How many grants can you write each month without feeling overwhelmed?
4? 6? 10? 15?
These days, I am managing 25+ grants each month, plus reporting. Twenty years ago, when I had one client and wrote five grants per month, I thought that would always be my max.
Today, the sky is the limit.
And the reason I feel so empowered today is because I have systems.
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I have used project management tools before, and they have always fallen short. Asana worked for me for a while, but it felt heavy, and I didn’t have the customizations I needed to build out grant services workflows.
Recently, my business consultant recommended Monday. I remember seeing an ad for it at one point, but didn’t know anything about the platform.
Well, it has been life-changing.
Monday has a Grant Management template that saved me days of work. I applied the template and then customized it exactly how I needed it to be.
From their templates, I created a Workspace for each client that includes a Grants Pipeline, a Directory of Grant Providers, and a Document Library.
The Grants Pipeline has the grant calendar broken into Scheduled, Submitted, Awarded, Denied. Within those categories, I can designate status, like “Working On It” or “Waiting for Documents.” I can set notifications to my desktop, phone, email, etc, so that I never miss a deadline.
Dozens of automations can be set up to reduce manual processes and save time.
Grant Providers lists all grant funders with the nitty gritty details of each. I include the basic demographic information but also notes, login credentials, links, etc. Anything that I have learned about the funder goes here.
The Document Library is where all documents for that client live. Financials, annual reports, letters of recommendation- they all have their own section and are simple to find.
I have transitioned from spreadsheets and Google Drive folders to one seamless system that is automated and gives me back the time I need to manage more clients and grants.
If you have a great system, reply to this email and let me know. If not, give Monday a try- they offer a free trial so you can check out the templates.
Until next time,
Write Epic Grants
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