Post-Award Grant Management: A Practical Guide for Grantmakers
Grant managers know that the work doesn’t stop once a grant is awarded. In fact, the post-award phase is where a lot of the high-stakes work happens.
The post-award phase is when grantmakers follow through on the promise of their grant program. It’s when applicants become true partners. But the right processes have to be in place to make those relationships successful.
What is post-award grant management?
Post-award grant management is the final stage of the grant management process. It’s everything that happens once the grant is awarded, all the way through closeout.
Financial oversight is a big component of the post award process. Grantmakers need to have clear workflows to move funds into grantees' hands. This includes reimbursements, clear budget tracking, and spend down processes.
Alongside the financial monitoring, reporting is also a big focus in this phase of the grant lifecycle. Grantees might need to submit progress reports or hit specific milestones to show that they’re holding up their end and meeting compliance regulations.
Though it’s easy to think about the post-award phase as a checklist, that doesn’t quite capture the full depth of the work during this stage. Every decision you make about your post-award process shapes your relationship with your grantees. It’s essential to handle each one with care.
Post-award best practices to make compliance easy
Some of the biggest news stories about grant programs focus on when things go catastrophically wrong in the post-award phase. Take the case of the one million dollars diverted from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation or the estimated $9 billion in fraud in Minnesota’s DHS programs. The risks of getting things wrong are high.
What you don’t often hear about are the quieter challenges in the post-award phase—the mismatched expectations and frayed relationships that happen when processes get off track. Though not as newsworthy, these can also undercut the work you’re trying to do.
Here’s how to get your post-award workflow right.
Approach the process from a partnership lens
View every step of the grant lifecycle from the grantee perspective. Imagine if you were the one tasked with moving through the post-award phase as a grantee. Identify any repetitive requests or confusing steps. Create a process that respects their time, ensures transparency, and provides clarity.
Set up expectations both ways
Your award agreement acts as a map for your grant partnerships. The agreement should lay out expectations and timelines so everyone knows what’s coming and there aren’t surprises along the way. If your award agreement doesn’t provide this structure, you might find yourself chasing down progress reports and receipts as deadlines approach, and setting up your grantees for the same kind of frantic scramble.
Make space for mutual flexibility
Clear expectations are important for strong partnerships. So is flexibility. You don’t want to feel like your award agreement structure is so rigid that you can’t make changes when you or your grantee needs to. It’s best to have a clear plan that includes a process for making changes as the need arises.
11 of the most important post-award features in your grant management software
Though your whole post-award process can’t be boiled down to a single checklist, you need the right feature in your GMS to keep partnerships on track.
Look for full lifecycle support with these features.
- A single portal: One portal with an organization login allows a grantee to have their whole team involved in ways that make sense for each role.
- Customizable award agreement: The award agreement can’t be a one-size-fits-all. It should be unique to each grantee and connect to upcoming goals, milestones, and reports.
- Amendments: Amendments allow you to easily make changes to the award agreement with an automatic digital record for compliance and transparency.
- Goals and milestone tracking: Goals and milestones help you stay on the same page with grantees. The award agreement should map them out with expectations and timelines.
- Budget visibility: Budget tracking should update in real time and give grantees and admins their own access to the same dashboard.
- Ability to define budget categories: You should be able to create budget categories and use automatic indirect cost calculations.
- Expense tracking and reimbursements: Reimbursements should be quick and easy with automated invoice generation.
- Progress reports: Scheduleable progress reports ensure you don’t have to manually keep up or chase down grantees.
- Disbursement schedule: Disbursements should link to milestones, so funds are released as soon as grantees submit their reports and receipts.
- Flexible payment options: Whether grantees need ACH, prepaid card, or something else, your GMS should provide the right options.
- Built-in Docusign integration: Know that contracts are secure and hassle-free with a built-in Docusign integration.
Your GMS sets everyone up for success
How you construct your post-award process can make or break the effectiveness and resilience of your grant programs. If you’re looking for a new grant management software, be sure to choose one that has all the features to create and maintain strong partnerships.
Submittable is a full-lifecycle GMS that puts your post-award tasks on autopilot, so you can focus on strengthening your team, your program, and your relationship with the community. Watch our on-demand demo to see how it works.
Laura Steele is a content producer at Submittable focused on the world of grantmaking and corporate giving. Her work often explores the connection between technology, equity, and social good.