Today’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) teams are driving some of the most strategic and visible work in their organizations, but with very few resources.
Our 2025 State of Corporate Purpose Survey found that at enterprises of 10,000-50,000 employees, the median CSR team consists of just four people — all of whom are tasked with delivering both social and business outcomes, often with limited resources.
And many of these organizations still manage grants manually: using spreadsheets, emails and siloed systems that can’t keep pace with the growing complexity of modern grant programs. That’s where grant management software comes in.
This article explains what grant management software is, why it matters and how it can help your company run a more effective and scalable grant program. Along the way, we’ll share practical insights from Clare Brewka, Manager of Global Community Engagement at Mitek. She talked us through MiTek’s own grantmaking journey, from recognizing a need to selecting and implementing the right solution.
Whether you're just starting a social impact program or looking to scale, this guide will help you better understand the role of software in simplifying the grant management process and maximizing your impact.
Key takeaways
- Grant management software simplifies complex workflows to help CSR teams save time, reduce manual effort and stay organized as programs grow.
- The right platform improves impact visibility, making it easier to demonstrate alignment between grantmaking efforts and broader business goals.
- Investing in grant software is often triggered by growing complexity, and signs it’s time to upgrade include increased stakeholder pressure and administrative overload.
- Successful adoption depends on involving stakeholders early, highlighting process gaps and framing the investment in terms of business outcomes.
- Software like Benevity enables strategic, scalable growth; by automating tasks and improving grant data quality, teams can focus on strategic priorities.
Grant management software explained
Before jumping into details about grant management software, what exactly is grant management?. It’s the process of overseeing the full lifecycle of a grant, from identifying funding opportunities and managing applications to disbursing funds, tracking progress and reporting outcomes.
For companies with corporate giving or granting programs, it means managing relationships with grantees, ensuring compliance and measuring social and business impact. And the right tool can make this process a lot more efficient and impactful.
What is grant management software?
A grant management system like Benevity is a digital platform designed to support every stage of the grantmaking process, so you can move from manual work to mission-aligned impact. These systems centralize your information, workflows and documentation to help you reduce manual effort while gaining better visibility into how funds are allocated and used.
What is grant management software used for?
In the context of social impact, grants management software helps streamline grant-related tasks like impact measurement, reporting and compliance tracking. These systems reduce administrative burden and allow impact teams to operate more efficiently, even with limited resources.
How do you keep track of grants?
Without a centralized system, many CSR teams rely on spreadsheets, email threads or disconnected tools to keep track of grants. This makes it difficult to monitor grant statuses, track deadlines and generate reports.
A modern grant management system solves this by providing a single source of truth for your program data, from application intake to final reporting. With the right platform, you can:
- Track applications and funding in real time
- Review and score proposals against custom criteria
- Generate detailed reports for internal and external stakeholders
- Maintain compliance with tax and regulatory requirements
- Streamline funds disbursement with secure payment processing
- Leverage reporting and survey data to help tell a story of impact
These capabilities allow teams to stay organized, scale with confidence and focus more on impact, not admin.
Discover what social impact professionals need to know about grant management software and watch our interview with Clare Brewka, Manager of Global Community Engagement at Mitek.
Key benefits of grant management software
Grant management software helps CSR teams do more with less, especially as programs grow in size and complexity. By automating manual tasks and centralizing program data, these platforms allow teams to focus on strategic work that drives impact.
Here are some of the most valuable benefits:
- Save time and reduce manual work: Automate repetitive tasks like grant intake processes and report generation.
- Improve visibility and tracking: Centralize your grant data in one system, making it easier to track funding, deadlines and program performance in real time.
- Prove impact and align with business goals: Reports demonstrate how your grant funds support outcomes that matter, from community impact to employee engagement.
- Reduce risk and ensure compliance: Built-in vetting and compliance tools help you verify nonprofit eligibility, meet regulatory requirements, prepare for audits and protect your company’s reputation.
- Better collaboration and stakeholder engagement: Enable smoother coordination with internal teams and external partners through centralized communication tools.
- Scale and adapt with ease: Support more grants, more causes and more regions — without burning out your team.
How to know when it's time to invest in grant management software
It’s not always obvious when your program has outgrown manual tools. But there are clear signs, both internal and external, that signal it’s time to consider a grant management solution.
Clare Brewka, who led MiTek’s transition and implementation, suggests watching for a few common signs.
Stakeholder pressure is increasing
When team members, executives or customers are pushing for faster decisions or more transparency, you need the infrastructure to meet those expectations.
As Clare puts it, “If that pressure’s there [from stakeholders], it means you need to have good processes and good infrastructure in order to make that change and drive greater positive impact.”
You’re trying to scale without scaling your team
Whether you’re expanding globally or taking on more funding cycles, growth without additional resources can quickly become unsustainable.
“If you want to scale your program locally or globally, you might need some additional capacity to help you do that,” says Clare.
Administrative burden is slowing you down
When tasks like reviewing and processing grant requests become disorganized or overwhelming, it’s a strong sign that your systems aren’t keeping up.
“It seems simple, but when your administrative tax related to a grants program, like reviewing and processing grant requests, becomes overwhelming or disorganized, that can be a really significant red flag," she points out.
Your program’s complexity is increasing
It’s not just about volume. If you’re moving toward relationship-based or impact-driven grantmaking, even with a smaller number of grantees, that depth can demand more structure.Clare noted that even with a small number of nonprofit partners, MiTek needed software to adequately support them, stating that by implementing grant management software, they were able to take the time they needed to onboard a select number of causes with a refreshed understanding of their grant process.
