Grant Management Systems Focus: Philanthropy

From the beginning of the year 2020, it’s fair to say nobody could have imagined the trials that the world would face. These are as much in health and various economies, as they are in regards to the constant disparity that those in underserved communities face every day.

Small businesses and those that work in the non-profit or philanthropically based sectors will have particularly faced further challenges throughout this crisis. We’ll look at the importance of how those kinds of businesses can adapt to a digitised world of messaging, while keeping clients happy and making sure the communities that they represent continue to be served to the best extent possible.

The grant management systems are focused on in relation to how we provide our service at Submit, and what aspects of this are most useful in different areas of understanding. There are specific examples of case studies, and how the approach has worked for different companies, as well as how foundations can be of continued help to those in the more disadvantaged societies.

The importance of clear and concise messaging

The core of any grant management system is to keep things on track to the extent that each member of a given team is aware of the responsibilities involved. As we have seen with the Covid-19 pandemic, it may not always be clear where various team members are or can be based with the circumstances. That is why the messaging has to be so transparent, in keeping staff and clients alike apprised and aware of any progress and development.

With that in mind, having accessible and clear forms and messaging helps the flow and overall productivity for the foundations and their goals. Making the move towards digital platforms means expanding the potential for more customers, and a faster way to process forms before distributing aid or help where needed. For the companies that are still somewhat ‘on the fence’ regarding the change, the massive shift that has taken place in terms of employees working from home should hopefully push more candidates into the next phase of development.

Once that has been addressed, it is a case of managing the system and understanding its functions. When managers and owners alike are able to follow and thereby stay informed on different levels of work, the initial advantages quickly become clear. The fact that information regarding clients, changes to procedures, application forms, inquiries and many more are so accessible means that these can in turn be replied to in quick succession.

This is hugely beneficial, and particularly helpful in the realms of philanthropy, where a faster response to any problem in that vein could have hugely positive consequences.

Measures and advantages that can be undertaken for small businesses

Working together is also something which can prove to have many benefits for any country or city’s private, public, non-profit, and philanthropic sectors for the benefit of vulnerable small businesses.  Small business owners can also work with experts to find grants, loans, and other financial resources during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Economic development is one area to potentially answer such queries and direct the owners to suitable resources, such as any related health and safety guidelines, PPE sourcing, financial aid, and technical assistance.

By offering access to free or discounted PPE (gloves, masks, hand sanitiser, etc) these can in turn be provided to communities in need which are in more disarray than before following the pandemic.

Small business owners who have specific questions about accounting, human resources, marketing, legal, or business reopening operations can in turn schedule a one-on-one virtual consultation with experts and get in direct contact at a faster pace.

In line with all of these projects and potential developments, the full grant history can be viewed and accessed by all members of a given team at any team. For planning purposes, having a full list of all information regarding reports, deadlines, interviews and grant status would be vital.

In the area of philanthropy, such grants are even more vital in terms of making a difference in communities that require emergency assistance at any given turn.

Submit’s commitment to businesses in the philanthropy sector and a customer case study

Submit will continue to aid and respond to companies in this time of need, by providing a platform that makes messaging more transparent and clearer in implementing the grant management systems.  

An example of a company that have had positive experiences with a Submit partnership can be seen with the South Cork Local Enterprise Office (LEO). They operate as hugely essential service to small business owners of the kind previously mentioned in this piece, providing services such as business advice, potential funding and mentoring.

With that in mind, it’s safe to imagine that such an organisation would have a huge uptake in terms of applications, and a huge flow of administrative related tasks to follow up with. Therefore, leaving the paper system behind provided unrealised bonuses in the areas of time saving, cost cutting, and other vital aspects of business. As the enterprise leader Sean O’ Sullivan remarks;

 “Previously, all our mentoring applications were submitted manually. Using paper was a tedious process for both clients and staff and required significant effort from the team. Furthermore, applications submitted via paper meant that LEO Executives wasted time tracking assignments rather than using that time on Clients. We knew we needed to be innovative across the organisation, and not just for our grants.”

Coupled with that, the more aware each member of a team or company are in terms of adjusting and adapting to a system, the more they will quickly understand how much of a positive impact this has in terms of overall productivity.

Supporting small businesses in a pandemic is crucial, and particularly in the areas of processing applications and moving projects forward in as much time as possible.  As Sean goes on to say; ‘The fact that this system can be used to manage mentor assignments straight through from application stage through the assignment and reporting has helped us tremendously. I have been particularly impressed with the automatic features which have greatly reduced the time spent managing individual assignments.”

Further information can be read here in terms of that particular customer’s experience with Submit to date.

In terms of grant management procedures and their implementation, you can also look here for the breakdown of any technical information.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today for a free trial, to see for yourself and your organisation the benefit of using the grant management systems!