6 Reasons to Implement Powerful SaaS Budgeting Software
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Grants
Grants Compliance Made Easy
What does grant compliance look like?
Well-applied grant compliance accommodates federal and state compliance requirements and policies.
Grantor compliance – questions to ask
Ask yourself these questions in preparation for organizing grantor compliance.
Do your RFP requirements align with your organizational priorities? Do you meet regularly with executive leadership to address short-term and long-term goals for your grant programs? Do staff meet regularly to ensure that grantees are meeting all funding requirements stipulated in your award agreement? Do you maintain records of each grantee in case compliance and/or audit issues arise? Are there standard operating procedures and systems in place to create a compliance framework within your organization?
Grantee and sub-grantee compliance – questions to ask
Ask yourself these questions in preparation for organizing grantee and sub-grantee compliance.
Are you able to address any issues? Do you understand the rules that govern your the grant award? Do you review the grant award requirements and track progress in meeting milestones established in your award agreement? Are there elected staff within your organization to manage grants in the post-award phase? Is leadership aware of the post-award grant requirements, especially for larger grant awards? Do you regularly communicate with grantors to address any issues that may arise?
How do I maintain grant compliance?
Grant compliance requires effort, effort that ultimately helps to benefit both your government and your community. Perhaps more importantly, grant compliance ensures an open channel for continual grant awards, to better fund programs, curriculums, and facilities that directly improve citizen quality of life.
Here are a few ways you can improve your grant compliance workflow:
- Know your stuff — Compliance requires research. Stay informed as grant compliance best practices change and evolve. Sometimes, grant compliance requirements are also included with your initial funding agreement. Still, it’s important to ask the right follow-up questions if a particular detail of that agreement is unclear, or if a particular reporting metric is difficult to convey.
- Designate a compliance authority figure — Grant compliance often requires executive decision-making. You can help your government improve grant compliance simply by allocating responsibilities to a designated grant compliance specialist, someone with the bandwidth to audit compliance on a regular basis. This individual can appoint tasks appropriately, and serve as a contact whenever grant compliance details are unclear.
- Create and maintain internal processes — Successful grant compliance begins with efficient grant compliance systems. Take the time to build documents that track each step of your grant compliance process, and explain each individuals or departments responsibilities. Document all compliance regulations, and keep all documentation readily accessible for reference. Additionally, save documentation within a cloud-based grants management software, where team members have easy, remote access to stored information.
- Implement data collection best practices — You’ll need to show granters that your government is capable of managing funds and reports for allocated grants. Ensure the all steps are taken in the data collection process to ease the reporting stage. Secure data collection is also important in preventing data loss or breaches. If you’re considering a particular cloud-based grants management solution, be sure to ask about their cyber-protective measures.
- Keep reports close — Grant reporting is a major part of grant compliance. For best results, keep all reports up to date and accessible for reference. No matter the details, the right reports can effectively replace grant-related anxiety with peace of mind.
Ready for streamlined grants management? Connect with our Solutions team to discover how much time cloud-based grants processing could save you.