Blackbaud Grantmaking for the win!
My organization utilizes the Blackbaud Grantmaking for the entire grant application and review process with all of the grant giving for …
Overview
What is Blackbaud Grantmaking?
Blackbaud Grantmaking (formally GIFTS Online) is part of Blackbaud’s extensive portfolio of software, services, data intelligence and expertise that powers social good. Blackbaud Grantmaking delivers grantmaking capabilities configured to meet the user's needs, and to improve efficiency with personalized online…
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What is Blackbaud Grantmaking?
Blackbaud Grantmaking (formally GIFTS Online) is part of Blackbaud’s extensive portfolio of software, services, data intelligence and expertise that powers social good. Blackbaud Grantmaking delivers grantmaking capabilities configured to meet the user's needs, and to improve efficiency with…
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A 9-Minute Glimpse Into the Power of Blackbaud Grantmaking
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What is Blackbaud Grantmaking?
Blackbaud Grantmaking (formally GIFTS Online) is part of Blackbaud’s extensive portfolio of software, services, data intelligence and expertise that powers social good. Blackbaud Grantmaking delivers grantmaking capabilities configured to meet the user's needs, and to improve efficiency with personalized online grant applications and report forms, personalized user dashboards, and simplified financial processing tools. By providing access to giving data, including standard, advanced, and ad hoc reporting tools, Blackbaud Grantmaking enables users to measure, understand, and improve results. In addition, Blackbaud Grantmaking allows funders to become actively involved in the Foundation Center’s Glasspockets initiative with Grant reporting capabilities, allowing for greater collaboration and more impactful giving. Blackbaud Grantmaking supports organizations whose goal is to provide guidance, transparency, and accountability throughout the grantmaking cycle.
Blackbaud Grantmaking Features
- Supported: Configurable to meet your workflow
- Supported: Dashboards featuring real-time data
- Supported: Integrated tools for finance, payments and reporting
- Supported: Outcomes measurement capabilities
- Supported: Open API to connect with your other essential software solutions
Blackbaud Grantmaking Screenshots
Blackbaud Grantmaking Video
Blackbaud Grantmaking is purpose-built to allow grantmaking organizations manage their entire grant lifecycle. Accessible anytime, anywhere, and from any device or browser, Blackbaud Grantmaking helps organizations of all shapes and sizes give more efficiently and effectively....
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Blackbaud Grantmaking Technical Details
| Deployment Types | Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
| Mobile Application | Apple iOS, Android, Mobile Web |
| Supported Countries | All countries |
| Supported Languages | English (US), English (British), Welsh, Spanish, French, Portuguese |
Blackbaud Grantmaking Downloadables
Frequently Asked Questions
Bonterra Grants Management, Fluxx Grantmaker, and Foundant Grant Lifecycle Manager are common alternatives for Blackbaud Grantmaking.
Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 8.
The most common users of Blackbaud Grantmaking are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Reviews
(1-4 of 4)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
July 17, 2018
Blackbaud Grantmaking Review
We are currently using Blackbaud to manage all of our online grant applications and to provide reporting information for accounting as well as program staff.
The system has provided access both for staff and grantees, better management, the ability to pull data from the grants using classifications and drop down menus. The Improvement is so significant it would be difficult to list how transferring to an online Grant Management System has benefited our organization.
- Very versatile.
- Allows as many applications as needed for multiple types of Grants including single stage and allowing for a letter of interest followed up by a second stage application.
- Allows all corresponds to be maintained in one location within the grant application
- Provides access to contact information, payment information, refunds, etc.
- Modules allow for as many specialized fields as needed.
- Internal and external reviews allow grant review without additional licenses.
- While comprehensive application creation can be difficult and confusing
- Cost can be high with additional modules
- I highly recommend new users complete the online training courses available on Blackbaud before creating applications, reports, and templates for correspondence.
- Not sure about current modules but in the past did not transfer well to accounting software.
- Better spell check
- Better formatting for application forms to make them pretty
- Allowed for more organized approach in all aspects of our grantmaking and reporting requirements.
- Improved management of our database for both leadership positions, grant staff, and our scholarship program.
- Saves non credible amount of storage space.
- Allows access by all staff either through a license or using the online reviewer connect.
As I have said it is extremely versatile. However it can also be confusing. There is always room for improvement. Blackbaud provides extensive online training, good response time from the help desk, a method of recommending enhancements as well as interaction with other users and enhancements are scored by users to determine the importance of enhancements to users.
