Glossary

Plain definitions of the labels, statuses and grant terms you see in GrantFlex, grouped by where they appear.

12 min
Every plan

Research and opportunities

Introductory research: The free first research run for a new workspace, one per eligible account. It previews up to three researched opportunities and doesn't use AI actions.
Full research report: Web research on your organization and goals that usually takes about 30 minutes. It has two views, Opportunities and Full report. Included with paid plans.
Quick search: A search for one specific need, such as food donations or equipment repairs, that usually takes 1 to 2 minutes. You choose which results join your opportunities. Each search uses one AI action.
Report refresh: A recheck of the funder pages behind a report. The report stays as written, and each change shows on its opportunity. On a paid plan you can refresh a report once a day, and reports also refresh on their own about once a month.
Opportunity: A funder, program or partner that a report or quick search found, with the evidence for why it could fit.
Suggested request: The amount a report suggests asking for. It's a starting point to check against the funder's guidelines, not a limit or a promise.

Funder status

Each opportunity shows what its research read on the funder's page, with the date it was read. Check the funder's page before you act on it.

Open now: Accepting applications or requests, per the report.
Status unclear: The report could not tell from the funder’s page.
Opens later: A future round, not accepting yet.
Closed this round: Prepare for the next one.
Relationship first: Approached directly, no formal window.
No round announced: Nothing to apply for yet.

Your decisions

These show what you've decided about each opportunity, and they add up in the report's progress bar.

Shortlisted: You starred an opportunity to come back to it.
Underway: You've started work on an opportunity: an application or a plan exists for it.
Checking: You added a task to check something before you decide.
Set aside: You chose to come back to an opportunity on a later date. When the date arrives, it returns to your list to decide.
Not for us: You decided not to pursue an opportunity. You can add a note, and undo it later.

Where to start

Take the next step: Open or unclear per the report. Confirm, then begin.
Get ready first: Not open yet, or the report says to prepare before applying.
Build relationships: No application to file. A conversation comes first.

Pipeline

Funding record: One grant, sponsorship or other ask you track in Pipeline, with its stage, amounts, dates, tasks, materials and activity.
Support type: What a record asks for: a grant, a sponsorship, a corporate gift, donated goods or services, an individual gift, a partnership, or something else. Edit plan offers four more: Building a funder relationship, Free professional help, Earned revenue and Technology benefit.
Open asks: The amounts requested by records that are still in progress.
Weighted forecast: Each open ask multiplied by its likelihood at its stage, added up. A record uses its stage's default likelihood until someone sets one.
Likelihood: The chance a record is funded, as a percentage, set under Edit plan. The weighted forecast uses it. Left blank, a record uses its stage's default, from 10% at Prospect to 60% at Awaiting response. Secured always counts in full, and closed records count as nothing.
Follow-up date: Your team's own reminder to check in on a record, set under Edit plan. It isn't the funder's deadline. It shows in the record's header and on the calendar, and its reminders go to the record's owner.
Materials: The pieces a funder asks for on one funding record: written responses, budget pieces and files to attach. Each piece is Not started, Needs review or Ready.
Submission record: What GrantFlex keeps when you record that something went to a funder: the date, how you sent it, the confirmation number and the amount requested. Recorded from a proposal's Package tab, it also keeps a copy of each response, the budget totals and the attachments as sent. GrantFlex never submits anything for you.
Renewal record: A new record at Prospect for a funder you've worked with before. When a funder declines, Remind us to reapply next cycle adds one, with an estimated date for the next cycle. The closed record links to it as Next cycle. When an open award's grant period ends within 120 days, GrantFlex adds one whose name starts with Renewal, with a date to start the request, and tells the record's owner.
Funder page watch: A funder's web page, such as its guidelines, that GrantFlex reads once a week. Watch for changes on a record or a funder's profile sets one up. When the page changes, the person who set the watch and the owner of the record or funder get a notification. With workspace AI on, AI summarizes the change, so check the page itself.

Stages

Prospect: Worth tracking; not yet checked for fit.
Checking fit: Deciding whether it’s worth pursuing.
Outreach: Talking with the funder or partner.
LOI sent: Letter of inquiry sent; waiting to be invited.
Preparing: Getting the request and materials ready.
Awaiting response: Request sent; waiting to hear back.
Secured: Support confirmed.
Declined: They said no this time.
Archived: Set aside and kept for reference.

