The grant page

The header

Open a grant from Grants, Home, the Calendar or Alerts. The header shows the grant's name, its client and its stages, so you can move it forward from here too. Under the stages, Next shows the next open task or milestone from the Application section, with its date and who it's assigned to. Grants from Grants.gov say they're watched for changes.

When you open a grant from the Grants list, Previous and Next at the top step through that list in the order it shows, with the same filters and sort. Back returns to the list.

Application score

While a grant is in Applying, the Application score under the header counts the checks funders make before they read an application, such as "5 of 7 checks done". It counts only what you can fix, and it isn't a chance of winning. The checks are:

• Guidelines: the funder's guidelines are on file (the California Grants Portal listing counts for state grants).
• Eligibility: every item on the eligibility checklist is answered Yes. Any No, or a state grant whose listed applicant types don't include the organization's type, means the organization won't be eligible, and the score says so plainly.
• Documents: every required document is added and not expired.
• SAM.gov (federal grants only): SAM.gov is active with a UEI, doesn't expire before the deadline, and Grants.gov is set up.
• Deadline: a deadline is set, hasn't passed, and leaves enough time for the lead time in the Eligibility profile.
• Length and Formatting: the page limit and formatting rules are noted in Guidelines (write "None" if the funder sets none).

Choose a check to see what's left. Every item says how to fix it: a link to the funder's guidelines or an official site (the IRS, SAM.gov, Grants.gov), a section of the page, or who to ask. For a foundation, its 990-PF answers about how to apply are added, including its contact. When a fact about the organization is missing, Answer … questions asks only for what isn't filled in yet.

Eligibility and Go/No-Go

Eligibility is a checklist of what the funder requires. It starts with common requirements, filled in from the client's Eligibility profile where it can (federal grants add SAM.gov and Grants.gov). Answer each item Yes, No or Unsure, add a note on where it's stated or what's missing, and add the funder's own requirements.

Go/No-Go helps you decide whether to apply. Rate six factors from 1 to 5: mission fit, award size vs. effort, odds of winning, staff capacity, funder relationship and reporting burden. Eligibility and time to deadline are scored for you. Some factors start with a suggested rating from the client's profile, shown with a dashed dot; choose a rating to set your own.

• 70 or more suggests Go, 50 to 69 Review, and under 50 No-Go.
• It needs at least 4 factors before it suggests anything.
• Any eligibility item answered No means No-Go.

Record your own decision under Your call. It shows on the grant's card in Grants.

Application

While a grant is in Applying, the Application section is open. Later it folds into a one-line summary. It holds:

• Funder's guidelines: copy in the page or word limit, required sections, how it's scored, formatting rules, a link to the guidelines and how to submit.
• Tasks: who does what, and by when. Tick a task when it's done.
• Milestones: dates such as the LOI, first draft, internal review and submission. Milestones not yet done show on the Calendar and in Alerts.
• Required documents: the funder's document list. Link an item to one of the client's standard documents, and it's ready when that document is on file and current. Otherwise, upload the file to the item.

The funder's guidelines also hold Funder's rules on AI. Scan for AI rules under them lists the sentences in pasted guidelines that mention AI. If you draft with an AI tool, see Using AI tools responsibly.

Award

Once a grant is Awarded, the Award section opens at the top of the page. It holds:

• Award details: the amount awarded, the award number, the award date, the period of performance (when the work and spending start and end), how the funder pays (in advance, by reimbursement or in installments), and the terms and recognition rules, such as restrictions on the funds, how to credit the funder, or an approved extension.
• Reports: each progress, financial or final report the award letter asks for, with its due date. Tick a report once it's submitted. Reports not yet submitted show on the Calendar, in Alerts from a month before they're due, and in the daily email.
• Close-out: once the final reports are in and the funds are spent, choose Mark closed out. The award's reports and end date stop showing on the Calendar and in Alerts, and the section folds into a one-line summary. Reopen undoes it.

The Awarded total on Home uses the amount awarded once you enter it.

Proposal

The proposal is written in Writing, with the other documents for the grant. The grant's Writing card lists them: Start proposal starts a new one from the full proposal template, and Write a document starts any other. A proposal written section by section before Writing existed opens there as one document, each section a heading with its word limit, and its client review and AI use kept.

In Writing you can set each section's word or character limit (the Sections list on the right), send the proposal to the client for review, and record AI use. See Writing.

Details and notes

Details holds the client, funder, kind of funder, amount, deadline and where the grant came from. Choose Edit to change them. Notes is free text for anything else.

Once a grant is Awarded or Declined, What the funder said holds reviewer comments, scores or what the program officer told you. It shows again on your next grant to the same funder.

Documents

Other documents holds files for this grant only, such as drafts and the final submission. Add them with the + tile or by dropping them on the section. Each file can be previewed, renamed, replaced or deleted; deleted files wait 30 days under Recently deleted. The client's own documents are listed underneath, so you can open them without leaving the grant.