When Laura Clark transitioned from nonprofit work to higher education, she didn’t expect to encounter similar challenges in managing grants.
But when overseeing foundation relationships for a small team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Laura found herself juggling multiple grants without an efficient internal system to track and manage each opportunity.
Facing the pressure of managing these complex relationships with minimal support, Laura embarked on a journey to streamline her processes. This journey led her to Instrumentl, a solution that not only transformed her workflow but also inspired her colleagues to embrace a more collaborative, organized approach.
The Challenge: A Small Team With Big Responsibilities
At the University of Illinois, Laura’s advancement team is responsible for managing various foundation relationships and grant opportunities. With multiple projects running simultaneously at a large university, Laura found that her team’s current tools were inadequate for efficient grant management.
Their CRM system, while helpful for broad communications, lacked the depth needed for the intricacies of grant tracking and management. The work Laura did to track these complex foundation relationships often involved manually sifting through emails, databases, and spreadsheets just to piece together relevant information.
“I remember saying to myself, ‘There's gotta be an easier way to do this.’”
Laura spent a significant portion of her day collecting details on foundations, updating spreadsheets, and hunting down information spread across multiple sources. The inefficiency and time loss were clear. She needed a solution that could centralize and streamline her team’s workflows, allowing her to more effectively share progress with colleagues.
“I was doing everything you need to do to be as effective in tracking various opportunities for various departments, but it was ‘and then what’ that was bogging me down. I had to export it, open it up in Excel, and then sort it to get it to the faculty members.”
Exploring Grant Management Solutions
Drawing from her background in nonprofits, Laura knew there had to be a better solution. She wanted a tool that could:
- Centralize grant information
- Streamline the application process
- And encourage collaboration across her team
Her search led her to Instrumentl, where the platform’s intuitive interface and built-in tracking tools immediately caught her attention. The tool’s clean design and ease of use was a welcome contrast to her current workarounds.
“It will never take the place of our CRM. We’re invested there, but Instrumentl complements and supplements our CRM.”
During her two-week free trial of Instrumentl, Laura tested the platform’s core functions, such as integrating grant opportunities, organizing tasks, and tracking deadlines. She was especially drawn to the platform’s document-sharing and collaborative features, which would allow her to keep all team members informed without overloading the CRM system with excessive detail.
“I utilize the tasks very similarly to interactions in our CRM. I put more actually in Instrumentl than our CRM because we don't want to bog it down with stuff that maybe doesn't need to be in there.”
At first, she adopted the tool primarily for herself but quickly realized the broader impact it could have on the team.
By showcasing Instrumentl’s potential, she hoped to spark a conversation among her colleagues about making it a department-wide tool.
“I just focused on being the best that I could be for my team, and from there, I think my excitement brought on their curiosity.”
Though Laura’s personal experience with Instrumentl was positive, persuading her team required a different approach. Her colleagues were initially hesitant, seeing Instrumentl as “just another tool” to learn. However, Laura’s productivity gains were hard to ignore.
“The info I had access to, how I was able to track my work and share info with them, I think it led to them becoming curious, and see it as more than just something else they had to learn.”
Her newfound ability to respond promptly in meetings, easily pull up relevant documents, and organize her notes in a single platform demonstrated Instrumentl’s value. She was able to communicate more seamlessly with the larger foundation director and supervisors, supporting her goal of being a strong teammate and making data readily available to others when they needed it.
“It allows me to better communicate with my supervisor, with my colleagues, [and] faculty members that I may be reaching out to.”
Supported by her supervisor, who recognized that the time Laura saved could be redirected towards high-impact activities, she was able to make the case for adopting Instrumentl.
Implementing Instrumentl
Once the budget was approved, Laura set to work integrating Instrumentl into her team’s daily operations.
While Laura’s initial enthusiasm was palpable, she still faced some resistance from team members who saw Instrumentl as another complex tool to master. However, as Laura walked them through Instrumentl’s interface and began using it as a primary organizational resource in team meetings, her colleagues gradually grew more comfortable.
“There was an ease to Instrumentl.”
Instrumentl allowed her to:
- Maintain centralized document storage
- Upload foundation-related research and Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
- And efficiently organize grant opportunities.
She appreciated the platform’s document library, where relevant PDFs and application templates could be stored securely, available whenever a team member needed them.
By using the task assignment feature, Laura also introduced a new level of accountability among her colleagues, reducing their reliance on lengthy email threads and allowing them to easily assign follow-ups to each other.
“It allows us to save making a call or sending an email…tasks and notifications are a huge component for us.”
As Laura’s colleagues saw how Instrumentl helped her stay organized, they began to adopt it themselves, using features like task tracking and report generation. Soon, they were asking Laura for tips on optimizing Instrumentl’s features, and what began as a single-user experiment grew into a collaborative, team-wide success.
Realizing the Benefits
Instrumentl had become an indispensable part of Laura’s team’s workflow in just a few months.
By consolidating grant information and documents, she no longer had to dig through multiple systems and files. Instrumentl’s task management features streamlined her workflow, cutting down on manual follow-ups and ensuring no deadlines were overlooked.
“I think having everything in one place is one of the best aspects of Instrumentl.”
Moreover, Instrumentl helped Laura and her team track each grant’s progress, keeping everyone updated in real-time. She specifically spoke to the fact that she liked the status labeling features such as “Planned” and “Researching” so that she could always pick up where she left off while researching grants.
“The ability to take [grants] out of the matches tab and into the tracker is extremely important because it keeps them there, but I don’t get to some of them right away. My initial vetting says this could be important to the college.”
These built-in capabilities meant Laura could pull detailed lists of prospects, planned grants, submitted applications, or any awards whenever her supervisor requested an update.
“My supervisor looks at it as a way to get a big-picture view of the past year and even future thinking as well.”
Now, instead of spending time preparing for every meeting, Laura could open Instrumentl and present clear, data-driven updates on each grant’s current status, whether researching, planned, in progress, or submitted.
Long-Term Plans
Seeing Instrumentl’s impact, Laura has begun formulating plans to expand its use across more departments within the university. She envisions a future where every department involved in grants management could utilize Instrumentl to track opportunities, plan project timelines, and ensure alignment on goals.
Laura Clark transformed her approach to managing foundation relationships, improving her team’s efficiency and communication.
We are thrilled she’s gotten so much value out of Instrumentl. In her words,
“I don’t know what I would do without Instrumentl. It’s the only place I go to manage grants.”
Whether you’re a grant manager seeking to streamline processes or a leader aiming to increase team efficiency, Laura’s success story is a testament to the difference Instrumentl can make. To transform your grant management, start a free trial with Instrumentl and start exploring what’s possible.