Phases

Phases group the stages for Pipeline's headings, Board columns and filters.

Prospects: Funders and grants you’re tracking but haven’t committed to yet.
Preparing: Applications and requests you’re still working on.
Awaiting decision: Letters of inquiry and requests waiting to hear back from the funder.
Secured: Awarded grants and support you’ve secured.
Closed: Declined, withdrawn or archived — kept for your records.

Support types

The kinds of support a record can ask for, as Add a grant or funder names them. Some have longer names on the record itself.

Grant: Money you apply for from a foundation, company or government program. Edit plan lists it as Grant.
Sponsorship: Money from a company in return for recognition, such as its name on an event or program.
Corporate gift: A donation of money from a company. Records list it as Corporate gift.
Donated goods or services: Equipment, supplies, space or work given instead of money. See In-kind support.
Individual gift: A donation from a person. Records list it as Individual gift.
Partnership: Working with another organization to share resources or deliver something together.
Other: Any other kind of support. Records list it as Other.

Materials status

Not started: Nothing is written or attached for this piece yet.
Needs review: The piece has text or a file, or it changed since someone last marked it ready.
Ready: Someone reviewed the piece and marked it ready. Changing it sends it back to Needs review.

Proposals and tasks

Budget explanation: A short narrative of a proposal's costs. On the Budget tab, Draft budget explanation has AI write it from your budget lines only, and you check it before you use it. The Package tab and the downloads call it the budget narrative.
Letter of support: A letter from a partner or community member that backs your application. A proposal's Letters tab tracks who you've asked and when you need each letter, and AI can draft the request. You send these yourself. GrantFlex never contacts supporters.
Research check: A task to find something out before you decide on an opportunity, added when you choose Check first. It lists the questions to ask and keeps what you learn. The opportunity shows as Checking until you start work on it, set it aside or mark it Not for us.
Team workload: Each person's open tasks, with how many are overdue and how many are due in the next 7 days. It shows in Pipeline's Tasks view when work is shared, and on Insights with each person's open records.

Application status

Checking fit: You're deciding whether to apply.
Drafting: The proposal is being written.
In review: The proposal is with a reviewer on your team.
Ready to submit: Your team marked the package ready. You still submit it through the funder's own process.
Submitted: You recorded the submission. The proposal's sections lock until you reopen them for edits.
Awarded: The funder said yes, and you recorded the award.
Declined: The funder said no this time.
Withdrawn: You withdrew the application.

Section status

Empty: The section has no text yet.
AI draft: Text from AI that nobody has edited yet. It stays marked so machine text is never mistaken for reviewed work.
Drafting: Someone has written or edited the section.
In review: Someone asked for a review after the section was last approved.
Approved: A person approved the section. You can't approve text that's over the funder's limit.

Requirement status

Missing: Nothing is attached yet.
Attached: A file from your documents is attached. It counts as ready.
Needs signature: It needs a signature before you submit.
Expired: The version you have has expired. Attach a current one.
Waived: This application doesn't need it. It counts as ready.
Done: You finished it outside GrantFlex and marked it done. It counts as ready.

Letter status

To request: You haven't asked yet.
Requested: You've sent the request yourself, and GrantFlex keeps the date.
Received: The signed letter came back.
Declined: They can't write one, so it no longer counts as outstanding.

Review verdicts

An AI review ends with one of these. It's guidance from AI, not the funder's decision.

Looks submission-ready: The AI review's highest verdict. Have a person read the draft before you submit.
Needs work: The middle verdict: the review found gaps to fix before you submit.
Not ready: The lowest verdict: the review found larger gaps to close before the draft is ready.

Task status

To do: Not started.
In progress: Someone is working on it.
Blocked: Waiting on something before it can move.
Done: Finished.
Not submitted: An award report that hasn't gone to the funder yet.
Awaiting acceptance: An award report you've sent that the funder hasn't accepted yet.
Accepted: The funder accepted the report.

