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A CONSUMERS GUIDE TOGRANTS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSMARCH 2020March 2020A Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems 1
FOREWORDDear Reader,Welcome to the 2020 edition of the Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems!In the four years since the last edition, the marketplace for grants management systems hasundergone a lot of changes. This time around, we’re reviewing fewer systems (acquisitions!) butmany of them have increased functionality and have improved overall to respond to the manystakeholders, both inside and outside of a grantmaking institution, who interact with these onlinesystems.Increasingly, grantmakers want good data to measure impact, to make more strategic decisions,and to support learning for the philanthropic and nonprofit sector as a whole. These strategicimperatives have pushed many of these systems—and the people who use them—far beyond basicadministrative functions.Most exciting this year is our introduction of an interactive digital version that enables you toexplore by requirements, price, and more.We hope this guide provides an invaluable resource as you weigh your options.Melissa Sines,PEAK GrantmakingMarch 2020Nikki Barrett,GrantbookA Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems 3
HOW WAS THIS REPORT FUNDED?This Tech Impact Idealware report is the product of a partnership with Grantbook and PEAKGrantmaking, who funded the work.Maintaining editorial integrity and impartiality while funding reports in the technology sectordemands rigor. Idealware works hard to meet those demands as well as the expectations of ouraudience. To maintain editorial integrity and impartiality, we take the following steps: Idealware is responsible for the research and editorial content of this report. Vendors of systems included in this report or any of our reports do not pay for inclusion.Our funding partners contributed subject matter expertise to help inform the work, includinggating criteria for system inclusion, requirements criteria, and marketplace trends, but werenot involved in the system demos or reviews.Vendors have no input over the editorial content of this report and do not see the reportprior to publication.Additionally, Candid, TAG, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy served as promotional partners.They've agreed to help us distribute the report to widen our reach in exchange for promotionalconsiderations. None of the promotional partners contributed funding or had any input into oroversight of the content of the report.4 A Consumers Guide to Grants Management SystemsMarch 2020
HOW TO SHARE THIS REPORTIt's our goal to reach as wide an audience as possible with this resource, and we encourage readersand vendors to share it with as many people as they wish. Rather than sharing a PDF or printedversion, we ask that you share a link to the guide on our website.While we make our resources free to our audience, requiring registration to access them allows usto both notify readers of updates, corrections, and other relevant changes and to make the case tofunders that our work is valuable by demonstrating our reach.To share this work, please use the following link: g and QuotingFor information about reprinting, quoting, or repurposing this report, please read Idealware’spolicy online at http://idealware.org/reprinting-and-quoting.March 2020A Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems 5
TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction. 7Changes Since the Last Edition. 8How to Use The Guide. 9Accessing the Online Version. 9The State of the Marketplace. 10Selecting a Grants Management System.14What Does a Grants Management System Do?.14What Do These Systems Cost?.24Transitioning Systems.25Comparing GM Systems. 27Low-Cost Solutions for Smaller Foundations. 27Systems with Features to Assist Non-Technical Users.29Systems that Simplify the Applicant Experience.29Systems with Strong Application Review Features. 30Systems that Facilitate Outcomes Measurement and Evaluation.31Systems for Global Grantmakers.32Systems with Additional Notable Features.33Comparison Charts.35Reviews of the Grants Management Systems. 44Amp Impact.45Blackbaud Grantmaking. 50CC Grant Tracker.56Cybergrants.62First Akoya.net.68Fluxx Grantmaker. 74Foundant.79foundationConnect.85GivingData. 90SmartSimple.96Submittable. 102SurveyMonkey Apply. 107WebGrants. 113Zengine by WizeHive. 118Appendix A: Research Methodology. 124Eligibility Criteria. 124Product Selection. 124Evaluation Criteria. 125Customer Experience Survey. 125How We Evaluated the Systems. 1266 A Consumers Guide to Grants Management SystemsMarch 2020