Yes
Through The Years there have been various bugs that we have had to resolve and most of the time those issues were resolved in a timely manner or we determined a workaround.
I think there are so many times it's impossible to list them all. I have been with them since 2010 and we have built our online Grant management system from the ground up.
June 19, 2018
Blackbaud Grantmaking Review
Used by all staff. It is a tool that helps us manage our grantmaking activities.
- Grant application information
- Grant review and approval process
- Grant monitoring
- Grant payments
- Track outcomes
- Document manager
- Contact management
- Document manager needs folder structure
- You must check out a document to update and then re-post the document to the document manager when completed. Often you mail merge a document using Blackbaud Grantmaking, but to tweak it you need to save it elsewhere and the upload to the document manager.
- There is no notification given if 2 users are updating the same record except when the 2nd user tries to save their work.
- Portal for grant seekers could be more user friendly.
- Connecting the Blackbaud Grantmaking email to Outlook would help. Blackbaud has made improvements in this area. If I send an email from Blackbaud Grantmaking it does not show up in my Outlook sent messages.
- ROI has been positive, the cost has been offset by less staff time needed during the review process as well as better documentation and reporting options.
- Our process flow has improved with the dashboards. As one staff member finishes an activity the dashboard provides a vehicle to move it to the next staff person.
- Gifts Classic
Blackbaud Grantmaking is much easier to use and manage than Gifts Classic or Gifts Alta.
7
1
Grants Manager/CFO
- Efficiency, saves time for program staff, grantees, grant seeker
- Using technology instead of people to complete a task.
No
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
- Prior Experience with the Product
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
- Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor
Long standing established grant management solution expected to continue in this space for a long time. Blackbaud Grantmaking understands the needs of their customers. Lots of peers to network/discuss usage of system.
Would not change.
- Implemented in-house
No
Change management was a big part of the implementation and was well-handled
Changed process by making it much easier for Program Directors to document reviews and created dashboards to make it easier for them to use.
- No issues encountered during implementation.
No
Yes
One bug has not been corrected yet. The grant amount field does not have commas when pushing a progress report form to grantee in the online portal. .
Blackbaud went beyond the scope of services when we transferred from Gifts Alta to Blackbaud Grantmaking. The Team assigned to us was amazing.
- Dashboards are very easy to use.
- Grant payments/reporting
- Approval process
- Online applications and requirements can be cumbersome. Some of this may be due to frequency of designing new forms.
- Different login for templates
- Document manager can become cumbersome. Adding folders to document manager would be useful.
Yes, but I don't use it
May 22, 2018
Tracking Philanthropy in a sundowning Foundation
I manage our Annual giving by using Blackbaud Grantmaking. It is a way for me to compile and track all our grants in one cohesive platform. Blackbaud Grantmaking allows us to share our grant making amongst the various members of a philanthropic family. It compares and collates data across the multi-faceted and multi-generational grantmaking initiatives.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking is great for streaming an electronic database of files and records as they relate to our charitable giving.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking allows me to access my database from everywhere and anywhere I am.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking helps me track 30 years of Philanthropic Giving in one cohesive platform which is accessible to me and to all the users.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking allows us to track the cross generational grantmaking of many family members
- I would love it if there were live Chats for when I run into problems
- I would love to have an instant chat function when approaching the help desk
- Blackbaud Grantmaking allows me to keep my bosses and supervisors well apprised of our grant making in a timely and effective manner. That overall improves our 'business' objectives
4
The CFO uses it as a read only feature as does a researcher and grants administrator in my New York office. In my local office, my colleague has read only access as well and can assist me when I am out of the office or ill. It is a great help to have supportive colleagues who can access the system seamlessly.
1
In order to support Blackbaud Grantmaking, it is useful that the person possess a strong understanding of how you capture your grantmaking database. The flexibility and functionality that Blackbaud Grantmaking offers is wonderful as it allows you to tailor-make your grantmaking platform to adequately reflect YOUR Philanthropic needs. To that end, any person working within your system - should have a strong sense of your Philanthropic logic when streamlining and creating your database
- We use the product to track grantmaking across Canada, the United States and Israel
- We use the product to host an electronic record-keeping - filing cabinet for the organization
- We use the platform to be able to access our grantmaking information remotely from our mobile devices
- I use the platform to connect my colleagues from North America and Israel on a like-minded platform
- I can access and evaluate the status of a grantee on all the watch lists and websites which track a charity's status (Guidestar and the CRA website)
- I use the platform as an electronic filing cabinet!
