Integrated Grant Catalog

A successful integrated grant catalog is largely a matter of planning. Before selecting a workflow or configuring either system, work through the following questions.

Audience

• Who is your target audience for this catalog?
  • Fund advisors seeking curated giving opportunities
  • The general public
  • A combination of both

Primary Goal

• Are you trying to stretch your unrestricted dollars as part of a competitive grant cycle?
• Do you want to highlight organizations and bring attention to their needs?
• Are you encouraging fund advisors to broaden their giving?

Non-Negotiables

• Must fund holder names appear on grant letters or checks?
• Are multi-fund grants required for reporting consistency?
• Do you need full flexibility across every grant cycle?

If any of the non-negotiables above apply to your process, the integrated grant catalog may not be the right fit. Review the Alternatives to the Integrated Grant Catalog section before proceeding.

Grant Catalog - A feature in CommunitySuite that facilitates crowdfunding, co-funding, and other funding opportunities for nonprofits. Requests can originate in GLM or directly in CommunitySuite.

Grant Catalog Fields - A required block of questions added to a GLM application form that carries information into CommunitySuite for use in the Grant Catalog. All questions are required and cannot be made optional in GLM.

Passthrough Fund - A single dedicated fund used as the accounting hub for all Grant Catalog donations. All donations flow through this fund before being granted out, keeping accounting clean and reporting accurate.

DAF Auto-Approve - A CommunitySuite setting that allows fund advisors to donate to Grant Catalog entries automatically without requiring manual staff approval.

Allow Over-fund Grants - A CommunitySuite setting that lets donors fund a grant beyond the requested amount. Useful for gap-filling and matching campaigns.

These limitations apply the moment Grant Catalog Fields are added to a GLM process, including for grants that never go to the catalog.

No Multi-Fund Grants

• Once Grant Catalog Fields are added to a GLM process, all grants in that process are restricted to a single fund.
• This applies even to grants that never go to the Grant Catalog.
• This cannot be worked around within the integration. Contact Support to discuss before implementing if Set Multifund is part of your current workflow.

No Partial Payment Grants

• A grant must be fully funded before it can be paid out of the catalog.
• Once a grant is paid, it comes down from the catalog.
• There is no way to show partial funding and still pay part of the grant.

Grant Letters Show Only the Passthrough Fund

• CommunitySuite grant letters list only the passthrough fund name.
• Fund advisor names, fund names, and donor information do not appear.
• Grantees can view donor information through the CommunitySuite Grantee Portal if it is enabled.
• In the Fund Advisor Portal, contributions appear as an internal grant to another fund, not a direct grant to the organization.

Grant Catalog Questions Are All-or-Nothing in GLM

• When added to a process, all Grant Catalog questions are required for every application in that process.
• There is no way to skip, hide, or make individual questions optional in GLM.
• Deleting one grant catalog question deletes all grant catalog questions.
• Grant catalog questions added to the application form cannot be shared to other forms within an integrated grant catalog process.
• If a process is copied with Grant Catalog questions and applications have been submitted, the questions cannot be removed.
• If grant catalog questions are moved into a branched group that not all applicants will answer, a GLM syncing error will appear for any request with unanswered questions, outlining what fields were missed.

Contact Support before enabling integrated Grant Catalog fields for the first time.

CommunitySuite Grant Catalog Setup Recommendations

Before launching a Grant Catalog, a few configuration decisions can significantly affect how smoothly the catalog runs for staff, donors, and grantees alike.

• Start with a CommunitySuite-Only Catalog First
  It is recommended to run a CommunitySuite-only Grant Catalog before integrating GLM. Understanding the fund accounting flow, the Giving Hub experience, and how donations translate to grants before adding GLM complexity reduces errors.
• Use a Single Dedicated Passthrough Fund
  All donations flow through this fund before being granted out. A single fund keeps accounting clean and reporting accurate. Avoid using multiple funds for the same catalog.
• Enable DAF Auto-Approve
  This setting allows fund advisors to donate to Grant Catalog entries automatically without manual staff approval. Most foundations using the catalog should have this enabled.
• Enable Allow Over-Fund Grants
  This setting lets donors fund a grant beyond the requested amount. Useful for gap-filling and matching campaigns.
• Use Grant Categories, Not Grant Types
  Grant Types do not flow through the integration. Set up Grant Categories on the catalog instead for user-defined filtering. If default grant types are already configured on grantee profiles and they align with the filtering options needed for the catalog, those can serve the same purpose. Use grant categories when you want to simplify the options compared to existing grant types. A default Grant Type can still be set on the Grantee Profile.
• Use the Preview Period
  Use the Hide Grant Request button to let grantees preview the catalog before it opens. This builds anticipation without allowing premature submissions. The Hide Donate button is also needed during the preview period to prevent donors from submitting donations before the catalog officially opens.
• Protect Fund Advisors with Hide Donate
  Set the Hide Donate button for fund advisors to ensure they go through the proper grant request workflow rather than making direct online donations.
• Keep the Catalog Open for a Finite Window
  Set a defined open and close date. Promote the opening date to donors and grantees well in advance and have a wrap-up plan in place before the catalog closes.

