by Bright Ewuru | Mar 25, 2025 | Article
As a grantmaking organisation, providing a seamless applicant experience is fundamental. A user-friendly submission process can encourage more people and organisations to apply, driving a diverse pool of candidates. Clarity and support can also inspire high-quality applications where users understand the requirements and can get assistance if ever needed.
Beyond that, an amazing submission journey can help you advance your mission effectively by ensuring the right people receive the resources they need. By showing you value your applicants, you can strengthen your organisation’s reputation and relationships within the community and industry.
Eager to give your grantseeker experience a facelift? Check out these tips on how to create a great submission journey.
Accessibility can make your funding opportunities inclusive and equitable by eliminating any obstacles that may impede application. An accessible application process can help you support a wider range of applicants, boosting your social impact.
Building accessibility into your grant and scholarship application process demonstrates your commitment to ethics and compliance, which boosts applicant confidence and reflects positively on your organisation.
Practices that make the grant and scholarship application experience accessible include:
A telltale sign of a positive applicant experience is alignment with modern digital trends which can make the submission journey more interactive and engaging.
Multimedia submissions can add spark to the application process by offering applicants a richer way to express their qualifications and experiences. Videos, audio recordings and pictures can help applicants tell their stories, showcase their research and communicate their impact better than words alone.
Your submission management platform should be designed to accept any kind or size of file. It’s important to define what kind of file you will accept for each required information, whether video, audio, document or more.
You can offer applicants an amazing submission experience by ensuring convenience and security.
Your grant or scholarship application software should have a centralised file store for applicants to upload and store required files. Such files can be effortlessly reused as needed, saving applicants from uploading repeat files.
Applicants should also be able to download blank application forms for offline viewing, and download a copy of the completed application for easy offline reference and scoring.
Security is key to protecting the confidentiality of applicant information. Your platform of choice should comply with relevant legislation and offer features such as server security, data encryption and access control.
Offering guidance and assistance to applicants can help them craft and submit stronger applications. This support enhances their applicant experience by demonstrating your investment in their success. Start by providing clear directions on what applicants should do.
Ensure your platform has auto-save functionality to ensure that applications are automatically saved in the background as they work on their submissions. In the event of any disconnection, they can pick up where they left off.
Consider allowing applicants to edit their applications even after submission until a stipulated deadline, providing them an avenue to add vital information and attachments they may have omitted initially. Good Grants takes it further by offering application resubmission—a two-stage submission process requiring that applicants resubmit applications with more details.
Applicants might have questions as they craft their submissions. Consider providing multi-channel support such as social media, email or a support line. For real-time assistance, live chat or chatbots can come in handy.
Automation can power your communication with applicants, reminding them of approaching deadlines, next steps and omitted information and files to keep your applicants informed.
The post-submission stage is also an important part of the submission journey. Consider providing feedback on applicants’ submissions, sharing review scores and comments.
Feedback can boost applicant experience by highlighting any strengths and weaknesses in an application, or even providing actionable tips for better applications in the case of rejected applications. It encourages applicant retention and resubmission in future cycles.
Grant and scholarship applicants play a vital role in the change you hope to drive, and it’s important to provide an easy and even enjoyable applicant experience. Find out how Good Grants can help you elevate your applicant experience and create a smooth submission journey that benefits your applicants and organisation.
Articles
Feature focus
Ebooks
Videos
Releases
Δ