FAQs (General) - Overview
What types of grant applications are there?
Applications can be paper, online or Web-based.
Paper applications are completed and then mailed or delivered to the grantmaker. The grantmaker enters the application into their grant management system. "Online" applications are downloaded from the grantmaker, printed out, completed and then mailed or delivered to the grantmaker. The grantmaker enters the application into their grant management system.True online and Web applications are completed entirely from a Web browser. The grantseeker enters the application directly into the grantmakers grant management system.
The Common Grant Application is a true online and Web-based grant management system and can manage all types of applications. Paper-based and "online" applications can be entered by the grantmaker into the system from a Web browser.
What does the typical grantmaking process look like?
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| Research and discovery | Proposal or application | Program or project | Reporting and evaluation | |
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How do I sign up to use the Common Grant Application?
Registering by clicking the Register tab is the first step. After registering, login by clicking on the Login tab above. After logging in you'll able to provide further information and and manage your account.
Who can use the Common Grant Application?
This Web site is generally intended to be used by non-profit organizations that are either seeking or giving away money. Non-profit organizations are those organizations that have been granted non-profit/tax-exempt status by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Non-profit organizations are generally organizations, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, schools, or libraries that have received, or are waiting to receive, a tax exempt status determination letter from the U.S. IRS. In general, grants or funding cannot be provided directly to individuals except under special circumstances.
Are there any competitive or similar services?
Yes, we believe there are a number of competitive or similar services. There are a number of commercial software programs available for grant application and grant management. These programs tend to be designed for use by a single grantseeking or grantmaking organization. There also appear to be a number of Web based services available for grant application and grant management. Again, these programs appear to be focused primarily on a single grant making organization or a group of grant making organizations with a narrow focus. The only other Web site directly associated with our solution is www.commongrantapplication.org. We have reserved that site for future use. Other sites with similar sounding names are not associated with us.
How do I report a problem, offer a suggestion, or ask a question?
To ask questions about specific grantmakers or grantseekers, their organizations, programs, or processes; or the status of any application or grant, please contact the grantmaker or grantseeker directly.
To ask questions or offer comments about the Common Grant Application Web site and its general usage or operation there are many ways to contact us. If the Web site isn't working properly (problem report), you've got a suggestion for an new feature or improvement (feature or documentation request) or you have a question and you've browsed the Web pages, looked at the FAQs and other resources under the Help tab and can't find an answer to your question (inquiry) you may send us an email, use our online support request system, or call us. Emails may be sent using our contact us form. The online support system is available only if you've logged in and may be reached by clicking on the Help -> Support Request tab. We may be reached by phone at: (310) 490-1277.
Can I save my information?
If you don't have all of the information you need at the time you are working on a page, you can save what you have and come back later to complete things. We will save your information. Any information that has been entered and saved or any documents that have been uploaded will always be available for future use or grant applications.
Does the Common Grant Application store and manage documentation involved in the grant lifecycle?
Yes. The Common Grant Application provides mechanisms for both grantseekers and grantmakers to upload and manage documents. Grantseekers may upload documents describing their organization and/or the various programs for which they are seeking funding. Grantmakers may upload documents describing their organization and/or the various funding and programmatic interests they support. These documents may be used for general informational purposes, to support grant applications or to support grant reporting and evaluation. Some document types that are can be uploaded include: general information, annual report, budget, staff, letters of support and commitment. Some document formats that are supported include: Word, Acrobat, Excel, and JPEG. Once uploaded, and depending on security and privacy settings, the documents may be opened and reviewed online by the general public, grantseekers and/or grantmakers.
What type of reporting does the Common Grant Application provide?
The Common Grant Application provides an integrated and extensive set of real-time viewable reports and summaries. These reports and summaries are viewable online and include general, status and statistical information for grantseekers, grantmakers and grant applications. Depending on security and privacy settings, various types of reports and summaries with various levels of detail are viewable by the general public, grantseekers and/or grantmakers. Some types of reports and summaries include: summary of grantmaker organization and funding interests, statistical summary of grant applications received and approved by grantmaker, list of all grants made by grantmaker, summary of grantseeker organization and programs, grant applications with real-time status, grant management status and pending actions and many others. Additional reports may be easily added to the CGA services. All grantmaker and grantseeker application information may be exported in Excel, mySQL or Access formats for use by other commercial and custom software applications or business information systems.
