Foundant Grant Lifecycle Manager vs Foundation Directory Online (FDO)

Likelihood to Recommend

From where I stand, GLM is well-suited for use by small-staffed charitable foundations who make more than thirty (30) grants a year and distribute more than $500,000 in funds to non-profits. The software is able to handle every step in the grant-making process from receipt of a request, to the evaluation and decision regarding the grant, to tracking the pay-out, and to closing the grant when the work or the year is completed.

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Gwenn Gebhard

Executive Director

Luther I. Replogle FoundationPhilanthropy, 1-10 employees

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Beyond any pros or cons, the simple fact is that FDO is the industry standard for grant prospecting databases. Others like GrantStation, GrantSearch, and more can offer some other functionalities or different UX/UI, but ultimately I've never found something that other search platforms had that FDO did not. If you are a non-profit organization, you need a subscription to FDO if you have any serious interest in prospecting (and getting) institutional funding.

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David S. Levine, CFRE

Development Manager

Christodora: Nature, Learning, LeadershipNon-profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees

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Pros

Foundant provides a streamlined grants management solution for reasonable cost.
The company listens to its users, collecting ideas and making improvements. Updates to the software are rolled out several times a year. When something cannot be changed right away, the company gives context and forecasts when the change might be possible.
While the software is easy to use, it also offers more advanced features (such as merge templates) that allow more customization for the advanced user.

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Mary Giraulo

Manager, Grants & Arts Education

United Arts of Central FloridaNon-Profit Organization Management, 11-50 employees

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Summarizing foundation information (contact info, funding priorities, geographic priorities, etc.) in a user-friendly format
Recommending similar foundations based on certain criteria, this is helpful when looking for new funding opportunities
Being able to search through organization's 990s using crtl + F

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Verified User

Program Manager in Sales

Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 51-200 employees

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Cons

Need a smother process for third party responses. Currently individuals recommending more than one student for scholarships have many emails to deal with to find the correct link to upload the correct student's letter.
Questions that would filter which applications the applicant would apply for.

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Sally Weldon

Director of Information Technology

The Community Foundation of Western North CarolinaNon-Profit Organization Management, 11-50 employees

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As this platform grows, more data will be available and I'm looking forward to even further narrowed search results.

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Abby Landmeier

Manager of Community Funding and Volunteers

United Way of Mesa CountyNon-Profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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Foundant Grant Lifecycle Manager Editions & Modules

Edition

Grant Lifecycle Manager (GLM)	¹

Per Organization, Per Every 2 Years

Additional Pricing Details

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General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

—

Foundation Directory Online (FDO) Editions & Modules

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Additional Pricing Details

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Support Rating

No score

No answers yet

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Foundation Directory Online (FDO) 10.0

Based on 2 answers

Any question is answered within 24-48 hours, professionally. If one person can't answer right away, they will seek answers within their support group and find the answer for you.

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David S. Levine, CFRE

Development Manager

Christodora: Nature, Learning, LeadershipNon-profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees

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Alternatives Considered

I have not used other online grantmaking products or evaluated others. I used to use MicroEdge Gifts, but not the online application version. It was a stand alone management system. This is hands-down better, easier to use and a more complete system

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Susan Haley

Grants Manager

Dean & Margaret Lesher FoundationPhilanthropy, 1-10 employees

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I have also used Grant Station and GuideStar for foundation research and have found Foundation Directory Online to be the most user-friendly, provide the most detailed information about foundations, and to have the best search features in order to find the funders that I am looking for as well as to discover new funders

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Verified User

Program Manager in Sales

Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 51-200 employees

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Return on Investment

Positive customer service--fairly easy to use for applicants.
Positive--easy to run reports you have already set up, so [it] saves time.
Negative--limited question types makes it harder to gather the data we want to track.
Negative--our budget is more complex than can be tracked in Foundant, so we have to use a separate program.
Negative--we have to track potential grantee conversations in a separate program.
Negative--getting data ready to display in a dashboard takes a lot of time to manipulate in Excel.

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Kristen Summers

Grants Manager

Saint Luke's FoundationPhilanthropy, 11-50 employees

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We don't apply for many grants, however; we use look for resources to direct nonprofit when looking for additional funding outside of our funding process.

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Abby Landmeier

Manager of Community Funding and Volunteers

United Way of Mesa CountyNon-Profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees

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Foundant Grant Lifecycle Manager vs Foundation Directory Online (FDO)