5 Tips for Simplifying Your Grantmaking Process
Grants management can be a complex and time-consuming process, but it doesn’t have to be! We’ve put together a list of five tips for simplifying your grantmaking process — let’s dive right in The key to successfully managing grants is organization, and technology can be your best friend here. Utilizing GO Smart can help you […]
Be Nice to Your Applicants
Here’s Why You Should Make Things Easier on Them—and Yourself! We all know that having a positive reputation among applicant pools is essential. It can help to ensure that you attract the best applicants to your grants. But do you know what your applicants really think about your application process? Looking at the workflow from […]
Before You Make That Pitch for Cloud-Based Grants Management, Start Here!
Let’s face it: We could all use a little more money. And a lot more time. For nonprofits in particular, this is nothing new. But making the case for adopting cloud-based grants management systems can be challenging when you need the buy-in of those who may not instantly understand how such an investment will improve […]
Grants management doesn’t need to be complicated
Learn how to simplify your grants management process and save more time so you can focus on the big stuff With all of the paperwork, accountability, and document retention that already comes with grant-making, why are we making our jobs more difficult by having multitudes of programs and lengthy grant applications? Not only is this […]
Launch Your Grant Cycle
Prepare and launch your grant cycle by following the steps below. Learn more about these elements here: Programs Program Cycles (for logistics and to make the cycle available to users) Application Pages
Prep Your Applicant Portal
Prepare your applicant’s grant portal by following the steps below. You can always update these settings at any time, but ensure a positive experience for your applicants by paying attention to these items before directing them to your GO Smart site. Learn more about these elements here: Home Message Branding Profile Editor Media Library Module […]
Custom Reports
During or after the cycle of your grant program opportunity, you will likely want to aggregate your applicant data into reports. GO Smart offers several options for creating reports. One option is to create a custom report that includes all of the data from any portion of your grant opportunity. If you report to the […]
Prep Your Panel
If you need additional assistance with any of the steps above, see the individual tutorials below: User Editor – Create Panelists Panels – Create Panels Grant Manager – Assign Applications to a Panel
User Editor – Create Panelists
Create your panelist user accounts from the User Editor. Panelists login at admin.gosmart.org. Upon logging in, panelists will view their panel portal, not the admin portal. Be sure to follow the steps below during creation to ensure that you are designating appropriate users as panelists and not grant administrators. Navigate to the Administration tab > User Editor […]
Panels – Create Panels
From the GO Smart Panel Editor tab, you can create panels for a cycle any time after the cycle has been created. You can create multiple panels per cycle, each with custom instructions, settings, and multiple criteria that can be scored and commented on separately. Criteria titles and text can be customized and you can […]
Grant Manager – Assign Applications to a Panel
After you have created your panel(s), you must assign your applications. Navigate to the Grant Manager > Grant Manager dashboard. Select the Program and Cycle you would like to work on. Scroll to the Applications list. Use the drop-down menu in the Panel column to select the appropriate panel for each applicant. Applications must be […]
Grant Manager Dashboard – Manage Applications and Review Applicant Data
After applicants have begun to access your grant opportunities, you can view their activity from the grant manager dashboard. This dashboard has two main sections: the status table and the list of applicant submissions. The status table allows you to get a quick bird’s eye view of how many applicants are in any status at […]
Mass Mailer – Email All Applicants in a Status
If you need to immediately email all applicants in one or several statuses, use the Mass Mailer tool. Navigate to the Grant Manager tab > Mass Mailer subtab. Select your program and cycle from the drop-down menu. Check the status(es) of applicants to whom you want to send a message. Click Select. The Email Editor […]
Email an Individual Applicant
If you need to email an individual applicant, you have several options. You can: Navigate to the Applicant tab > Applicant Search subtab. Search for the applicant using any field. Click the email in the search results and your email server will open. Navigate to the Grant Manager > Grant Manager Dashboard. Select the program […]
Panelist Report
After (or while) you have conducted the panel for your cycle, you can create a robust report that includes both simple and comprehensive breakdowns of your panelists’ scores and comments. Navigate to the Reports tab > Panelist Report. Select the Program, Cycle, and Panel for which you would like to build a Panelist Report. Select […]
Create a Panel Book
A Panel Book is a single document that contains all selected applications. These books are ideal for offline review of all applications assigned to a panel or within a certain status. Admin can determine which applications will be included by selecting a status or group of statuses when creating the panel book. Admin can follow […]
NEA and Locations Reports
GO Smart allows you to generate reports that are designed specifically to address NEA/NASAA grant requirements. In order to use these reports to their fullest extent, you will want to be familiar with the NEA Question Page and the Activity Locations Page. If you included the NEA template in one or multiple forms of the […]
Programs
A program in GO Smart is one grant opportunity offered by your agency. Programs are offered on a cyclical basis (annually, biannually, quarterly, rolling, or other) and are distinguished by a unique application form. Programs created on the Grant Editor > Programs subtab act as folders for the program cycles and additional flex forms you […]
Cycle Pages – Forms, Pages, and Questions
Once you have created the logistics for a cycle using the Program Cycles editor, you will need to add pages to your cycle that will be grouped into forms. The cycle must include an Application form and it may also include optional Intent to Apply, Interim Report, and/or Final Report forms. You may also create […]
Cycle Pages – Add Questions and Information to a Custom Narrative Page or Intent to Apply
You will need to add one or more Custom Narrative pages to your form in order to ask questions and gather narrative data from your applicants. Questions need to be added to a custom narrative page before it will be visible to your applicants. Learn more about the other page types you can add to a […]