- I hope that with improved mobile device uses - I can seamlessly use the platform with my mobile device and at home on my laptop
- I hope that the report features are more user friendly and that I no longer need to call the help desk for report writing assistance
Yes
We replaced the Classic Gifts and Gifts Alta with the Blackbaud Grantmaking platform. While it took a bit of getting used to - I am confident that we have made the best decision
- Product Features
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
Considering that we have been affiliated with MicroEdge since the 1990's when we commenced by researching and ultimately purchasing Classic Gifts, we had ultimate confidence in the upgrade to Gifts Alta and finally to Blackbaud Grantmaking. Our existing relationship with MicroEdge and our confidence in their support, their transparency and their integrity - made our decision to stay the course an easy one!
I think that one must do their homework when choosing a grant management software which accurately reflects their organizations needs. I feel that one should have the confidence and support when ultimately making an informed decision about which products software should be purchased. That being said, I have no regrets when choosing MicroEdge and now Blackbaud Grantmaking and would always be willing to act as a reference to prospective buyers of the software.
No
As our annual Maintenance and Support agreement with Blackbaud is at the VERY top of our budget, it us not feasible for us to spend more on a premium support package. That fact, plus coupled with the fact that our rate increases by the maximum annual percentage (7%) annually, makes the top rate service unaffordable to us. Most disappointing.....
Yes
The bug itself was resolved, but it took several phone calls to several customer support representatives to get my problem/issue resolved. The turn around time was not quick and the problem persisted several times before getting the work-around.
There was a report that I needed to prepare for an important meeting being held at our company head-office in New York. I was at a loss as to how to prepare. When I called tech support, I was ever so lucky to get a wonderful support agent who stayed with me for well OVER an hour and supported my requests and helped me prepare the reports seamlessly. In fact, I had to leave for the day as I had children to pick up at school and could not miss my train home and the customer support rep insisted on completing the report to my satisfaction on HIS OWN and sent me the clear go ahead when I got in to the office the next day! Was stellar support and confirmed that the company really took the time to care for my needs!
Our foundation uses Blackbaud Grantmaking to manage our charitable grants throughout the entire process from application to review to award and reporting. As Grants Manager, I consider myself the "power user" of Blackbaud Grantmaking. In addition, our two program officers and an admin assistant use Blackbaud Grantmaking. Using Blackbaud Grantmaking has enabled our foundation to transition from hard copy applications to a paperless process and also to paperless Board of Directors meetings through use of PDFs from Blackbaud Grantmaking for use on their iPads. I also use the tools in Blackbaud Grantmaking to create custom dashboards for each user which has been very helpful for the program officers to see only the requests/grants that are their responsibility. The Blackbaud Grantmaking tools also help me in creating informative reports and graphics using the data reported from our grantees.
- Our foundation's program officers find the Blackbaud Grantmaking customizable dashboards very useful in focusing on the grants under their portfolio and filtering out other grants.
- Our foundation uses the Blackbaud Grantmaking document management tools to create large PDFs for use in Board of Directors meetings so that the meetings are paperless and the members use only their iPads.
- Our foundation uses the Blackbaud Grantmaking charting tools to create informative reports using the data reported to us by our grantees.
- It would be great if Blackbaud Grantmaking could seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Outlook so that contacts, email correspondence and calendar items are all updated with the same data and therefore eliminate the need for duplicate entry. For example, a grant requirement due date would automatically be added to the associated user's calendar.
- It would be great if Blackbaud Grantmaking could seamlessly integrate with the foundation's accounting software, Quickbooks. Currently, we have to make entries into Blackbaud Grantmaking and then duplicate those entries into the accounting software.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking is also missing functionality when it comes to online applications related to requests that are already in Blackbaud Grantmaking. For instance, our foundation creates a request in Blackbaud Grantmaking before we actually receive an application from the grantee. We assign a status of "Anticipated" to those requests and the program officers often record activities (site visits, meetings, phone calls) and attach documents (emails, general info) to the request before inviting an application from the grantee. When the grantee eventually submits an application, Blackbaud Grantmaking doesn't allow us to attach the application to the existing request and instead creates a new requests. We then are forced to manually transfer and/or recreate all the activities and documents from the existing request to the new request. Then we delete the existing request. This missing functionality creates extra work for me.
- Nothing comes to mind.
