By Maya Kuppermann, CEO & Co-Founder of Temelio
The Temelio team had the privilege of sponsoring the PEAK Grantmaking conference in Seattle last week. We held a raffle in which people had to answer the survey question: “If you had a magic wand, what would you add to/change about your grants management system?” Through this survey, we garnered some amazing insights around what the grants managers of today need from their grants management system. You can find a summary of the most common themes that emerged from the survey below.
Ease of Use
Ease of use was by far the most important element to the grantmakers surveyed, with many citing the frustration felt by their team and grantees due to the lack of ease of use in their current systems. Ease of use ensures that all stakeholders, from grant administrators to applicants, can navigate the platform effortlessly. This, in turn, reduces administrative burden, enhances overall efficiency, and improves the grantee experience.
“We need something that is more intuitive and actually accessible for all technology levels.”
Intuitive Reporting
Intuitive reporting was also highlighted as a key area grants managers want improved. Intuitive reporting empowers users to easily generate and interpret reports on fund utilization, project progress, and outcomes. Transparency and accountability throughout the grant lifecycle are also critical to many funders and are near impossible to achieve without intuitive reporting in a grants management system.
“We need more user-friendly reports. Reporting and pulling data from the system is arguably one of the most important things we need to do in the system.”
Integrations
As more software tools have become commonplace in grantmaking organizations, grants managers want all of their systems to speak to one another. Seamless integrations can facilitate data sharing, streamline workflows, and eliminate redundant tasks for both grantmakers and grantees alike.
“A system with seamless integrations that updates the data in your system real-time. We have too many technical systems for them not to be talking to one another.”
Customization/Flexibility
We have all heard the phrase “Once you’ve seen one foundation, you’ve seen one foundation.” Because every foundation manages its process in different ways, it can be frustrating when systems don’t have the customization and flexibility to allow organizations to tailor their grants management system to their specific needs and requirements. Customizable workflows, forms, and reporting templates enable organizations to adapt the system to changing grant programs, regulatory requirements, and internal processes, thereby maximizing usability and optimizing resource allocation.
“We need more customization. Our processes change too frequently for it to be so hard to change our system.”
Automation
Grantmaking processes can be filled with manual and redundant tasks. Survey respondents highlighted their desire for more advanced automation in their grants management system. Most of the automation requests weren’t particularly complex; grants managers just want to automate things like routine tasks, grantee notifications of reporting requirements, and compliance checks. By reducing manual intervention, automation improves efficiency, minimizes errors, and accelerates decision-making, ultimately enhancing the overall effectiveness of grantmaking processes.
“We aren’t asking for much, we just want to automate basic things like reporting schedule notifications.”
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A funder's relationship with their grantees is of extreme importance to the organization both strategically and interpersonally. When systems lack a comprehensive CRM feature, grantmakers can’t effectively track and manage their holistic relationship with their grantee partners. By centralizing contact information, grant history, communication histories, and engagement activities, an effective CRM can facilitate personalized interactions, strengthen partnerships, and enhance engagement, ultimately supporting the success of grant programs and fostering long-term grantee relationships.
“A strong CRM would be nice. Right now we have to dig through three different systems to get fully up to speed on our relationship to a given grantee.”
While these insights came from asking the question “If you had a magic wand, what would you add to/change about your grants management system?”, we believe that these features/elements highlighted are basic requirements of any effective grants management system. If you're curious to see how Temelio helps clients achieve all of the themes above, reach out to our team at contact@trytemelio.com.
For more information about whether Temelio might be the right grants management system for your foundation, schedule a call with our team.
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