Grantnook / Guides

Grant tracking software for small nonprofits: what you actually need

Search for grant software and you will find tools aimed at large universities, tools aimed at professional grant writers, and tools that sit somewhere in between. If you run a small nonprofit, most of those features are not for you. This guide explains what you actually need, what is nice to have, and how to choose without overspending.

A note on perspective: we are building Grantnook, a grant tracker for small nonprofits, so we have a stake in this topic. We have tried to describe the options fairly, including the ones that are not ours.

The main kinds of tools

Spreadsheets and shared calendars

Free or already paid for, flexible, and familiar. A well-built spreadsheet can handle a pipeline, deadlines and reports for a small team. The weak points are reminders, version confusion when several people edit, and the discipline needed to keep it current.

General project or database tools

Boards, tables and notes apps can be set up to track grants, and many have free tiers. They are flexible, but you build the structure yourself, and nothing is designed for grant cycles, so report dates and stages need setting up by hand.

Grant pipeline trackers

These focus on the work of keeping track: deadlines, stages, owners, reports and funder notes. They are narrower than the next category, and usually cheaper.

Grant discovery and management platforms

These typically combine funder research databases, matching, application tools and sometimes award or compliance management. They can be the right choice for teams that apply to many grants and need help finding them. They are also generally priced for that scale, so check each vendor's current pricing page before assuming.

What you actually need

For a nonprofit with a small team and a manageable list of funders, the essentials are short:

• All deadlines in one place, including letters of inquiry and proposals.
• Reminders that reach the right person before a date, not after.
• A clear stage for every ask, so you can see what is researched, drafted, submitted, awarded or declined.
• Reports due after an award, with an owner and a status.
• Funder notes, such as who you spoke to, when, and what they said.
• An easy way to summarize it for your board or your director.
• A way to get your data out. You should be able to export everything to a spreadsheet at any time.

If a tool does these well and is easy enough that people actually use it, you have what you need.

Useful, but not essential

• A funder database. Helpful when you are looking for new funders. Not needed if you already have a list, or if you do your research through your community foundation, a state association, or a library that offers free access to a database.
• Document storage. Handy, but a shared drive does the same job.
• Calendar sync. Saves time if your team lives in one calendar.
• Integrations. Worth it if they remove double entry, not if they add set-up work.

Probably not needed at your size

• Full grants accounting. Tracking spending against restricted funds belongs in your accounting system, and a pipeline tracker is not a replacement for it.
• Complex approval workflows. Useful for large institutions with many reviewers, and overhead for a team of three.
• Per-seat pricing for people who only look. If a board member only needs to read a summary, a printed page or a PDF may do the job.

One exception: organizations that spend a large amount of federal money face extra audit and compliance rules. The single audit threshold is $1,000,000 in federal awards expended in a fiscal year (for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024). If you are near that, talk to your accountant about what you need. Source: 2 CFR 200.501, Audit requirements. See also the Single Audit Clearinghouse education page.

Questions to ask before you pay

1. What does it cost per month for my team size, and what changes if we add a person?
2. Can I export all my data, and in what format?
3. Can I cancel without a call, and what happens to my data afterward?
4. Who gets reminders, and how? Check that an email reaches the person who owns the deadline.
5. Is there a free trial or a free tier? Use it with real grants, not demo data.
6. How long will it take to get my current list in? A tool that takes a week to set up is a real cost.

How to decide in an afternoon

Write down every grant you are tracking and the dates attached to each. Count the people who need to see or update it. Then list the three problems you most want solved, such as missing dates, losing track of reports, or explaining the pipeline to the board.

If your list is short and one person manages it, a spreadsheet may be enough. Try one for a month and note where it fails. If the failures are reminders and sharing, a pipeline tracker is the next step. If the failure is not knowing which funders to approach, then a discovery tool may be worth its price.

Start small, and keep your data portable

The biggest risk in picking software is not the monthly fee. It is putting years of grant history into a system you cannot leave. Whatever you pick, keep a spreadsheet export from the start, and make sure your key records, such as funders, awards and reports, can always be copied out.

If you would like to begin with a spreadsheet, the free Grant Deadline Tracker below includes a pipeline, report dates and a dashboard, and its columns are plain enough to move into any other tool later.