Set Up the Integrated Grant Catalog in GLM

To set up an integrated grant catalog in GLM and add grant catalog questions to the application form:

1. Starting in GLM, click Tools on the upper navigation bar, and then click Process Manager.
2. Click the process name, and then navigate to the Application stage.
    
   • The application form is the only form that is supported for the integrated grant catalog.
   • Grant Catalog questions will need to be added to the application form.
     1. To add grant catalog questions, click the pencil icon next to the application form.
         
     2. Click Standard to add grant catalog questions to an existing group or a new group on the form.
         
     3. Click Grant Catalog Fields.
        • If the Grant Catalog Fields button is not listed, contact Support to have the setting turned on.
           
     4. Select the Visibility type from the drop-down menu, and then click Save Question.
        • The grant catalog questions will be added to the application form. All of the questions can be renamed and instructions can be added.
        • Deleting one of the grant catalog questions will delete all of the grant catalog questions.
        • All questions are required to be answered.
           
3. Once there are requests to process that have the grant catalog questions, choose a workflow below for sending the request to CommunitySuite.
4. The Integrated Grant Catalog is then ready for use and fund advisors and donors can begin donating.

There are three integrated grant catalog workflows. Choose the one that fits where your grants are in the review process when you want to open the catalog.

• Pre-Approval (Crowd Fund): Sync grants to CommunitySuite before evaluation, at Application Complete.
• Post-Approval (Top Up): Sync grants to CommunitySuite after approval to raise additional dollars.
• Post-Decision (Second Chance): Sync meritorious but unfunded grants to CommunitySuite for a second opportunity at funding.

Use this workflow when you want to crowdfund before your evaluation process, or when you do not plan to use an evaluation stage at all. If an application has not been approved in GLM, the request can still be synced from the Application Complete workload page to CommunitySuite.

To sync requests to CommunitySuite before approval in GLM:

1. Process the grant to Application Complete in GLM.
   • If there are Grant Catalog Fields questions added to the application, the CSuite tab will become available before approval.
   • To sync multiple Application Complete requests at once, navigate to the Search page, click Requests & Decisions, filter to Application Complete, check the boxes next to the requests to sync, and click Batch Actions then Send to CommunitySuite. See Sync GLM Requests to CommunitySuite for details.
2. Click the CSuite tab.
    
3. Click Sync Request.
   
    
4. In CommunitySuite, navigate to the GLM bucket on the Grants page.
    
5. Click the grant ID.
    
6. Click Set Grantee in the left-side menu.
   • Process Synced Grants provides information on mapping grantees.
7. Click Map Grantees.
    
8. Click Send to Catalog in the left-side menu.
   • If there is more than one grant catalog in the system, click the name to which the grant will be sent.
9. Click Accept in the left-side menu.
10. Select the Create Grants in Fund field from the drop-down menu, select the Grant Category from the drop-down menu, and then click Approve.
     
11. Click the grant ID.
     
12. Click [guidestar charity check] to run a charity check on the grant in CommunitySuite.
     
13. In the Details tab, locate the Grant Payment Schedule and click Edit Pay Schedule.
14. Select a Payment Date, enter an Amount, and then click Save.
    • If the Grant Payment Schedule is Conditional, check the Conditional box.
    • If there is more than one installment, use the line below the first one to enter the additional Payment Date and Installment Amount.
       
15. Click the GLM Request icon to navigate to the Request Summary in GLM.
     
16. Click Approve Request on the Request tab in GLM.
    • If evaluations need to be completed, that can be done before this step.
       
17. Select the Award Type from the drop-down menu.
    • Decision Date and Grant Date default to the day the request is approved.
       
18. Click Approve Request.
     
19. Click the Award Details tab.
     
20. Click the Installment Form drop-down menu.
     
21. The Installment Form will be populated from CommunitySuite. Confirm that the Installment Form information is correct, and then click the CSuite Approval toggle, which approves the installment in GLM and sends the approval to CommunitySuite.
     