Appendix B: Rating Rubric.127Appendix C: Customer Experience Survey. 135Appendix D: Additional Resources.137Appendix E: About This Report. 138Authors. 138Contributors. 138About Tech Impact Idealware. 139About Grantbook. 139About PEAK Grantmaking. 139About The Promotional Partners.140March 2020A Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems 7
Change is constant, and the grants managementsystem marketplace is no exception.First, just to clarify, in this guide we’re talkingabout systems used by foundations and othergrantmakers to track grants over their entirelifecycle; we’re not talking about systems forindividuals or organizations to track theirapplications and submissions for grants.Managing a grantmaking program is hard.Every grant means a universe of administrativedetails that need to be planned, scheduled,carried out, monitored, and reported on. Ontop of that are tasks that relate each individualgrant into a foundation’s program and activitiesthat ensure that all of a foundation’s programsfit into a strategic framework.Grants management systems were initiallydeveloped to solve that primary level ofgrantmaking challenges by providing a placeto house and manage the details that comprisethe grant lifecycle. As technology changed tofacilitate communication and collaboration, sodid grants management systems.At the same time, the philanthropic sectorbecame more introspective, undertaking effortsto define strategic and effective philanthropyand adopt data-driven decision-makingprocesses. The pressure to collect more dataon grants and grantees in formats that facilitateanalysis and reporting once again expandedthe role of grants management systems toaccommodate the increasing prevalence ofonline applications and progress reports andexplore different approaches to outcomesmeasurement and reporting.Today, grants management systems playa more prominent role in a foundation’stechnology ecosystem. They have expandedfrom tools used primarily by grant managersto include applicant and grantee portals, online8 A Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems“Change is constant, andthe grants managementsystem marketplace is noexception.“INTRODUCTIONreview portals, program management functions,dashboards and reports configured to meet theneeds of foundation leadership, and even someboard portal functionality.This means that more individuals representing awide range of technological comfort are usingthese systems; as a result, they need to be moreintuitive to casual users while retaining theability for advanced users to easily accomplishtasks. And because these individuals are lesslikely to be working within a central office,the systems need to be accessible from manylocations and across a wide variety of devices.Since we first released A Consumers Guide toGrants Management Systems in 2008, we’veworked to identify the factors driving thisevolution in the marketplace and integrate thechanging requirements into our evaluations.To that end, we developed this fifth edition ofthe guide in consultation with a distinguishedcollective of subject matter experts whoprovided insight into the changes infunctionality that appear in today’s systems aswell as changes in the philanthropic sector thatare transforming grantmaking itself.We have also taken to heart feedback receivedfrom readers of past editions of the guide,and from the system vendors themselves, whoinvest significant time and effort into providingdemos, answering follow-up questions, andresponding to requests for clarification.March 2020
Changes Since the Last EditionOther systems have rebranded:With this edition, we’ve introduced substantialchanges to the Consumers Guide. The mostsignificant is a redeveloped rubric that groupscore system functionality into 12 areas andmaps specific abilities into three levels: Basic,Standard, and Advanced. FluidReview, acquired by SurveyMonkey in2014, is now SurveyMonkey Apply. WESTAF’s GrantsOnline is now called GOSmart .We’ve also changed the structure of systemevaluations. Because there are manycommonalities among the systems for how theysupport core functions, we have moved awayfrom bulleted lists describing the function ofevery element we evaluated and toward a moredirect approach to summarizing key functions.To reflect the changing role of grantsmanagement systems in foundations, we alsorevised our inclusion criteria to meet a series of“must have” features identified by the subjectmatter experts with whom we worked. Our newcriteria, which is detailed on page 125, includesa focus on cloud-based systems that have ademonstrated base in the private and familyfoundation sector.Changes in the marketplace have affecteda number of systems included in previouseditions, including the following: Altum, which acquired Easygrants andPhilanTrack, rebranded in 2019 and focusedefforts on its ProposalCentral product,which now supports grantmaking in theresearch sector. Foundant acquired Smalldog. Cybergrants