Collect and Process Individual Applications

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

Describe options for collecting applications in a Grantmaking Experience Cloud site.
Explain how the Individual Application object is used in the grantmaking lifecycle.
Track reviews and grantmaking processes.

Collect Applications

With funding opportunities created, it’s time to collect applications.

You can collect applications on paper or in another system, and then enter or import your data into Salesforce. But using Grantmaking is a chance to update those processes and streamline your processes through digital transformation.

If you use the Grantmaking site template for Experience Cloud, grant seekers can use your site to enter their own applications and budgets as structured data. You then review and manage each application directly in Salesforce.

Using Grantmaking’s application form framework, you can save staff and applicant time by simplifying the process of creating and managing application forms. After you create a form template and relate it to a funding opportunity, you and your applicants can complete and review the form using Omniscript and Flexcard. The framework is flexible enough that you can add sections to grant applications as needed to go beyond the sections defined in your template.

To create a multi-section form to collect applications, use the Application Stage Definition object, Action Plan Template object, Omnistudio, Flexcard, and an included flow template for Flow Builder. For details, read Create a Grantmaking Form in Salesforce Help.

Alternatively, you could create your own application form using a tool such as Flow Builder. See Building Forms on the Salesforce Architects site for details and alternatives.

If you want to collect applications by invitation only, you can use Compliant Data Sharing to determine who can view a funding opportunity. Read Securely Share Grantmaking Records in CRM or Experience Cloud Using Compliant Data Sharing for details.

Manage Individual Applications

Individual applications track letters of intent, preliminary applications, final applications, or any other documents and information used in the stages of your application process. Submitted applications are stored in Individual Application records.

Each individual application combines all of the information, processes, and collaboration within your team and with an applicant through the pre-award and award phases.

You can customize applications according to your processes and the information you need. Here are some guidelines to consider.

Accounts: Relate each individual application with an account. Connect a business account to represent an applying organization and a person account to represent an applying individual.
Budgets: Relate each application with a budget. As you learned earlier, if you set a budget template for your funding opportunity, applicants can submit formatted budgets through your Experience Cloud site.
Document Checklists: Use them to collect all required documents from applicants and route them to the appropriate staff for review and approval.
Cases: Optionally, relate an individual application to a case. In Salesforce, cases track and describe stakeholder questions, issues, or requests. You can use a case as a container record for communication with an applicant or grantee.

If you use an Experience Cloud site to collect applications, individual applications have related preliminary application reference records, which store details about draft applications before they’re submitted.

Review Applications

After an application is submitted, you have a few tools to help you check form completion and review the application.

Start with Action Plans and Document Checklists. An action plan captures repeatable tasks and then automates creating and assigning those tasks in an easy-to-use checklist. Document checklist items can be related to an action plan to collect and review applicant documents.

You can create action plans from action plan templates, which are preconfigured sets of tasks and document requirements. Your team can create an action plan from an action plan template on any individual application or other record to standardize your processes.

For example, you could create an example action plan that contains five tasks. Tasks could include verifying the eligibility of the nonprofit for the grant program and reviewing financial information to assess an applicant organization’s financial stability.

The action plan record described previously, with verification tasks.

Use the Application Review object to collect and store feedback about individual applications. Assign reviews internally to your team members or externally to outside experts who use your Experience Cloud site. To standardize review processes, create action plan templates for those records, or even use Flow Builder or Omniscript to create a guided review process. Your Salesforce admin can use included page components to create a single-page view to review grant applications and provide feedback, boosting reviewer productivity. Each review gives you a helpful audit trail for every decision.

Speaking of decisions, it’s time to learn more about how you track funding awards, disbursements, and more through the award and post-award phases. We’ll pick up there in the next unit.

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Collect and Process Individual Applications

Learning Objectives

Collect Applications

Manage Individual Applications

Review Applications

Resources