Tips for getting started with grant management software
If your team is ready to implement grant management software, a thoughtful, values-aligned approach can make all the difference.
Clare emphasizes the importance of preparation: “[Using] grant management software is something I wouldn't take lightly. It takes time to implement, and it also takes capacity to maintain.”
Before you begin, take time to clarify your program’s purpose and funding criteria. Determine what success looks like, both internally and externally, so that you empower your teams with a solid foundation.
Here are a few tips to set yourself up for success:
- Start with strategy: Make sure you understand what you’re funding, why and how you’ll measure success. Without clear criteria, software can’t automate or optimize much.
- Be realistic about capacity: Even small organizations can use grant management tools, but it helps to know what level of lift your team can support. Implementation and onboarding require time and cross-functional input.
- Choose progress over perfection: You don’t need every answer before you get started. Look for a platform that can grow with your program and adjust as your needs evolve.
Go slow to go fast: Taking time to onboard thoughtfully will pay off later. Clare’s team started with a small group of long-time partners before scaling to new cause relationships. “Choose grant management software when you know you have the capacity and desire to really commit to social impact with a measurable lens,” she advises.
Features to look for in grant management software
Your grant management platform should reflect the same intention and integrity as your social impact program. Whether you’re running a global corporate program or a smaller, local initiative, here are some essential features to look for.
How to get buy-in for investing in grant management software
Getting stakeholder support for grant management software is about more than just choosing the right tool; it’s about demonstrating its value across your company. Clare explained how her team approached it with intention and inclusivity and shared some practical tips to help you secure buy-in.
Map your key stakeholders early
“Identifying your stakeholders and defining what their level of anticipated investment is going to be is pivotal,” says Clare. So determine who needs to be involved in the decision-making process, like board members, senior leaders, legal, finance, communications and IT. Then, define each group’s role and stake in investment, implementation and rollout.
Make the case with real gaps and needs
Start by evaluating your current grant processes. Are they time-consuming? Disorganized? Missing key compliance checks? Clare’s team documented those pain points to highlight where software could add immediate value.
Build a collaborative process
Don’t just inform stakeholders: involve them. MiTek’s team invited cross-functional partners to review RFPs, attend demos and give feedback on each platform. For Clare’s team, inviting all stakeholders to the table “was one of the pivotal elements of getting their feedback and buy-in” and allowed them to run a truly inclusive process.
Securing buy-in is easier when stakeholders see the value and feel included in the entire process. For programs with employee-driven decision-making, these employee-led granting best practices can help guide your approach.
Set a realistic timeline
Align the implementation schedule with other company priorities, and give stakeholders a clear sense of what’s required and when. Planning ahead prevents competing initiatives from stalling progress.
Connect to business outcomes
Frame the investment in terms that matter to leadership, like improved efficiency, reduced risk, better reporting and strategic alignment. For example, Benevity research shows that employees who are highly engaged in both giving and volunteering are 57% less likely to leave their job, making purpose-driven programs a powerful retention lever. Tying your case to measurable value helps secure long-term support. “It’s really about understanding the value: not just getting feedback, but also incorporating that feedback from stakeholders as you go through the implementation process.”
How to demonstrate ROI from grant management software
Investing in new software always comes with scrutiny, especially when budgets are tight. Demonstrating the return on investment (ROI) of grant management software means showing both tangible and strategic value: saved time, better data, reduced risk and stronger alignment with business goals.
Here are a few factors to point out to help make the case and prove impact:
- Time and cost savings: Track time saved through workflow automation, like fewer emails, reduced manual reporting and streamlined approvals.
- Stronger compliance and reduced risk: Highlight how automated due diligence and audit trails reduce the likelihood of errors or noncompliance.
- Improved reporting and transparency: Share real-time dashboards and outcome data with executives, board members or partners. Clear grant metrics help reinforce the value of your grantmaking efforts and the system behind them.
- Greater alignment with company priorities: Our 2025 State of Corporate Purpose Report found that 88% of leaders feel their impact strategies are helping to future-proof their business. Use grant data to show how programs support key business objectives like talent retention, brand reputation or community investment.
When software empowers your team to work smarter, scale faster and show impact, it becomes a catalyst for lasting change.
Simplify grant management with Benevity
Choosing the right grant management software can unlock a new ability to align your program with company goals. And Benevity’s Enterprise Impact Platform is built to do exactly that.
Benevity helps purpose-driven companies manage the end-to-end grantmaking process to reduce manual work and scale impact. With built-in vetting, customizable workflows and robust reporting, it’s designed to meet the needs of modern CSR teams.
While Clare Brewka shared MiTek’s grantmaking journey throughout this article, Motorola Solutions Foundation offers another example of what’s possible with the right platform.
Following 17 years with a legacy provider, the foundation transitioned to Benevity to meet growing needs with no disruption to their impact. By centralizing processes and improving data quality, Motorola was able to focus more on strategy and less on administrative tasks. After switching to Benevity, they saw:
- More qualified applicants: The number of organizations who started the application process increased by 40%, leading to an increase in grant applications and greater efficiency.
- Stronger proposals, less admin: A new eligibility quiz cut unqualified submissions by 43%, helping the team focus on high-potential applications.
- Better reporting, greater impact: Automated reports now save the team dozens of hours each year, enabling them to reinvest their time where it matters, like better storytelling and data-driven decision-making.
“It was the patience, thoughtful and methodical approach of our Benevity Sales and Implementation teams that helped us realize that a successful transition was not only possible; it was necessary for us to continue to grow and drive the impact that we wanted.”
If you’re ready to evolve your grant program with smarter tools and stronger results, Benevity is ready to help.