How does the online application functionality work?
The Common Grant Application (CGA) does not require any software other than a Web browser. It is accessible from the Internet and always available (other than during software, hardware and database maintenance periods). The service consists of the CGA software running on a Linux server connected to the Internet, online documentation describing how to use the service and access to customer support by Web-based forms, email, fax and telephone. It should also be noted that although it is an on-line application, the CGA service provides mechanisms for grantmakers that may receive paper based applications to enter those applications and supporting documents into the same database and workflow process as the online applications. Grantseekers can maintain information about multiple programs, and submit that information to one or more grantmakers as a grant application. The information does not need to be re-entered for each application. Grantmakers can specify a range of criteria about the type of applications they will consider, including: whether they accept solicited and/or unsolicited grant applications, funding interests by cause (e.g. environment, human services, etc.), type (operating, program, capital, etc.) and geography. Grant applications submitted by a grantseeker that do not meet the grantmaker specified criteria will not be presented to the grantmaker. The grantmaker can move the grant applications forward through a series of simple sequential steps (which may include rejection, approval, funding and/or evaluation) until completion. Changes in the status of the grant application are reported automatically to the grantseeker.
Does the Common Grant Application support the entire grant making life cycle?
Yes. The Common Grant Application supports the entire grant making life cycle of: research, discovery and identification; solicitation, proposal or application; program or project; and reporting and evaluation for both grantseekers and grantmakers.
How do I start using the Common Grant Application?
First, click on the Register tab to create an account. After you've created the account click on the Login tab to login, setup your account and start entering information about your organization and programs. Detailed instructions about how to setup your account and enter information will be available after you log in.
When do the grant cycle dates change?
Grant cycle dates start and end at 12:00am (midnight) Central Time. For example, if an application deadline for a grant cycle is May 1 the latest the grant application could be submitted for consideration for that grant cycle would be April 30 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.
How does the search function work on the Web site?
Performing a search from the public side of the Web site (i.e. before logging in) will only search the information on the public side of the Web site. It will not show any information that is available after logging in as a grantmaker or grantseeker. Performing a search from a private side of the Web site (i.e. after logging in) will currently only search the information on the public side of the Web site. In the future it will also search the information on the private side of the Web site to which you are logged in (i.e. if you are logged in as a grantseeker it will search the public and grantseeker sides of the Web site and if you are logged in as a grantmaker it will search the public and grantmaker sides of the Web site).
The maximum length of a search string may be 75 characters. Some common searchable words (e.g. “login”, “privacy”) may return many results. This is because those words may be in the header, navigation bar, footer or other parts of many pages. The most relevant results will be towards the top of the search results. If you’d like to narrow the search, use longer, more specific strings of words for your query.
What training is required before I can start using the Common Grant Application?
A design goal of the Common Grant Application has been to ensure the navigation and user interface are very simple and can be used successfully by people with a wide range of computer and Web skills. The Common Grant Application currently has thousands of user accounts, and to date, we have had very few support requests. Most users have opened and used their account by simply reading the instructions on the site. The site is designed for easy navigation and use. The page layout and contents are designed to have a consistent look and feel. Each page provides detailed instructions on usage. If a user needs support, we make it easy for them to communicate with us. We may be contacted by phone, email, fax and also by a Web-based form. We do not charge any training fees.
What type of ongoing support is required to use the Common Grant Application?
The Common Grant Application is a hosted solution. The grantmaker and grantseeker do not need to install, support or maintain any hardware or software. The only requirement to use the system is that a user has access to a Web browser. The Common Grant Application will maintain and support the hardware and software on its server(s) as needed. The Common Grant Application is constantly improving and adding new features and capabilities. Software and database upgrades are generally performed without any disruption to our Web site’s availability (i.e. the systems architecture allows us to update the software and database on a running system). Backup operations are also performed without any need to disrupt the sites availability. We do not charge any maintenance or support fees.
