Effective grant management is critical to a non-profit’s fundraising efforts. On the other hand, budgeting, tracking, reporting, and managing grants may become daunting tasks. Moreover, they divert valuable staff time and resources away from the more vital work at the heart of your organization. Nevertheless, the grant management process is the norm for how organizations select how to divide grant funds to non-profits, enterprises, or individuals. Here’s how to manage grants for non-profit organizations.
Step 1: Determine available resources and clearly define roles.
Begin by determining what you’ll need and who will be in charge of certain components of the grant administration process. Answer the following questions:
- Do you need any extra tools for tracking spending or program management?
- Is there representation on your team from leadership, finance, human resources, and any other necessary areas?
- Is each representative responsible for executing, tracking, and reporting on the grant’s utility?
Define your requirements, various team duties, which they will report, and when they must act feasible.
Step 2: Create grant tracking documents.
Create any documentation your team will need to efficiently carry out their tasks in the process. An example is configuring any particular projects or views in your
- project management
- accounting
- database software
Step 3: Examine all applicable grant requirements.
Take some time to go over the conditions of your grant. Ensure that team members have easy access to and understanding of the requirements.
Step 4: Make a detailed schedule for your grant.
To construct a comprehensive grant calendar, combine:
- your team assignment notes from Step 1
- grant requirements from Step 3
- your larger programming plans
This plan should detail how and when certain aspects of your program and a good grant management software.
Step 5: Learn how to record grant funds.
Before spending your grant funds, ensure that your staff is ready to record and report the funds in compliance with requirements.
Depending on the funding source, you can record incoming money as they come in. Or, you can track program-related expenses in real time for reimbursement later. Grants may have extra reporting methods or regulations, so reviewing these expectations is always a good idea.
Other grant accounting hints:
- Use budget-to-actual reporting to provide your team with a consistent picture of how well you’re utilizing the grant.
- Develop or adhere to very stringent reporting requirements for multi-year grants.
- Prepare for financial audits, especially if you are reporting on government funds.
Step 6: Internally report on your progress.
Funders may need periodic reports and updates. Even if they don’t, it’s a good idea for the entire grant management team to report any updates, modifications, or progress toward targets. In Step 4, you should specify these benchmark periods in your grant schedule.
Grant administration necessitates established rules and collaboration among personnel from several departments. The non-profit organization’s connection with the funding community depends on proper grant management. It also depends on the use of funds and the functioning of supported initiatives or activities.
