Is there a problem with grants management software solutions?

Solpath, USA, June 2008

Solpath is an initiative to survey the grant-making community to understand whether new grants management software is warranted, which community members benefit from it, and to what degree.

After two years of informal research and discussions with key stakeholders in the grant-making community, we believe there may be a disconnect between the needs of foundations and the current available software solutions. But we want to be sure...that's why we've embarked on a community-based initiative to survey the landscape and gather evidence that will either support our assumptions or prove us wrong. We're prepared for either.

This exercise will involve the grant-making community in a six month needs and market analysis designed to help understand whether new software is warranted, which community members will benefit from it, and to what degree.

Solpath is supported by a working group of staff from several philanthropic foundations attempting to better understand the technology issues and challenges facing grantmakers.

A number reports are available for free download upon registration, including:

A Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems
This 89 page independent Idealware report Consumers Guide to Grants Management Systems, funded by a coalition of organizations including Solpath, provides a rundown of common features and overviews of 18 systems, as well as detailed reviews, prices, and a comparison chart of nine of the software packages most widely used by grantmakers.

Grants Management Software Survey Results and Analysis
What defines a robust, effective grants management system? In this report, Idealware summarizes the results of 25 interviews with staff members at grant-making organizations and the consultants who work with them, as to what functionalities and characteristics are important to support foundations' grants management needs. This report provides all those details about what the interviewees wanted and expected from a grant application system.

external link >

Show latest news, more from June 2008.