For many nonprofits, grants are the lifeblood of programs, operations, and long-term sustainability. Yet the grants management process, which includes prospect research, application development, compliance, reporting, and stewardship, often introduces significant challenges. Disconnected systems, manual workflows, and unclear communication can consume valuable staff time and put funding at risk.

With the right strategies and tools, however, nonprofits can eliminate major pain points and build a streamlined, transparent grants management framework that advances their mission. As listed below, ANAFP identified the most effective approaches to strengthening the full grant lifecycle.

Centralize Information in a Single Grants Management System

One of the most common issues nonprofits face is scattered information. This includes keeping grant deadlines in spreadsheets, documents buried in folders, and communication spread across emails and chats. Because of this, organizations should adopt a centralized Grants Management System (GMS) or consolidate existing tools into a single source. A good GMS allows nonprofits to:

• Track deadlines and submission requirements
• Store application materials, budgets, and narratives
• Maintain funder profiles and communication logs
• Automate reminders and reporting timelines
• Facilitate collaboration across departments

Even if dedicated software isn’t feasible, creating an organized shared drive with standardized templates can significantly improve management.

Streamline Internal Collaboration and Roles

Many grant delays stem from unclear responsibilities among development, finance, and program teams. Last-minute scrambles for budgets, data, or approvals increase errors and stress. Organizations should work to formalize workflows and clarify ownership. ANAFP recommends implementing the following:

• A defined grants calendar shared across departments
• Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for proposal creation, review, and approval
• Cross-departmental kickoff meetings for large grants
• A naming convention for files and templates
• Transparent division of responsibilities (e.g., who prepares budgets, who drafts narratives, who submits)

Consideration should also be made for holding cross-departmental meetings for large grants at their mid-point as well as towards grant closeout.

Reduce Manual Work Through Automation

It goes without saying that manual tasks consume a disproportionate amount of staff time. In addition, they also increase the risk of errors. Luckily, many tools exist nowadays that can help nonprofits leverage automation wherever possible. This includes adapting auto-generated reminders for deadlines and reporting (these can be as simple as calendar notifications), pre-populated proposal templates, database connections that pull program metrics dynamically, version control tools to reduce duplication, and AI-assisted drafting for routine proposal sections. Such automation frees staff to focus on strategy and relationship-building.

Strengthen Financial Integration and Compliance

Misaligned financial information is a major pain point, especially when grants require detailed budget narratives, funder-specific cost reporting, or restricted use tracking. The solution is to improve alignment between grants management and finance. Nonprofits should consider establishing shared budget templates for grant proposals (ideally budget templates that align with the organization's chart of accounts and within the parameters of the kind of reports that can be generated out of the accounting system). In addition, adopt a uniform coding for grant-funded expenses to ensure costs are tracked appropriately to the right grant. The organization's finance and development teams should hold check-ins during budgeting and reporting cycles to ensure there is alignment (and well before the grant close-out period so that there is ample time to correct irregularities). Consider scheduling pre-award and post-award meetings that includes finance staff, and integrate finance/accounting and grants data systems whenever possible.

Build Reusable Content Libraries

Nonprofits often reinvent the wheel for every grant application. While each funder has unique requirements, the organization's core content (such as organizational history, mission, program summaries, etc.) remains consistent. Given this, nonprofits should create a robust, searchable content library that includes: standard organizational descriptions, approved language for the mission and vision, program summaries with up-to-date metrics, stories of impact, staff biographies, and commonly requested attachments such as audit reports and 990s. A well-organized library drastically reduces writing time and improves quality and consistency.

Improve Data Collection for Stronger Reporting

Challenges frequently arise during progress reports or grant renewals when nonprofits lack complete, accurate program data. To solve this, try and standardize data collection and reporting processes, and train staff on timely data entry. Look to establish clear metrics early in the grant process, and use data collection tools or surveys aligned with funder requirements. A great option is to also create dashboards to monitor progress in a timely manner. Implement quarterly internal reporting to stay ahead of funder deadlines so that any concerns can be address early-on. 

Evaluate and Continuously Improve the Process

A grants management process should not remain static. To identify bottlenecks and issues, each nonprofit should conduct periodic process reviews and incorporate staff feedback. These could take place every year or after major grants. Questions that could be posed during each review include:

• If delays took place, what caused them?
• Which tasks are still manual that could be automated?
• Are communication channels working?
• Is the mechanism for tracking grant deliverables and metrics accurate and useful?
• What tools or training could improve efficiency?

Eliminating pain points in the grants management process is not just about efficiency, but it's also about strengthens a nonprofit’s ability to fulfill its mission. By centralizing information, formalizing workflows, reducing manual labor, aligning with finance, building content libraries, and improving data practices, organizations can free staff time, reduce risk, and increase their competitiveness for funding. A streamlined grants management system enables nonprofits to focus more energy on impact which is exactly what every nonprofit and donor wants.