22. Navigate back to the grant in CommunitySuite and click Post & Get Approval in the left-side menu.
23. Continue processing the internal or external grant.

This workflow works well when fund advisors get first access to the funding opportunity and foundation unrestricted dollars need to go further. The grant committee can see which grants received catalog funding and focus attention on those that did not. Note that grantees do not receive payment until after the committee makes final decisions, which can extend the timeline. Plan grantee communication before the catalog opens.

Integrated Grant Catalog: Pre-Approval (Crowd Fund) Video

The following video demonstrates how to sync a pre-approval grant request from GLM to CommunitySuite, send it to a grant catalog, edit the pay schedule, and approve installments to move the grant through to payment.

Use this workflow when grants have already been evaluated and approved and you want to raise additional dollars to close funding gaps or engage donors around an approved cause.

In this example, there is a partially approved grant, meaning that the applicant's requested amount is more than the amount the committee has approved.

1. Navigate to the Approved request in GLM.
2. On the application in this example, the Grant Catalog Amount Requested field on the application is $1000.
   • The committee has decided to fund half of the requested amount shown on the Award Details tab with an installment of $500.
      
3. Click the CSuite tab.
    
4. Click the Sync Request button, which will send the request to CommunitySuite.
    
5. Navigate to the GLM bucket on the Grants page in CommunitySuite.
   • The example $500 partially approved grant amount will show.
      
6. Click the grant ID.
    
7. Click Set Grantee in the left-side menu.
   • Process Synced Grants provides information on mapping grantees.
8. Click Map Grantees.
    
9. Click Send to Catalog in the left-side menu.
   • If there is more than one grant catalog in the system, click the name to which the grant will be sent.
10. Click Accept in the left-side menu.
11. Select the Create Grants in Fund field from the drop-down menu, select the Grant Category from the drop-down menu, and then click Approve.
     

This workflow works well when fund advisors can help make up the difference on underfunded grants. It supports both underfunded and fully funded grants. Note that all applications in the process must complete all Grant Catalog questions, even those not going to the catalog, and all grants in the process are restricted to one fund.

Integrated Grant Catalog: Post-Approval (Top Up) Video

The following video demonstrates how to add grant catalog questions to a GLM process, sync a request to CommunitySuite, send it to a grant catalog, and process funding through approval in both systems.

• Add Grant Catalog Questions to a GLM Process (:14) - Add the grant catalog system question block to an application form, set visibility, and review how the block behaves differently from other GLM questions.
• Sync a Request to CommunitySuite (1:55) - Review funding options for sending a partially approved grant request from GLM to CommunitySuite and map the grantee profile.
• Send the Request to a Grant Catalog (3:46) - Send the synced grant request to an active grant catalog, set the fund and category, and accept the request.
• Fund Advisor Donation Through the Grant Catalog (4:45) - Walk through how a fund advisor views and donates to a grant catalog request through the donor portal.
• Update the Pay Schedule in CommunitySuite (5:48) - Edit the pay schedule to add a secondary payment line for the donor-advised fund commitment alongside the GLM installment.
• Post, Approve, and Pay the Grant (6:35) - Move the grant through posting, approval, and payment in CommunitySuite, and approve installments in GLM to finalize the process.

Use this workflow when evaluators identified a grant as meritorious but there was not enough money to fund it. Rather than a full denial, the grant gets a second opportunity at funding through the catalog.

To process a post-decision grant through the catalog in GLM:

1. Before processing the approval, notify the applicant about what is happening. If your process has automatic approval emails, adjust or disable those triggers to avoid confusing the grantee.
2. Process a $0.00 approval in GLM, do NOT add installments. When the installment prompt appears, close out of it without adding installments. The system will still allow the request to sync.
3. Click the CSuite tab and click Sync Request.
4. In CommunitySuite, click Set Grantee, click Map Grantees, click Send to Catalog, and then click Accept. There is no installment approval step here since there is no funding yet.
5. The catalog opens. Donors can fund up to the requested amount, or beyond if Allow Over-fund is enabled.
6. If the grant ends up fully unfunded after the catalog closes:
   • In CommunitySuite, move the grant to the GLM bucket and optionally delete the grant catalog entry.
   • In GLM, undo the toggle from the Request Summary or a workload page. Revert the request past Denial Draft so it can be denied.
7. If funding is received, payment information populated in CommunitySuite reads back to GLM.