- good done great and foundant
Four years ago when we first considered Blackbaud Grantmaking, two software providers presented demonstrations of their products to our foundation. We reviewed Good Done Great and Foundant, but found that Blackbaud Grantmaking had more features and the functionality we were looking for. However, technology has advanced over the last four years and there are several technology solutions in the market that are now competitive with Blackbaud Grantmaking and we'll be evaluating those products over the next year or so.
4
- Grants Management
- Program Development
1
As Grants Manager, I am responsible for using the admin controls to update and edit the codes used for tracking data, to edit and generate correspondence templates used in the system, edit and generate online application and reporting forms, design and schedule automated reports and design and implement personalized dashboards. As far as tech support, we have no one onsite to support Blackbaud Grantmaking and we rely on Blackbaud's support team. We use email and phone to contact Blackbaud for any tech issues.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking allows us to have all the grant-related information in one online resource accessible through the internet to all staff no matter where they are located.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking has allowed us to have a 90% paperless process. Community organizations apply and report to us through online forms and we use the system to create electronic meeting materials. We still issue paper checks.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking's dashboard feature allows us to create personalized dashboards for each user. The personalized dashboards allow users to focus on the grants assigned to them and not be confused or distracted by other unnecessary data.
- We use the system for the purposes it was designed.
- In the future, our organization could add the Budget and A/P features to streamline the process even more and move to electronic payments.
Yes
Grantmaking replaced an old Blackbaud product, a server-based installation of Blackbaud Grantmaking. We replaced it because it was very old technology and we wanted a much more user friendly interface. We wanted to move the system to the cloud instead of having an onsite server-based solution so that the data could be easily accessed via the internet no matter where staff was located.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
The primary factor was the product features. We wanted to be sure that the system was capable of handling all of our processes in the management of our grant records. We didn't want a system where we had to design "work arounds" and/or use the system in a way it wasn't designed.
I wouldn't change anything in the evaluation and selection process.
Yes
- Prior to the implementation process, we went through an internal data review process and cleaned up any issues.
- Blackbaud then copied the data from our existing Blackbaud Grantmaking system and used it to develop the new Blackbaud Grantmaking Online system for us. That part of the process took about 10 days and during that time, we could refer to data in the old system, but we couldn't make any changes. This meant that we had to keep manual records of changes we needed to make once the new system was implemented.
- Once the new system was implemented, the specialist worked with me on a weekly basis to train me on new features and to help troubleshoot an issues. There was no limit on the number of training sessions and I worked with her weekly until I felt confident to go it alone.
- In the first few weeks of working with the new system, there were some missing documents that should have been included as part of the data migration. After contacting my implementation specialist, she was able to get that resolved very quickly.
Change management was minimal
Communication on a regular basis was important for us during this process. Staff was always more comfortable and confident about the changes when I regularly shared detailed updates on the process, even if they didn't like some of the information I was sharing. As long as they felt "in the loop", they were invested in the process.
- Downtime during data migration can be frustrating, but it's a necessary part of the process and you have to just wait it out.
- There were some missing records immediately after implementation, but Blackbaud was able to resolve that issue quickly. Those missing documents did make me a little less confident in the rest of the data which led me to do a lot more random record checks than I had planned. Fortunately, those random checks didn't turn up any other issues and helped restore my trust in the data.
No
The standard support included in our contract is sufficient for our needs. We contact support by phone or email and our issues are resolved in a timely manner. We're also able to use Blackbaud Community's support section to monitor our cases and update the tickets as necessary. If I need to show a support specialist my issue, they connect me to a screen-sharing session.
No
On one occasion, I accidentally deleted a grant record in the system. I contacted Support and they were able to reset the online application so that I could pull it into the system again and recreate the deleted information. When I accidentally deleted the record, I thought that it was truly permanent and I wasn't sure that Support could "undo" my mistake. I was very relieved that the could get the information back for me.
- It's easy to accept online applications and have grant records automatically created from the application.
- It's easy to manage a grant record in the system from application to approval to payment and reporting.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking makes it easy to manage the multitude of documents related to each grant record or organization record.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking's personalized dashboards make it easy for individual staff members to focus on their assigned grants without having to sort through other unrelated records.
- Customizing and formatting Blackbaud Grantmaking's standard and ad hoc reports is not easy. I typically avoid using the system's reports and instead export my data to Excel and manipulate and format the data manually.
- Blackbaud Grantmaking does not allow users to attach a grant application to an existing grant request in the system. We are forced to use a work around which includes manually moving documents and recreating coding data.
- Casual users of the system find the advanced search feature very complex and not user friendly.
Yes
The mobile app is not useful for our staff. They say that it feels clunky and they typically don't use it.