Awards

Award letter: The funder's letter or agreement that confirms an award. Upload it to your documents, then choose it under Extract terms on the award's page.
Award terms: What AI reads out of an award letter with Extract terms, for one AI action: the award amount, the grant period, reporting deadlines, rules to follow and the payment schedule. Each item cites the passage it came from. Check them against the letter before you add its report dates and payments.
Grant period: The dates an award covers, from Grant period starts to Grant period ends in the award's details. The end date goes on the calendar, and a renewal record is added ahead of it.
Use of funds: Whether an award is Restricted to a purpose or Unrestricted (general support). Add the funder's terms under Restrictions or conditions.
Payment: An amount a funder is due to pay on a date, such as one installment of a grant. Add each one under Payments on the award's page. It's Scheduled until you select Mark received, and it shows on the calendar until then.
Progress report: A report to a funder about an award: what you committed to and what happened. On the report's page, Generate report has AI draft it from your notes and the award commitments, for one AI action. You review it, send it to the funder yourself and update its status.

Award status

You set an award's status on its page. Award reports use Not submitted, Awaiting acceptance and Accepted, as in Task status.

Received: The award is recorded. Recording an award starts it here.
Active: The grant is under way.
Reporting due: A report to the funder is coming up or owed.
Closed: The grant is finished. Its reports leave your open tasks.

Funder relationships

Each funder in Funders has one of these. It moves forward on its own as you log contact, send requests and record awards, and never moves back by itself.

Researching: Learning whether they’re a fit.
Contacted: We’ve reached out; no conversation yet.
In conversation: Talking with someone there.
Funder: They’ve funded us.
Lapsed: Funded us before, not recently.
Not a fit: Decided not to pursue for now.

Projects

Project: The work you're raising money for, such as a new program or a building repair. Each project keeps its brief, budget, funding sources and tasks in one place, and feeds your research and applications.
Project brief: A project's description in your own words, in fields such as Purpose, Who benefits, What’s included, What success looks like, Working budget and Target completion. Proposal drafts and project research work from it.
Working budget: Your best current estimate of what a project costs. Leave it blank until you have one. The project's funding shows what's committed, requested and planned against it.
Approved for proposals: A project brief someone approved with Approve current brief for proposals. Drafts of application sections use that exact version. Edit the brief and it shows Brief changed until you approve it again. Approval doesn't confirm funding or eligibility.
AI coach: Suggestions from AI for a project brief, such as clearer outcomes or budget assumptions. Select AI coach on a project to ask for them. Nothing changes until you choose a suggestion, and each request uses one AI action.

Project stage

A project's stage says where the work stands, and each funding source linked to it has a status of its own.

Developing: The project is still being planned. New projects start here.
In progress: The work is under way.
Completed: The work is finished. Its open tasks become inactive.
On hold: The work is paused. Its open tasks become inactive until it moves again.

Project funding

Considering: A possible source you're still weighing. It isn't counted in the project's funding.
Planned ask: A request you plan to make.
Requested: A request you've made and are waiting to hear about.
Committed: Support that has been promised or awarded.
Not proceeding: A source that said no or that you've stopped pursuing. It isn't counted.

Insights

Win rate: Of the requests decided in the period, the share that were Secured rather than Declined. Archived records don't count.
Early read: Shown beside the win rate when fewer than 5 requests have been decided in the period, since a rate from so few decisions can change quickly.
Board summary: One or two short paragraphs about the Insights figures, for your board, up to 3,000 characters. Select Write it myself, or Draft with AI to have AI draft it from the figures for one AI action, then edit it. It's kept in that browser tab only, and it goes into the board report when you download it.
Board report: A download of one period's Insights figures, titled Grants report, as a PDF or a Word document. It has your board summary if you wrote one, the key figures, and tables of the open pipeline, awards secured, requests waiting, what's due in the next 60 days and declines. Anyone in the workspace can download it.

Calendar and summaries

Private calendar link: A link that shows a workspace's dates in Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar and keeps them up to date. Each person makes their own with Create a private calendar link. Anyone with it can see the titles and dates, so if it's shared by mistake, select Reset link.
Weekly summary: One email a week with what's overdue, the next two weeks, requests waiting on a decision and your open tasks. It comes on Mondays unless you choose another day, and it's skipped when there's nothing to report. Turn it off with Email me a weekly summary in your notification settings.
Monthly summary: An email to owners and admins on the 1st of each month, with what was secured, submitted and decided the month before and what's coming up. It's skipped when there's nothing to report. Turn it off with Monthly summary in your notification settings.

