Nonprofits are a part of the world and operate in a sphere that is not always easy. This is because they have to meet the needs of many different people who are all equally deserving of attention and resources, often without enough either. And sometimes their work is downright thankless, often requiring long hours answering phones or sitting at a desk updating spreadsheets when they could be doing something so much more meaningful.
Grant management software for nonprofits is a service that manages the fundraising process of a nonprofit, particularly for grants from the government. These grant management software programs are beneficial for smaller nonprofits struggling to find their way to apply for and win large amounts of funding.
This article will explore how grant management software can work within the nonprofit industry and provide some practical tips on applying it successfully in your nonprofit’s setting.
Top 5 Grant Management Software For Nonprofits
Grant Management Software For Nonprofits Reviews
1. Best Overall: Quickbooks Enterprise Nonprofit
Whether you’re a larger nonprofit with a dedicated grants officer or a small organization with no staff to manage your funding, QuickBooks is here to help. The software lets you track and report on funds by linking directly to the IRS’s e-file system. It also recommends the best match for each type of funding opportunity and prepares your application so you can submit it in minutes.
The software can handle all of your accounting needs, from payroll to time tracking, and with its electronic filing capabilities, it’s easy to meet deadlines. It also helps you understand the financial impact of your projects by allowing you to evaluate their profitability.
Additionally, its partner solutions help you automate grant writing and matching requests while helping ensure compliance with standards set by funding agencies.
Pricing Plans
- Simple Start – $12.50/mo.
- Essentials – $20/mo.
- Plus – $35/mo.
- Advanced – $75/mo.
All Plans Include
- Income and expenses.
- Tax deductions.
- Powerful reports.
- Receipt capture.
- Mileage tracking
- Cash flow.
- Sales and sales tax.
- Bill management.
- Batch invoices and expenses.
- Task management.
2. Best Customer Support: Salesforce Sales Cloud
Nonprofits complete grants to fund their work and are responsible for tracking various data and documents related to these grants. Nonprofits typically have one centralized system for grant management, such as Salesforce, which can help with financial sustainability by keeping reports organized and integrating seamlessly with other funds and non-profit systems.
The Salesforce Sales Cloud is one of the most popular options on the market, boasting enhanced forecasting capabilities in addition to its suite of features designed for nonprofits.
Salesforce is an enterprise-level system that can help nonprofits allocate, track and report on all their grants using a single system. This is a part of the social sales suite of applications that includes Social Insurance Number (SIN), Workflow, and AppExchange, which are the main products to be reviewed.
Pricing Plans
- Premium – $499 per year.
- 360MatchPRO – starts at $3,000 per year.
3. Best Range Of Features: Nonprofit Plus
Nonprofit Plus is a grant management software. It’s easy-to-use, secure, and free for nonprofits with no restrictions. The solution offers nonprofits the tools they need to manage their grants and fundraising efficiently without the need to spend hours scouring through lengthy grant application processes. It helps them respond to their communities’ needs and assists in business planning.
Nonprofit Plus is web-based, requires no installation, and is adaptable to any size organization. With its mobile app, nonprofits can manage grants and fundraising on the go with ease. Since it’s cloud-based, nonprofits can create and access grant files from any location.
All Plans Include
- Manage Grants from Pre-Award to Expiration seamlessly.
- Capture files, notes, tasks, communications, and other activities.
- Configure redirects specific to the grantor’s requirements.
- Automated grant Draw Down process for Reimbursement, Restricted Revenue Release, and Revenue Recognition.
- Indirects are tracked automatically within the draw-down process.
- Clear visibility to the draw-down details for grantor transparency.
- Informative and understandable out-of-the-box reports.
4. Best Scalable: Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
Nonprofits are complex organizations with multiple stakeholders and funding streams, many of which come from outside the organization. Managing a nonprofit organization can be time-consuming, difficult, and expensive – especially for organizations with a quickly growing staff.
This is where Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT collaboration software can help! With features such as dashboards to track finances and reports that enable nonprofits to demonstrate their successes to their funders regularly, this software will help make your work easier. You’ll be able to see what you’re spending so your accountants don’t have to! Plus, it’s affordable—equivalent to less than one day of fundraising costs in most cases. How does this sound? Give it a try today.
Key Features of Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
- Completely customizable grant management software product.
- Manage all of your funding streams and donation sources with one easy-to-use interface. Report on financials easily with built-in dashboards, reports, and charts.
- The community portal allows you to network and collaborates with other nonprofits. Set up private discussions, post your news, or schedule a meeting; users can view the calendar from any computer or mobile device.
