A Comprehensive Guide to Writing an Effective RFP for Grant Management Software

The RFP process is a typical step for public entities seeking to acquire grant management software, but there are cases where it may not be wise, necessary, or even feasible. While issuing an RFP often makes sense, whether due to a desire to receive competitive bids or as a non-negotiable agency protocol, there are significant drawbacks worth considering if your situation is more flexible. One of the biggest drawbacks is the amount of time that it eats up. 

The RFP process is not always as simple as it may seem at the outset. You’ll need to draft it carefully, solicit responses (with an adequate deadline to expect the most thorough and competitive offers reasonably), honor a Q&A period with respondents, and after all of that—your team must thoughtfully review and go through your decision-making process. Only once you select the vendor may you get to the important, often urgent work, of building out your program on the new software. 

For these reasons, we recommend that before drafting your RFP, check out alternative ways to purchase the software you need. Here are a few common situations where an RFP may not be your only or best option:

If the software is below the spending threshold. If the value of the software purchase is below the spending threshold set by the agency or department, an RFP may not be necessary. While researching GMS platforms, it is worth getting some ballpark price quotes to determine if you need to go to RFP and if your budget will allow for the solution.

When the software is the sole source to fulfill a key requirement. If you can demonstrate that a particular software provider offers features that are unique and cannot be found elsewhere, you may be able to secure a sole-source contract without the need for an RFP. Sole-source contracts are issued when only a single business can fulfill the requirements of a contract. For instance: 

• A tight timeline to launch

• Track record in preventing fraud

• Built-in, zero-lift comprehensive audit-preparedness

These are examples of requirements that may be non-negotiable elements of your RFP that only a single vendor may fulfill.  If you would like to work with Submittable, we can provide guidance on a sole-source justification. 

If you can leverage state contracts or cooperative purchasing agreements. Additionally, if existing state contracts offer your preferred software of choice, or if other similar agencies/entities in the state have already gone through the RFP process, you may be able to piggyback on those contracts without going through the process yourself. For example, Submittable is on the Software Licensing Program (SLP) contract with the State of California. Another option is to explore technology buying groups such as Carahsoft or GSA that have already negotiated government contracts with multiple software providers. Submittable is available through Carahsoft, NASPO, GSA Advantage and SLP.

When there are existing contracts. This may sound obvious, but do ensure you don’t already have a contract within your municipality. For example, Submittable can run multiple programs on one platform—and you may already have access through a different division of your tribe, city, county or state department without knowing it. Even if your program requires a unique program portal, you can still qualify for significant savings for adding to an existing contract (in addition to the benefit of skipping a lengthy RFP process).  

During emergency circumstances. In times of crisis, such as a natural disaster, health pandemic or a state of emergency declaration, there are often acquisition flexibilities that allow you to source a solution to get funds and resources when they are needed most in time to avert further harm to impact communities. 

It is essential to consider all of these factors and evaluate whether an RFP process is the best approach for acquiring the necessary grant management software.

Alternate procurement processes. Consider not pursuing an RFP if: 

• The cost is lower than the budget threshold

• Your purchase qualifies for a sole-source contract

• A preferred vendor is listed on your state contract or through a pre-approved purchase group

• An adjacent municipality has an existing contract with a preferred vendor

• Your conducting an emergency procurement 

If you determine that an RFP is the most appropriate choice, we will guide you in creating an effective RPF that enables you to choose the best vendor to meet your objectives. The best way to measure the value you will get from a GMS is to ensure that it aligns with your business case.  For this reason it is worth drafting out your business case before you before conducting your initial research and cost analysis.

Business case: Your business case will communicate the benefits your are looking to achieve by adopting a new software.

When detailing your business case, consider:

• Overall strategic goals and purpose.  Articulate the overarching objectives of your grant program, including a summary of your vision and how the GMS fits into your overall strategy.

• Program priorities. Include any organizational priorities that you would like to ensure runs throughout your grant process.  For instance, your program may prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion in its grant-making process and require a platform that supports these goals.

• Project scope. List what this project will achieve and what is not part of it. Include an overview of deliverables and services. 

• Milestones and/or timeline. Provide a detailed timeline for the project, including key milestones and deadlines for implementing the software and getting your first grant program up and running.

• Background information. Detail background information on your your current grant management processes, including what tools or systems you're currently using to manage grants. This should also include any pain points or challenges you've faced with your current system, and how the new software will help to address these issues.

If you haven’t already, check out our guide on Government Grantmakers Making the Case for Digital Transformation. This will help not just build your business case on why you need grant management software but will detail specific benefits that a purpose-built GMS can provide government teams.

To ensure that you can evaluate proposals effectively, conducting a cost analysis before drafting your RFP is critical. This involves understanding the features and functionality that you will require, so you can avoid requesting proposals with unfamiliar or incomplete pricing.

Effective grant management systems should include robust funds tracking and award management features, as well as be able to efficiently and accurately disburse funds.  

• A grant management solution should provide funds tracking so that your team has one source of truth when it comes to the budget. The tool should break down how much of your budget you’ve awarded, delivered and reimbursed, with easy-to-interpret visualizations.  

• Software must also be capable of sending electronic grant payments directly from the system to expedite funding and eliminate the work associated with issuing paper checks. Electronic payments can shave days or weeks off of the time it takes to get funding to an awardee. Learn more about funds distribution here.

• While ACH is the best mechanism for paying recipients, in the event you are working with unbanked populations, it’s also important that the vendor may disburse funds via check and/or prepaid debit card. 

• Seek a reimbursement process that is easy to implement, manage and approve for the program manager. The ability is essential for the sub-recipient to send in reimbursements as needed for quick repayment to not slow down the good work they are performing.

Grantmakers often collect sensitive data from individuals, organizations and businesses, including personal and financial information. Therefore, you must ensure the security and privacy of this data. If you are a federal agency or pass-through agency for federal dollars, then federal compliance requirements are paramount. 

• Search for grant management software that has strong security certifications that require third-party audits, such as a SOC 2 Type 2 certification, and request to see their report to ensure that there are no exceptions you should be leery of.

• Cloud-based data hosting for grant management systems is important as it provides secure, reliable, and scalable storage solutions, which can be accessed from anywhere at any time. The provider of the data hosting will also have their own security certifications to make sure you and your applicant's data is protected. Be sure the cloud host is a reputable provider.

• It is important to ensure that the grant management platform you choose supports user roles and permissions that align with your program's workflow. This will help to ensure that users only have access to the data and features that they need to perform their job roles and responsibilities, while also minimizing the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

• Single-Sign-On (SSO) provides a more secure approach to software access by reducing the risk of password reuse, providing centralized access control, enhancing security measures, and increasing visibility into user activity.

• You need assurance that your grant management system will work when you need it most. Stability in grant management software is essential for ensuring uninterrupted access from your applicants and team, minimizing downtime, and preventing costly errors. System crashes, data loss, or other technical issues can have serious consequences, such as delays in award disbursement, mismanagement of funds, and damage to the organization's reputation. Seek a provider with a minimum of the industry-standard 99.9% uptime.

• Ensuring the privacy of your applicants is crucial. As a responsible organization, it is important to know the necessary compliance certificates that your program requires. Depending on your programs and applicants, there are the five major compliance certificates that you should ensure your grant management software provider have: HIPPA, CCPA, GDPR, FERPA and PCI DSS.