your requirements, you should set up a tracking system to keep you accountable.

Grant management software can help you develop a clear and streamlined workflow with clear deadlines.

If you don’t have the budget to invest in dedicated grant management tools, you can also use spreadsheets, calendars, and other applications to track everything manually.

Monitor Spending and Compliance

After receiving the grant, it’s critical that you monitor your budget and track your spend down.

Tracking expenses is a key component of grant compliance, but you also want to make sure that you follow the other requirements outlined in your grant agreement. These can include:

• Funding allocation
• Documentation
• Data reporting
• Geographic restrictions
• Success metrics

Make sure that you keep all of your financial documents in one location. You may also need to provide receipts and proof of spending as part of the grant accounting process.

Regular Reporting and Communication

Your funders want to know how you’re doing, so make sure that you keep open lines of communication with them. Share program successes with them as they happen, but also be transparent if there are roadblocks you’re facing.

You want to do what you can to foster strong relationships with your funders. This is in addition to any reporting requirements outlined in the grant.

‍Pro Tip: Be sure to stay connected with your program heads and share what data needs to be collected so there are no surprises during the reporting process.

This grant management checklist should hopefully help you stay on track and scale your grant processes in meaningful ways.

Here’s a quick overview of what we’ve covered:

• Pre-grant preparation: Research and create a grant calendar
• Grant application process: Gather documentation, assign a clear workflow, and review the application
• Post-award management: Track key dates, monitor spend and compliance, and maintain communication

If you’re ready to take your grant management to the next level, sign up for a free, 14-day trial with Instrumentl. From a comprehensive grant database to task management and final reporting, you can streamline the entire grant lifecycle in one place.