5. Best For Streamline Workflows: Sage Intacct
Sage Intacct is software designed for grant management. It provides a wide range of features for nonprofits to manage their grants. The most important aspects of the software are the flexibility and options for grant types, events, and other metrics that keep track of donor involvement. These features also make it easy to keep track of grants and transactions.
The software is available in the cloud or on-premise. Intacct is designed for small- to medium-sized nonprofits with up to 50 employees, but it also has many features that can be used for larger firms and bigger budgets. It has several features that are designed for nonprofits. For example, the software automatically adds new transactions to donor reports and statements, helping with donor relations.
Intacct includes flexible financial options allowing users to create multiple currencies, adapt accounts and transaction types to match the firm’s needs, customize a budget setup, and allocate expenses from one product or service to another within a single accounting period.
Sage Intacct Features
- Track and report accurately to get the most for your mission.
- Capture accurate costs for reimbursement.
- Ensure mission delivery with more control and visibility.
- Ease compliance and audits.
All Plans Include
- Grant tracking and billing.
- Multi-entity and global consolidations.
- Nonprofit digital board book.
- Nonprofit revenue recognition.
- Tax recording.
- Various report creations.
Buyer’s Guide
Grant management is a foundation for fundraising. It is the process of determining how and when a nonprofit should effectively collect money to support its cause. Grant management software can help guide you on the path to successful grant-seeking, providing insight into effective strategies for proposals and tracking over time.
Nowadays, this has been made possible through the use of online grant managing tools available free of charge. These tools have allowed individuals unable to afford expensive grants management systems to utilize them in their practice. They allow a donor’s giving to be specifically targeted at where it will go most efficiently. Below you can explore the software benefits, things to consider while choosing the best grant management software for nonprofits.
What Is Grant Management Software For Nonprofits?
Grant management software is a service that manages the fundraising process of a nonprofit, particularly for grants from the government. These grant management software programs are beneficial for smaller nonprofits struggling to find their way to apply for and win large amounts of funding.
The process of getting this kind of software can be complex, so understanding the benefits it provides you with will help make the selection easier. The following information will be used as a guide to help distinguish between effective and ineffective grant-seeking practices.
Grant Management Software Benefits
Accurate Data On How Donors Give
By creating surveys, software programs allow nonprofit organizations to understand exactly how many people are giving and how much they are giving per year. This information is crucial to understanding where to allocate grant money.
Accurate Data On How You Spend Money
By creating an organizational chart, grant management software programs allow nonprofits to track their expenditures with the same accuracy as their donations. This can be crucial for nonprofit organizations seeking grants from the government because they must have more accurate accounting practices in place.
Clarity In Tracking Donor Funds
Grant management software allows a nonprofit organization to look back and see when and where most of their donors came from and how much they gave over time. This will provide insight into which areas to target when fundraising, allowing nonprofits to save time and money on advertising efforts that produced poor results.
How To Choose Grant Management Software For Nonprofits?
The following aspects of grant management software should be carefully considered when choosing an effective program:
Track Donors
Software should be able to track recurring donors as well as one-time donors. This important feature allows you to see and target the same donor repeatedly, which can be a huge money saver for many organizations.
Track Budgetary Holds
Grant management software should help you organize your budget by showing where that money is being spent. The breakdown of costs will allow grant management software to show where the money is being used most efficiently. It will also allow you to hold on to it in other areas, such as savings or building up debt.
Track Debt
Grant management software should show you the debt you have accumulated, either because of previous failed projects or because of necessary capital for a project. You will have to decide whether or not it is worth holding on to some of this debt as a liability on your balance sheet.
Track Taxes
Grant management software should also show you taxes that have been paid and taxes that have not been paid on your income – so that you can double-check your facts. You will need to decide whether or not it is worth paying taxes to save on the amount spent on tax services.
FAQ
What Is The Best Grant Management Software?
The best grant management software is one that includes all of the features you need, like budgeting options, customizable tracking, and project management. The most popular choice for this type of software is QuickBooks.
How Do Nonprofits Manage Grants?
To work with grants, nonprofits should be registered with their state government. They then would need to register with the IRS and file annual tax forms. The second requirement is that an organization must provide a written agreement stating that another party can be solely liable for funding obligations if the nonprofit goes bankrupt.
A third requirement is that after receiving the funds from a grant, they must have a documented record of expenditures within 30 days after they are made. The fourth requirement is that an organization must endow its trust fund according to guidelines set out by most states.
Is QuickBooks Good For Nonprofits?
A QuickBooks for nonprofits is specially designed to help those organizations with donation tracking, fundraising, and other financial management.