How sure a date is

Funder deadlines on a record and on the calendar say how sure each date is.

Confirmed: Confirmed with the funder.
From the report: The date came from a research report and still needs confirming with the funder. Reminders about it say so.
Estimate: Not confirmed yet, such as when a funder's next cycle may open. Reminders about it say the date is an estimate.

People and roles

Owner: Created the workspace or was given ownership. The owner chooses the plan and manages billing, and can transfer or delete the workspace.
Admin: Edit work, manage access, and update settings.
Editor: Create and edit projects, drafts, and documents.
Viewer: View work without making changes.

Your workspace

AI action: One AI request you start, such as a draft, a rewrite, a review, a chat answer or a quick search. Plans include a number of them. See Plans, seats and AI actions.
Workspace: Everything for one applicant: an organization, you as an individual, or one client. Each workspace has its own members, plan, documents and research.
Applicant file: The standard documents funders ask for, such as an IRS determination letter, a W-9 and a board list, kept current under About the Organization.
Answer library: Approved language you reuse across proposals. You insert it from any section's editor.
Research setup: What research reports work from: your funding needs, the kinds of support you want, your funding preferences and up to 8 document summaries research may read. It's on the About the Organization page, under Details. Saving it doesn't start research.
Eligibility details: The facts funders usually check first, such as your organization type, 501(c)(3) status, where you work and your annual budget. They're on the About the Organization page, where a count shows how many you've added and Add next suggests the missing ones that matter most for matching opportunities.
Key personnel: The staff who will lead funded work. Tick Key personnel, named in proposals on a person's entry, and AI drafts name them with their titles.
Workspace AI: Whether a workspace can use AI at all. An owner or admin turns it on or off under AI processing in Settings. Turning it off stops new AI work, and finished reports stay until you delete them.
Member seats: The number of people a plan lets into a workspace, the owner included: 1 on Free, 2 on Solo and 5 on Team. A pending invitation holds a seat until it's accepted, revoked or expired. Agency staff don't use a covered client's seats. On the Agency plan, an agency workspace has 10 staff seats instead.

Agencies

Agency workspace: A workspace for a grant writer or consultancy that sits above its client workspaces. Staff join it once, and each client keeps its own data. Its sidebar has Clients, Pipeline, Calendar and Library. Research runs in each client's workspace, never in the agency's.
Client workspace: An organization's own workspace, linked to an agency workspace. It keeps its own documents, research, proposals and members. An agency starts one with Add a client, or brings in a workspace it already runs with Link a workspace.
Staff access: Lets an agency's staff open a client workspace as an Editor or a Viewer, without an invitation. While the agency plan covers the client, they don't use its member seats.
Agency library: Language an agency reuses for every client, such as team bios and its evaluation approach. Staff insert entries from any client's section editor. The text is copied, so each client keeps its own version.
Plan coverage: How a client workspace's plan is paid for: by the agency, by the client itself, or not at all. The agency's Clients page shows it for each client.

Plan coverage labels

Each client on an agency's Clients page shows one of these.

Covered by your agency plan: Team features, paid on your agency’s bill.
Client’s own plan: This client pays for its own subscription.
Not covered: On the Free plan. Add a client to your agency plan to cover it.

Grant terms

Guidelines (RFP or NOFO): The funder's instructions for an opportunity: who can apply, deadlines, amounts, required documents and how applications are scored. Government agencies often call theirs a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
Letter of inquiry (LOI): A short letter some funders ask for before they invite a full application.
In-kind support: Donated goods or services instead of cash, such as equipment, space, supplies or professional help.
Match: Money or in-kind value your organization puts toward a project. Budgets show it as Our match. Some funders require a match.
Indirect cost rate: A percentage added to direct costs to cover shared costs such as rent and administration. Leave it blank if the funder doesn't allow indirect costs.
EIN: Employer Identification Number: the federal tax ID the IRS gives an organization.
UEI and SAM.gov: SAM.gov is the US government's registration system for federal awards. Registering gives an organization a Unique Entity ID (UEI), which federal grant applications need.
IRS determination letter: The letter in which the IRS confirms an organization's tax-exempt status, such as 501(c)(3).
Fiscal sponsor: An established nonprofit that receives and manages funds for a project or group that isn't tax-exempt itself. Some funders accept applications through one.