You received a grant. Now what? A guide to post-award management

Congratulations!! You just got notification that the grant you spent weeks preparing has been awarded. The award came with tons of documentation (unlike that other grant check that arrived without explanation a few months ago) and honestly, it’s overwhelming. You breathe a sigh of relief that this one got funded, share the good news with all the folks who helped, and have a 10-second dance party.

Then, of course, you move on to the next application… because there’s always another deadline. But what happens to the grant you just received?

One of the most common problems I see in grant management is, on its face, so simple: people forget about reports. They get busy with applications or other responsibilities, and all of a sudden they have a reminder from a funder that a 20-page report is due in a week. Sometimes, no one thought (...knew) a report was required. Other times, the deadline lived in someone’s inbox and there was turnover, or the team expected a reminder from the funder’s portal that never came.

Missing a report can put your nonprofit’s grant funding at risk. It could damage a foundation relationship you’ve spent years building. At worst, it can create compliance issues that prevent you from applying to this funder in the future. In the case of government grants, that restriction can be serious.

If any of this sounds familiar, your nonprofit needs a process for managing grant awards, from the initial notification through the final report. Here’s a high-level look at what that involves, from reviewing the agreement through closeout.

Review the award before accepting it

I know, you worked hard for this grant. Of course you want to accept it!

First, though, compare the award with what you proposed. Did you receive the full request amount? Is the grant period what you expected? Did the funder add requirements or change what it wants to support?

Gather your application, budget, award letter, and any grant agreement. Confirm what your nonprofit is agreeing to do, including how you can spend the funds, what results you’ve promised, and when and how you need to report.

Don’t assume a smaller award comes with proportionally smaller expectations. If you requested $25,000 and received $10,000, clarify whether the funder still expects the full program you proposed.

Accepting funding carries responsibilities, even when the paperwork is minimal. If something no longer works for your organization, discuss it internally and with the funder before accepting. And remember: you can say no to a grant.

Bring your team into the process

Although some grant teams are so small that the grant pro is also the program manager, fairly often, the person who wrote the application probably won’t be doing everything it promised. Your program staff will carry out the activities. Finance will track expenses. Communications may need to add a logo to materials or recognize the funder publicly.

Do those people and departments know what you committed them to?

At this stage, I encourage you to schedule an award handoff meeting. This gives everyone a chance to review the grant and understand their responsibilities. Bring the relevant staff together with the final application, budget, and award documentation that you already reviewed, plus any concerns you have about implementation.

By the end of the meeting, every commitment should have an owner, a deadline, and a plan for tracking it. Who will collect program information? Who will monitor spending? Who will communicate with the funder? Who will prepare and approve the report? What milestones are necessary to ensure you’re on track with the objectives and outcomes you committed to?

Save the documentation somewhere the team can access it, too. Considering nonprofit staff turnover, you don’t want the only person who understands a grant’s requirements to take that knowledge with them when they leave.

Plan for reporting right away

Let me repeat the thing I most want you to remember: Don’t wait for a funder reminder to start thinking about your report.

Ideally, you’ve considered reporting requirements while preparing the application and added anticipated deadlines to your grant calendar. (And look at you! You even discussed objectives and outcomes with your program evaluator.) Once the award arrives, confirm those requirements and update your plan.

Regardless when you make the specific plans, look at what you’ll actually need to report. Participation numbers? Demographic information? Results from a survey? Expenses for a particular activity? If you promised information your nonprofit doesn’t normally collect, establish that process at the start of the grant. You can’t reliably recreate six months of attendance records the week before a report is due.

And please, give yourself a start date! A report deadline tells you when the funder needs the finished product. It doesn’t tell your program staff when to send their information or Finance when to prepare the expense figures. Your grant calendar should make room for the work, including gathering information, writing, reviewing, and submitting the report.

Stay on top of the grant throughout the term

Once you’ve handed off the award and set up reporting, keep the grant on your team’s radar. Use your regular grant meetings or other existing check-ins to review progress. Are activities happening as planned? Is the required information being collected? Does spending align with the approved budget? Have recognition requirements been completed? Take a look back at the documentation from your award kickoff meeting.

The level of attention will depend on the grant. A small award for supplies probably won’t need the same oversight as a multiyear program grant. But both need someone paying attention.

I absolutely understand that this level of monitoring can be really tough when you’re juggling multiple awards, all with their own requirements and deadlines. (Oh, and all those applications you also have to write.) In each of my clients’ grant systems, I have a “current awards” view so that I can regularly pop in to see if we have milestones coming up.

And, because we’re humans operating in the real world, your funded project or program will likely change from the ideal you presented in your application. It might even vary from what you said you’d do in your award. Those changes could happen because of shifts in participation, funding reductions, a freak weather event, or any other number of issues. Having normal check-ins about your grant awards can prompt this conversation between the grant and program teams.

If a change is necessary, review the award terms and determine whether notification is required, or even approval before the change. Don’t save a significant change for a surprise announcement in the final report. In this case, permission is far better than forgiveness. In fact, depending on the terms of the award, not asking permission could cost you the funding and future eligibility. Contact the funder, document any approved revisions, and share them with your team.

Finally, stewarding the relationship you built with your funder is an important aspect of post-award management, particularly for foundation and corporate funders. Certainly, you want to thank and recognize them appropriately, but don’t let them only hear from you otherwise when you ask for money and when you’re required to report how you spent it. Invite them to attend your program’s closing exhibit. Schedule a site tour of your new building. In other words, keep them engaged in big and small ways so they can see the difference their funding made.

Report, close out, and decide what’s next

When it’s time to prepare the report, return to the application, award documents, and any approved changes. Explain what happened, how you used the funding, and what your nonprofit accomplished. Be honest about challenges, too. You’ll follow much of the same timeline as in your applications, working backward from the deadline and ensuring the rest of your team has plenty of time to prepare their sections.

If no formal report is required, I still recommend a brief update thanking the funder and sharing what their support made possible.

After reporting, confirm that all requirements are complete, payments have been received, and documentation is saved. (This is a great place for a checklist!) Then consider the next cycle. Does this funding still fit your nonprofit’s priorities? Was the award worth the effort of applying and managing it?

Make the process repeatable

If you don’t already have any processes around post-award management, start with one current grant award. Can your team find its requirements, identify who owns each responsibility, and see when report preparation should begin? If answering those questions takes a hunt through three inboxes, you’ve found a good place to start.

Use that award to work through the process with your team. Write down the steps so you can use them again when the next award arrives. As you go, pay attention to where information gets lost, or where someone’s responsibilities aren’t clear. Those are the places your process needs a little more work.

You don’t need to build an elaborate system to improve how you manage grants. Start with the tools your team already uses, and make sure the process works for the people who will carry it out. The best system is one your team understands and keeps up with.

You worked hard to earn the funder’s investment. Give yourself and your team the time and structure to follow through. When the report comes due, you’ll already know what happened, where the information lives, and who can help you pull it together. And if a portal reminder does arrive? It will be a welcome sign that you’re on track.

Increase Your Mileage is my capacity-building service for nonprofits that want clearer grant workflows and practical systems their teams can use. If your post-award process needs some attention, reach out. We can help you keep track of the grants you worked so hard to win.

Cover photo from AllGo.