Creating a seamless grant application portal for non-profits.
Benevity Grants and Causes Portal | 2024
About
The Benevity Grants application process for non-profits was confusing, as it was being done in several areas. This project streamlined the process by allowing non-profits to access all their applications in one place in the Causes Portal and track their progress more easily.
My Role
I was a solo designer and lead discovery and design.
The Team
2 Product Managers, 3 Software Development Managers, 3 Development teams, 1 Content Designer, 2 Implementations Consultants
Non-profits struggle to manage grant applications
Non-profit organizations that are registered in the Benevity Causes Portal can also apply for Benevity Grants. However, historically, these organizations have had to search for grants on their own, apply via a unique link on the client's website, and rely on email communication to keep track of everything. This process lacks a centralized location where a cause can keep track of all of their grant applications, which often leads to confusion.
We know this is a problem because Benevity has received hundreds of support tickets via Zendesk asking for help in accessing grant applications. Additionally, although our corporate clients have no issue finding non-profits to fund, non-profits often struggle to find and apply to grants that are a good match. This is also validated through Zendesk tickets (as shown below).
Problem: Users can’t find their applications or need help with access.
“I want to apply for a grant for our non-profit and it said I had apply through the Benevity portal. How do I do this? We are registered with Benevity causes.”
“How do I access the online application form for [organization name] community grants?”
“I have been studying your site today, very thoroughly i might add. I am a bit perplexed on how to look for & apply for grants for our non-profit organization.”
“The application was completed on November 7, 2023, and no further information has been received about the status of the grant.”
Problem: Users don’t know the status of their applications.
“What is status of awards from grant submitted on 3.4.22? Thank you very much.”
“I’m requesting to confirm the approved status of the grant application I completed.”
Problem: Users need support in finding new and relevant opportunities.
"Are there grant applications through Benevity for which [organization] might qualify? I have searched the platform/website but can’t find anything.
“I believe with all the companies you support, there is so much more available out their for our charity. I just can't seem to find the right opportunities.”
“Our programs fit the [organization] community needs criteria to a “T” but we have been unsuccessful. Any suggestions?”
Goals:
This research gave me four goals to keep in mind when tackling this work:
Have one place for Nonprofits to keep track of grant applications (user)
Show action items so that grant processes move along more quickly (user)
Show recommendations for nonprofits to apply to (user)
Lower Zendesk support tickets (business)
Instead of creating new accounts for non-profits in Benevity Grants, it made more sense to add Grants functionality and APIs to the existing Causes Portal.
Streamlining Grant Management: Collaborative Requirements Gathering
As a newcomer to the Grants space, I realized the need for better information sharing across teams. Requirements meetings often siloed Engineering partners with valuable knowledge. To streamline communication and ensure a holistic view, I created an asynchronous Lucidboard outlining the desired user flow, application statuses, and a dedicated section for questions and considerations. This collaborative tool fostered alignment with requirements from both Grant teams and stakeholders, ensuring we captured all critical information upfront.
Mapping the non-profit flows for logging in/accessing the Granting portal.
Outlining all the different granting states and associated data.
From Cards to Tables: Designing for Efficient Grant Application Review
Non-profit users struggled to manage a high volume of grant applications (often reaching hundreds). My initial card-based design, while informative, became cumbersome to navigate for large datasets.
Challenges in the initial design:
Scanning & Navigation: Information density within cards made scanning and quick comparisons difficult.
Unintended Interaction: The design unintentionally implied user interaction within cards, leading to confusion.
Competing Functions: Combining grant application management with application discovery cluttered the page and overwhelmed users.
Based on these findings, the team prioritized streamlining application management for the initial version. The "find new applications" feature would be addressed in a later iteration.
Solution: To address the identified challenges, I designed a table view for improved scannability and information management.
Enhanced Scannability: Clean layout and clear formatting within the table allowed non-profits to quickly identify relevant application details.
Flexible Filtering & Sorting: Users gained control by filtering and sorting applications by name, status (e.g., pending, approved, declined), or date submitted. This enabled them to prioritize tasks and focus on specific application stages.
Detailed Information on Demand: Selecting a specific application within the table revealed a dedicated view with comprehensive details, including grant amount, deadline, or (if applicable) decline reason.
Collaboration and Learning: Ensuring the table view met non-profit needs involved close collaboration with the development team and stakeholders. A key challenge was integrating the grant-maker's "grace period" for application notifications. We identified a potential issue where non-profits could receive a decline notification without immediate explanation, causing confusion. By advocating for investigation time within the development sprint, the team discovered a solution to display the application status alongside the notification. This experience highlighted the importance of cross-team collaboration and adapting solutions based on technical feasibility.
From Chaos to Clarity: A Streamlined Grants Management Portal
Through an iterative design process, I collaborated with product designers, stakeholders, developers, and content designers. I refined the grants management portal, culminating in a final solution that addressed user needs and technical considerations. The utilization of our new, modern design system further enhanced the user experience by promoting a clean and consistent interface.
Table View for Quick Overview: The table view replaced the card layout, allowing non-profits to quickly scan and identify key information for all their applications. This included the last update date, current status (e.g., pending, approved, declined), and any required actions.
Actionable Statuses: Clear status labels like "Action Required" and "Follow-up Survey" highlighted applications demanding immediate attention. This empowered non-profits to prioritize tasks and manage their grant applications efficiently.
Flexible Filtering and Sorting: Sortable columns and filters provided non-profits with control over their view. They could easily find specific applications or sort them by various criteria (e.g., date submitted, status, grant name) to focus on applications at different stages.
The table view prioritizes essential details for quick scanning. When users need to delve deeper, they can seamlessly access a dedicated grant details page. This page:
Provides Comprehensive Information: Users can find all relevant details about their specific grant, including the requested amount/items, approved amount/items and payment status.
Actionable CTAs: Clear calls to action (CTAs), such as "Resubmit," guide users through the next steps based on their grant's status (ie. required action, follow-up survey).
Focused User Experience: By separating detailed information into a dedicated page, the table view remains clean and uncluttered. This minimizes distractions and keeps users focused on scanning and prioritizing their applications.
Outcomes:
Non-profits can more easily manage applications in one place, focusing their time and efforts on funding and impact rather than cumbersome administration tasks.
Nonprofits can take immediate action on their grant applications, rather than relying on support. The Causes Portal puts them in the driver's seat, allowing them to view application statuses and complete tasks at their convenience. This streamlines the process and empowers nonprofits to be more efficient with their valuable time.
Empowering nonprofits with self-service tools in the Causes Portal frees up Benevity's support team to focus on complex inquiries, ultimately enhancing the grant application experience for all.
Reflection: Collaborative Design in Action
Strong Collaboration: This project highlighted the power of early collaboration. Working closely with the Granting and Implementation teams during discovery helped us identify potential pitfalls like unusual use cases and technical limitations. This saved valuable time later in the design process.
Prioritization and Exploration: While focusing on the applicant portal card design was crucial, I learned to prioritize exploration during the initial stages. In the future, I'd dedicate more time to exploring alternative layouts, such as tables, before diving into specifics. It reinforces the importance of considering empty and full states early on to create a holistic user experience.
Next steps: When this project is launched, I'm eager to gather user feedback from our non-profit partners. Their insights will be invaluable for iterating and continuously improving the overall experience.