This workflow works well when grantees get another opportunity at funding they would otherwise have missed, and when fund advisors get exposure to more organizations in the community. Note that grants show as approved in GLM despite being denied ($0.00 approval), so a communication plan is essential. This workflow also requires familiarity with how far to take a grant in both CommunitySuite and GLM before it unlinks.

Use the steps and guidance below to accept donations, process grants, and wrap up reporting after the catalog closes.

Accept Donations

• Accept grants and donations through the Giving Hub (public) or the Fund Advisor Portal (private).
• Enable DAF Auto-Approve so fund advisor contributions to the catalog are processed automatically. This is one of the most commonly missed settings.

Process Fully Funded Grants

• Once a grant reaches its funding goal, process normally: post and approve in CommunitySuite, then pay the grantee.
• Grants automatically move from the Unfunded bucket to the New bucket when fully funded.

Process Partially Funded or Overfunded Grants

• Edit the grant amount in CommunitySuite to match the amount donated before processing.
• Both the grant amount and the grant payment schedule must be edited before the grant moves to the New bucket for normal processing.
• See Edit the Grant Amount for a Partially Funded Grant below.

Grant Letters

• CommunitySuite grant letters are generated with only the passthrough fund listed.
• Fund advisor names and donor information do not appear in letters. This is a system limitation.
• Grantees can access donor information through the CommunitySuite Grantee Portal (if enabled) or via the Grant Catalog Donation Report.

Reporting

• Donation, Donor, Grantee, and Grant Catalog canned reports are available in CommunitySuite.
• Use custom reports to pull grant catalog activity against the general ledger.
• The Grant Catalog Donation Report is the most effective report to filter activity by organization.

GLM Wrap-Up

• For Pre-Approval (Crowd Fund) grants, move to Approved in GLM after funding is received, whether from the catalog or a committee decision. Grant amount information will populate automatically from CommunitySuite on approval.
• Assign follow-up forms as needed from GLM once the grant is approved. This applies to all three workflows.
• Donor information does not flow to GLM.

If a fund advisor or anyone donating to the grant catalog makes a partial donation to a grant, the total amount in CommunitySuite will need to be edited to match the donation amount.

1. Navigate to the grant in CommunitySuite.
   • In the example below, the Amount on the grant is the full requested amount of $1,000, and in the Grant Funding Tab, the amount funded is $500. This means that donors only paid $500, and the amount on the grant needs to be edited to match.
     
      
2. Locate the row of buttons at the top of the record, and then click Edit.
3. Enter the exact donation amount into the Amount field, and then click Save.
   
    
4. In the Details tab, locate the Grant Payment Schedule and click Edit Pay Schedule.
5. Select a Payment Date and enter the installment Amount, and then click Save.
   

If the integration restrictions do not fit your process, two non-integrated alternatives offer many of the same catalog benefits without the limitations.

Invite Grantees to Apply Directly in CommunitySuite

Include a link to the CommunitySuite Grant Catalog application page as a follow-up form or question in GLM. This works well for partially funded or denied grants.

• Add organizations to the Grant Catalog as a Grantee so their name appears in the catalog list.
• Relabel the CommunitySuite Grant Catalog questions to align with GLM application language and provide instructions in the header so grantees know which answers to copy over.
• Grantees complete the CommunitySuite Grant Catalog application. In CommunitySuite, all questions are optional.
• Foundation staff approve the request, and the grant is ready for the catalog.

This approach provides full flexibility with no multi-fund restriction and no GLM process restrictions. Grantee data lives in two places, and a complete funding picture requires custom fields to combine records in reporting.

Export from GLM and Import to CommunitySuite

Add an opt-in question to the GLM application asking whether the grantee wants to be included in a Grant Catalog if their request is not fully funded or is denied.

• Create a GLM report containing the minimum required fields for a CommunitySuite Grant Import File: Name, Amount, Description, Long Description.
• Import grants into CommunitySuite using the Grant Import Template. Once accepted in the Import bucket, they move to the New bucket.
• Add each grant to the catalog individually. Add photos one at a time, as the Grant Import does not support photos.
• It is recommended to add a photo question to the GLM application to have images ready for the catalog.

This approach provides total flexibility with no restrictions carried from GLM and full control over which grants appear in the catalog. Manual effort is required to add each grant to the catalog individually. The 2.0 integration must be used to send grants from CommunitySuite to GLM for follow-ups. The full funding picture is split across two records unless custom fields are used.