Are there any limitations on the number of users for each account?
Each grantmaker or grantseeker account may have one or more users. There is no limit on the number of users for each grantseeker or grantmaker account. Each user may have different permissions within the account. We do not charge any per user fees.
How are applications printed?
Applications can be printed directly by using the Web browser print function. Applications may also be printed by opening an application, exporting the application to a PDF file and then printing the PDF file. Applications contain identifying information; grantseeker and grantmaker contact information; grantseeker organization background, budget, staff and supplemental questions information; grantseeker organization documents; grantseeker program background, budget, staff information and supplemental information; grantseeker program documents; status and evaluation information; and payment information.
How can applications be downloaded or exported?
Each document uploaded by the grantseeker and submitted as part of an application is viewable by the grantmaker directly from their Web browser. Each viewable document is hyperlinked, and may be viewed by simply clicking on that hyperlink. The document may then either be opened for viewing or saved to the local environment of the grantmaker.
Single applications can be converted in PDF document and then saved locally.
The grantmaker may export all or portions of the application information into Excel files. These Excel files then may be opened for viewing or saved to the local environment of the grantmaker. The grantmaker manages the export of application information by selecting either a standard or custom view of the application listings. These views determine the fields of the application that are displayed on the application listings. The standard view provides a pre-defined list of fields that are viewable. The custom view allows the grantmaker to select which fields they would like to see in the application listing. Each listing then may be filtered by additional criteria. The resulting listing of one or more applications may then be exported into Excel.
How often do you upgrade or update the software on your system?
We are constantly updating and upgrading the capabilities of our system. We use the agile software development model. We deploy new features, enhancements and fixes on an ongoing basis as they become available and after they have been thoroughly tested. Generally speaking, deployment of new upgrades and updates is done without affecting the service availability of the Web site.
How do I increase or decrease the font size?
Many of the Common Grant Application pages are information rich. If you would like to increase or decrease the font size on the pages to make viewing easier follow the instructions below for your browser.
Mozilla Firefox:
- Select "View" on the top menu bar.
- Select "Text Size" on the dropdown menu.
- Select "Increase" or "Decrease" as needed.
Internet Explorer:
- Select "Page" on the control bar.
- Select "Zoom" on the dropdown menu.
- Select a percentage or "Zoom In" or "Zoom Out" as needed.
Please note, for some pages increasing the font size will make the page wider than the browser window. In that case a scroll bar will appear at the bottom of your browser. That bar can be used to move left and right across the page.
What time zone does is used for date and time stamps?
The server is hosted in the Central time zone, so time stamps are using Central time. Time zones, from west to east, are Hawaii, Hawaii-Aleutian, Alaska, Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern.
Does the Common Grant Application offer any Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds?
The system offers RSS feeds for the Grantseekers->List Grantseekers and Grantmakers->List Grantmakers pages. Any browser that supports RSS will have an icon that appears or lights up when it is on either of the preceding pages. Clicking on the icon will take you to the RSS feed. The RSS feed will have settings that you can configure to allow you to subscribe to the feed, pull updates periodically, etc.
Can grant reports be uploaded and managed?
At the time a grantmaker approves an application they may specify if a grant report is required at the completion of the grant. The grantseeker may upload one or more grant reports (e.g. interim, end of year, final). The reports are associated with a specific application. The grantmaker may be informed as these reports are received. These reports are then available like all other uploaded documents for online review by the grantmaker.
Can special characters be used in the application or is special HTML coding required for this?
We should support virtually all characters and preserve them as entered. The only exceptions are things like filenames, username/password, etc., and/or fields that have specific formatting requirements like dates and email addresses. For all fields where there are requirements, those should be specified in the help tooltips and/or the error messages. For any of the big text boxes, we should support all special/foreign characters, etc.