Tracking Your Grants: Should You Use Spreadsheets or Software?

To effectively manage your grants, you need a clear and usable grant tracking spreadsheet. This sheet, if done well, will quickly tell you:

• What grants you’ve applied for
• Which grants you’ve won and received
• How you’re allocating the funding
• Rejected grants and reasons for denial
• Notes on grant funders
• When grant proposals are due
• And so much more!

In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about how to track grants in spreadsheets, as well as alternative solutions you can use to take your tracking to the next level.

Let’s jump in!

To stay on top of the entire grant lifecycle, your grant tracking spreadsheet should track the following things:

• Grantor Information - Name, contact details, and key contacts at the granting organization.
• Grant Details - Grant name, type, and funding focus.
• Application Deadlines - Open, submission, and notification dates.
• Application Materials - Guidelines, forms, and required documents.
• Project Information - Name, description, goals, and budget.
• Application Status - Current application status and submission date.
• Requested and/or Awarded Amount - Total grant amount requested and budget breakdown.
• Financial Information - Grant award amount, duration, and reporting requirements.
• Notes and Communications - Meeting notes and follow-up actions.
• Reporting Requirements - Report deadlines and templates.
• Performance Metrics - Key project success indicators.
• Evaluation and Impact - Alignment with the organization's goals.
• Attachments - Store proposal, attachments, and correspondence.
• Key Dates - Important dates, follow-up, and renewal deadlines.
• Progress Updates - Track project progress and outcomes.
• Budget Tracking - Monitor grant-related expenses.
• Grant History - Maintain records of past grants and their outcomes.

Your grant tracking system can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be, but ultimately, it’s a critical tool to help your nonprofit manage its financial resources.

If you’ve ever received grants, you know how important it is to track them from application to final reporting and everything in between. By tracking your grants, you’re…

• Enhancing the success rate of your grant proposals - Grant tracking helps identify, prioritize, and access relevant opportunities, optimizing the success of grant proposals.‍
• Ensuring financial transparency and accountability - It promotes transparency, responsible fund management, and trust-building with funders by documenting fund allocation and impact.‍
• Streamlining project implementation and reporting - Organized grant tracking simplifies project implementation, offers a clear workflow, and centralizes grant information for efficient reporting and compliance.

Keeping track of your grants makes it easy to create these reports and reference grant-related information all in one convenient location.

Not every nonprofit tracks their grants the same way. Most nonprofits follow the traditional way of tracking grants. But more modern approaches are gaining popularity. Let’s explore why.

Traditional Manual Logs and Ledgers

The traditional way of tracking grants often involves using spreadsheets, sticky notes, physical files, and manual note-taking, which can become a bit of a juggling act.

While these methods can work for a small number of grants, they can become disorganized and inefficient as you deal with more grants. Many nonprofits are now switching to digital tools and grant management software to make their lives easier by centralizing information, setting reminders, and simplifying the grant tracking process.

Modern Grant Management Software Solutions

Grant management software solutions take grant tracking to the next level.

The software is created with grant tracking in mind, so it includes tools that are designed specifically for nonprofits. Grant management software is also flexible enough to handle various data inputs and requirements.

Not only will you be able to track current grants, but you’ll also be able to organize prospective ones, calendar deadlines, and so much more. We’ll go into more detail explaining grant tracking software later on in the article.

If you want to track grants in a spreadsheet, you will want to build an effective one from the start—and we’re going to show you how below.

Define Columns for Grant Names, Sources, Deadlines, and Amounts

Think about what type of information you want to track in your spreadsheet. You can add columns for things like:

• Grant names
• Sources of funding
• Deadlines
• Amounts
• Actions needed
• Additional notes

You can also add specific fields based on your organization, including if it is a cost-sharing grant, if you’ve received funding from them before, and more.

Integrate Formulas to Auto-calculate Totals and Timelines

Once you have the information in place, it’s time to add the formulas you need.

That way, when you add your data, it can auto-populate the totals to help you get a sense of your current spending and what you have left. There are a lot of different formulas you can use, so make sure to look them up to automate any manual calculations taking place.

Set Reminders for Important Dates and Milestones

Because digital grant tracking spreadsheets do not have automatic reminders, you’ll want to manually set calendar notifications to help keep you on track during the grant application process. That way, you won’t miss important dates or milestones through the entire grant lifecycle.

Grant tracking software may seem like a natural extension of grant tracking spreadsheets; however, there’s much more to it. Here are the main differences.

Comparing Efficiency and Scalability

Grant tracking spreadsheets are a manual process from the setup of the document to its upkeep and reporting. You have to do all the work yourself—and if you grow beyond what your spreadsheet can handle, it will be difficult to scale.

On the contrary, grant-tracking software is much more efficient. Many of these processes are automated when you’re using the software. The solutions are designed specifically for grant tracking, so it’s more intuitive and tailored to a nonprofit’s needs. Grant tracking software are also scalable to meet all your evolving grant management needs.

Feature Set and Functionalities: A Detailed Look

Grant tracking software allows you to track and organize all your grants in one place.

You can create projects, sort by topics, organize by year and application stage, track deadlines, and more. You can automate reminders and streamline formerly manual processes to save you time and money.

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You can do some of these things in a traditional spreadsheet, but it will take you much longer to do.

Cost, Usability, and Learning Curve

Grant tracking software often has a cost associated with it, but with the features you get, it’s almost always worth the investment. It’s designed with the user in mind, so it’s often easy to learn and use.

Pro Tip: Instrumentl provides resources to help get you up to speed quicker with its grant management tools.

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While a grant tracking spreadsheet may be free, they can be more difficult to use because you have to make it do what you need it to. It’s not designed for grant tracking specifically.

Instrumentl is consistently ranked as a leader in the industry for grant prospecting, tracking, and management thanks to its robust features.

Let’s explore some of the top tracking features below.

Automated Notifications

A fan-favorite feature of Instrumentl is the automated notifications. So once you add your grant to the Tracker, you can forget it! Instrumentl will automatically remind you of important deadlines coming up, changes in requirements, and more.

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Integration With Other Platforms

Instrumentl integrates with other platforms, making it a one-stop shop for all your grant management needs. You can locate opportunities, pull Form 990s, and so much more all without leaving the software.

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Advanced Analytics and Insights

Instrumentl offers robust reporting features, helping you see a different cut of your data to provide additional insight.

These advanced analytics and insights are automated, so you can continually refresh to get the latest information to give you the best competitive edge.

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Grant tracking spreadsheets are a great solution for smaller nonprofits just starting out, but once you’re more established, you need a better way to stay organized.

You’ll have more grants that you have to keep track of, and many times, they will have competing requirements and deadlines.

Because of the automated processes that come with grant tracking software, you can be more efficient in how you input, export, and report on your grant data. It also removes some of the human error, allowing you to feel confident in the accuracy of your information.

Grant management software is an investment in your organization, but one that will help you land more funding and make a bigger difference in advancing your mission.

Grant tracking is essential for your organization’s success, helping you stay on top of all funding opportunities, requirements, and more. However, manual processes are a thing of the past, which is why grant tracking software can help you take your operations to the next level.

Instrumentl is a great resource to help you track all your grants in one location, streamlining research and reporting to help you focus your efforts on making a bigger impact. Ready to try? Sign up for your free 14-day trial today!