Industry: Not-For-Profit
Services: Airtable Database Design, Airtable Interfaces, Airtable Automations
Airtable Use Cases: Airtable for Grant Management, Collaboration, and Reporting
Introduction: Sall Family Foundation - Investing in Change for a Better World
Sall Family Foundation (SFF) is a not-for-profit organization focused on making strategic investments in ideas and people. By focusing on the intersection of the environment, public health, poverty alleviation, especially ideas that are underpinned in science, SFF aims to foster transformational change. Their mission is underpinned by the belief that community-led, sustainable solutions are essential for long-term progress.
When we began our partnership with SFF in 2022, they were experiencing significant limitations with their current grant management system. Historically, SFF relied heavily on various cloud services to track and organize their data, and while these tools were adequate when they were a smaller team, they were beginning to be outstripped by the foundation’s growing needs.
Join us in this success story as we explore how SFF transitioned its grant process to Airtable, improved internal reviews and revision processes, and built a fully transparent view of its grant pipeline.
The Problem: Collecting Grant Requests, Review, and Tracking
Like many organizations that provide funding in the not-for-profit space, the core of Sall Family Foundation’s (SFF) operations revolves around the cyclical process of collecting, evaluating, and tracking past, current, and potential future grant opportunities. SFF came with three significant requirements for their new system:
A Single Source of Truth for Their Data
SFF had a well-established process for handling data using cloud service providers, email, and other collaborative software programs. They wanted to integrate these proven methods into their new Airtable system and enhance internal clarity on where to find data, how to organize it, and what is expected from new team members, stakeholders, and external partners.
A Tool to Facilitate Discussion, Ranking, and Committee Review
The second requirement was to streamline SFF’s unique internal review process. They needed a system capable of generating specific documents based on intake data, as well as custom views and interfaces that would facilitate easier communication, tracking, and ranking during grant discussion and due diligence.
Tracking the Funding Pipeline of Historic, Current, and Potential Grantees
SFF’s final major requirement was to enable real-time clarity about its grant pipeline. It needed a system that could not only track current and potential grantees but also provide historical data, ensuring comprehensive oversight of its funding activities. This required a robust platform capable of capturing and displaying the entire lifecycle of each grant, capturing status’ from initial submission through review, award, and ongoing updates.
The Solution: A Comprehensive Event Management Base
When the Claribase team met with SFF, our first priority was to deeply understand the core challenges they faced in managing their grant process. After a collaborative discovery process, Claribase and SFF aligned on a clear shared objective: to develop an Airtable Base that would serve as a centralized hub for all data related to current, past, and potential grant recipients; one that would streamline the grant management process and enhance collaboration among stakeholders.
Phase 1: Airtable Database Design
In the first phase of the project, Claribase worked closely with SFF to design a new Airtable Base that would capture various phases of the grant process. The system also included notification automations (to keep stakeholders informed) and interfaces that allowed new submissions to be inputted easily. Claribase also assisted SFF in migrating legacy data into their new system.
To address the needs of the grant reviewers, Claribase implemented an additional interface specifically for the grant review and communication process. The interface presented the grantee’s data in a more navigable card format, introduced a ranking feature – as well as enabling the client to collaborate with their committee members in a more user-friendly way.
The final aspect of the database design included implementing additional interfaces for higher-level stakeholders at SFF for various review and reporting requirements.
Phase 2: Automation & Training
The second phase of the project focused on automating processes. To help make data entry more efficient and maintain a single source of truth, Claribase automated the creation of several reports and documents required for managing grantees. Documents were generated using the information in Airtable, a process that was largely manual previously and a massive time saver for SFF. The project concluded with training to assist the team in onboarding Airtable and how to use their base.
The Result: Stronger Processes, Cleaner Data, Happier Teams
The move to Airtable brought significant improvements to SFF’s grantmaking operations. The new system strengthened internal processes by providing a centralized and organized way to manage all grant-related data. It set clear expectations for the team and consolidated all information into a single source of truth. Information became more organized, making it easier for the team to identify gaps. One of the team members noted:
“The Airtable base strengthened our internal processes. It helped solidify what was expected, and where things should be. And that was helpful for many of our different constituencies, to have all the data available in one place. It’s really helped reduce the technical anxiety of our users who would not be comfortable working in a database system and It’s given clear guardrails to our data.
The Airtable system you built for us is not hard to maintain. It helps us find gaps in the information and set clear expectations within our team what data needed to be collected.”
The Airtable system also enhanced the foundation’s ability to keep track of historical grants more effectively, maintaining a clear view of its funding pipeline. Another team member shared:
“The Airtable base has not only helped us manage our existing investment pipeline, but manage our pipeline of investment opportunities, and gain historical information on past investments.”
The introduction of intuitive interfaces in Airtable made the platform more accessible and facilitated collaboration among stakeholders. It improved discussion and review processes among committees, allowing grant decision-makers to focus on their review work, and the admin team to be relieved of document generation. Reflecting on the benefits, a team member commented:
“You really worked hard to take the backend data we were using in our tables and create interfaces, to give our stakeholders a better experience to learn about our programming and investments.”
Overall, the new system has revolutionized how SFF manages its grant-related data. Centralizing all information into a single, organized platform, has provided clear expectations for the team and significantly reduced technical anxiety. The intuitive interfaces have made the platform accessible to all team members, facilitating better collaboration and more efficient processes. This transformation has enabled the foundation to track historical and potential investments more effectively, ensuring a well-organized workflow that supports its mission of investing in transformative change.
Experience Working with Claribase: Extremely Professional Airtable Consultants
SFF had high praise for their experience working with Claribase. One team member highlighted:
“Your team is extremely professional, always were prepared, and always were thoughtful in coming up with solutions to what we felt were problems operationally.”
They commented on the professionalism evident throughout the project, and the thoughtful approach taken by the Claribase team. The SFF team went on to share more about their positive experience:
“Your team did a tremendous job listening, and when you posed solutions they made a lot of sense. You’ve kept the process feeling simple, and we felt it very thoughtful how you linked things together and tried to reduce redundancy within the processes you were designing”
For those considering a similar transformation, and migration to Airtable, the Sall Family Foundation has a clear message:
“Try it. Try Airtable. I’m serious. I think people will be pretty amazed.”
Key Takeaways: A Transformative Airtable Grant Management System
The collaboration between SFF and Claribase Consulting, bolstered by the integration of Airtable, brought about significant advancements in data management, enhancing the foundation’s effectiveness and operational efficiency.
A Centralized Grant Management System: The foundation transitioned to a centralized Airtable interface that holds all relevant data about current, past, and potential grant recipients. This move consolidated all information into a single source of truth, making it easier to manage and access data.
Implementation of Data Standards: The new system strengthened SFF’s internal processes by setting clear expectations for the team. It provided a well-organized and efficient workflow, ensuring that all stakeholders understood where to find data, how to organize it, and what was expected from them.
Improved Collaboration and Communication with Subcommittees: The introduction of intuitive interfaces in Airtable made the platform more accessible and user-friendly. This facilitated better collaboration and improved communication throughout the grant review process.
Reduced Manual Tasks and Errors: By automating many manual tasks, such as notifications and document generation, the foundation significantly reduced the potential for human errors.
Real-Time Pipeline Tracking: The new system provided real-time clarity about SFF’s grant pipeline, allowing the team to track past, current, and potential grantees more effectively. It also offered comprehensive historical data, enabling the foundation to maintain a clear view of their funding activities and make informed decisions.