Faithful user since 2007
Overall Satisfaction with Blackbaud Grantmaking (formerly GIFTS Online)
My organization uses Blackbaud Grantmaking for the full lifecycle management of our contracts/grants. The system is used by 20 programmatic staff, out of 50 total staff. There are some gaps, in terms of utilizing an automated workflow, but for standard grant/contract agreements the system design is great.
1. Invitation to Apply Process
i. Utilize an invitation only process
ii. Receive applications via the online application module
-Submit the online application checklist to trigger the development of the application (internal process outside of Blackbaud Grantmaking)
-Develop and test the online application, then issue to the contract manager for distribution to potential partners
-Download the completed application, confirm the correct coding and files
-Review the narrative request, budget and related attachments
iii. Track status of pending applications
2. Develop the Contract/Agreement
i. Generate the contract template from Blackbaud Grantmaking and it prepopulates: -Contact information of the partner, -Payment schedule, -Requirement schedule, -Coding (budget, geographic, service area, etc.)
ii. Use the Document Template Manager to ensure that the legal language of the contract remains consistent, unless a ‘redlined’ contract with proposed changes is indicated
iii. Review, finalize and print the contract for signatures
3. Manage Contract Requirements
i. Input full schedule of contract deliverables into BG
ii. Utilize the online reporting feature to allow service providers/grantees to submit their reports via the online portal
iii. Track status of receipt and approvals
iv. Tie attachments and narrative reports to the request record
v. Upload subsequent analysis of the progress of the project to BG
4. Manage Contract Payments
i. Input full schedule of payments into BG
ii. Track status of payments and approvals
iii. Generate the payment cover sheet from BG and it prepopulates: -Payment schedule, -Actual payments processed, -Contingent requirement(s), -Coding (budget, geographic, service area, etc.)
iv. Copy of the check is manually uploaded to payment tab in BG
5. Closeout
i. Determine final payout (or need of a credit memo to deobligate the remaining balance)
ii. Confirm that all requirements have been fulfilled and corresponding analysis has been uploaded
iii. Generate the form from BG and submit to Finance
iv. Update BG and mark the record ‘Completed’
- Online application and reporting - having an online portal for submission of applications and reports from our partners is extremely helpful and minimizes confusion
- Direct link between contract/grant requirements and payments - all of our payments are tied to deliverables and we want to easily confirm that they have been fulfilled
- Widespread usage - I know a number of other Foundations that use the system and can easily share tips and tricks. I also find the customer service to be extremely helpful.
- We're awaiting the functionality regarding an automated workflow. Staff would like to be automatically guided to the next step.
- The version control for documents is tricky and I recommend staff not use it. If they need a shared space to finalize the scope of work for a project, etc. we use SharePoint, then upload the final version to Blackbaud Grantmaking.
- For a casual user, the layout and way that records are connected can be confusing. We recommend having a power user planted in every program area, to guide those on their team that have access, but get frustrated with simple tasks.
- I cannot provide an estimated ROI for our Blackbaud Grantmaking usage
- granted GE