acquired EasyMatch. Blackbaud acquired MicroEdge’s GIFTSOnline platform. Benevity acquired Versaic, but decidedto market both systems primarily to thecorporate grantmaking sector. foundationConnect, a solution built ontop of Salesforce that was originallydeveloped by NPower and then acquired byroundCorner, was subsequently acquired bySalesforce.March 2020This continued movement in the marketplace,combined with more stringent inclusion criteria,means that this edition looks at a substantiallysmaller number of systems than in the past. Butthose that it does include have a stronger focuson the needs of private and family foundationsand/or fill a market niche that might otherwisebe under-served.How to Use the GuideThis guide should serve as a reference to helpyou determine which grants managementsolutions might best fit your needs.The State of the GMS Marketplace sectiontakes a deeper dive into the foundation andgrantmaking trends that have shifted themarketplace over the last five years and looksat how some software is evolving to meet newdemands.The Selecting a Grants Management Systemsection highlights the features and functionalityyou can expect to see in this type of software,as well as considerations for selecting andimplementing a new system or transitioningfrom one system to another.A Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems 9
The Comparing Grants Management Systemssection takes a closer look at the specificsystems we reviewed. Each has its ownstrengths and trade-offs, and there is widevariety among them. We’ve grouped theminto six categories based on what we saw asprimary differentiators: Low-Cost Solutions for Smaller Foundations Systems with Features to Assist NonTechnical Users Systems that Simplify the ApplicantExperience Systems with Strong Application ReviewFeatures Systems that Facilitate OutcomesMeasurement and Evaluation Systems for Global GrantmakersIf you already know that your organization’sneeds match one of these use cases, thatsection can help you start defining a shortlist of solutions. Our Comparison Charts,which start on page 35, map each system'sfunctionality against our rubric and includegeneral pricing estimates from the vendors soyou can see at a glance which systems bestmeet your most critical needs.Once you’ve identified a shortlist of systemsyou think might meet your foundation’s needs,turn to Reviews of the Grants ManagementSystems. Each review begins with a summary10 A Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systemsof the system that highlights key differentiatorsin the marketplace, followed by general systemcosts, more detailed descriptions of thesystem’s ability in each of the core functionalityareas, and key metrics for the system from ourcustomer experience survey.Note that these criteria are not intended to bea list of what every system should be expectedto provide. Different products approach theneeds of foundations in different ways, andvendors have different philosophies about howto approach those needs. Some systems weredeveloped for particular niches of the sector,while others play to their strengths and aredesigned to be used in tandem with separate,third-party solutions.Accessing the Online VersionFor the first time, this edition includes aninteractive online version of this report withcomparison charts that let you more easily sort,filter, and compare systems. Our hope is thatthis digital version will make it easier than everto find the right system for your foundation'sneeds.Find it at http://www.idealware.org/reports/gms2020.We believe this guide continues to be avaluable resource to foundations seeking tomake decisions about technology that canstreamline and enhance their grantmaking. Asalways we welcome your input about what ishelpful and where we can continue to improve.March 2020
THE STATE OF THE MARKETPLACESince the last edition of this report in 2016,the GMS marketplace has undergone a periodof transition—one driven by both a shift inhow some foundations are approachinggrantmaking and by the rapid pace oftechnological change.The biggest change in technology has been thewidespread adoption of cloud computing andits effect on everything from how companiesand organizations manage their IT to theexplosive growth in remote work. Accordingto data from FlexJobs and Global WorkplaceAnalytics, from 2012-2017 the number ofpeople in the U.S. working remotely grew 44percent.1 Cloud-based systems facilitate remotework by allowing staff to log in and access thetools they need to do their jobs anywhere theyhave an internet connection.Cloud-based tools t
4 A Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems March 2020 This Tech Impact Idealware report is the product of a partnership with Grantbook and PEAK Grantmaking, who funded the work. Maintaining editorial integrity and im
