As a grant writer, you know how crucial it is to stay organized and ahead of deadlines. In this guide, we'll walk through the steps to set up your yearly grants calendar in Grant Frog.

We'll cover everything from adding new grant proposals to reviewing your grants list and sharing it with others. Whether you're managing a handful of grants or a complex portfolio, this guide will help you optimize your planning process.

Why Use Grant Frog for Your Grants Calendar?

Before we get into the planning, let's quickly talk about why Grant Frog is a game-changer for grant management:

1. It's a one-stop shop for tracking grant proposals, reports, funders, and tasks
2. You get a clear overview of pending grants and upcoming deadlines
3. It's flexible enough to handle the evolving nature of grant writing
4. The 90-day dashboard keeps you focused on immediate priorities

Setting Up Your Yearly Calendar in Grant Frog

Okay, let's say you've done your research, found 45 grant opportunities or funders you want to approach this upcoming year. Here's how to get them all organized in Grant Frog to help you stay ahead of deadlines and get an overview of your day-to-day tasks:

Step 1: Access Your Dashboard

If you haven't created an account, start a free trial in Grant Frog. Next, log in to your account and take a look at your dashboard. You'll see sections for pending proposals, open grants, upcoming deadlines, and open tasks. This is your command center!

Step 2: Go to Funder Intelligence and search for new Funders

1. Enter your Focus Area and Grant Recipient State
2. Choose a Funder
3. Click Add to Funders to add it to your own list in Grant Frog!

Step 3: Add a Grant

1. On the Dashboard, click New > Grant
2. Enter a title that gives you a quick idea of what the grant is about (e.g., "Feeding Lions at the Zoo")
3. Choose an existing funder or add a new one
4. For new funders, enter basic info like name and website
5. Don't worry if you don't have all the details yet – you can always update later

Step 4: Set the Amount, Status and Due Date

• Choose "Upcoming" for grants you haven't started yet
• Set a due date – even if it's tentative, it helps with planning - you'll start getting Grant Frog email reminders on this!
• Enter the estimated grant request amount - this can be adjusted later as you decide what amount you need to request

Step 6: Link to Programs and Clients

• Choose the relevant program the grant will be funding or add a new one
• If applicable, link the proposal to a client

Step 7: Save and Repeat

Hit save, and voila! Your grant proposal is now in the system. Repeat this process for all your planned proposals.

Reviewing Your Grants Calendar

Now that you've entered all your grant proposals, you'll want to review them easily. Grant Frog offers a couple of great ways to do this:

Choose Dashboard > Deadlines in the menu

You'll be able to see a full Calendar view

Create a Calendar Report of all your Grants Activity

To view your grants list and plan for the year, use the Reports feature:

1. Choose Reporting in the menu
2. Choose Grants
3. Click the Status of Upcoming, then choose Due Date. Let's say you want to see everything due between August 1st and July 31st of the next year; choose those options.

The great thing about these reports is that you can export them as CSV or PDF files. This is perfect for sharing your grants calendar with your team, board members, or clients. You can email them the file, and they'll have all the information about your upcoming proposals at their fingertips.

Making the Most of Your Yearly Planning

Now that you've got your proposals in the system, here's how to use Grant Frog to stay on top of your game:

1. 90-Day Dashboard: Keep an eye on this section of your dashboard. It shows all grant proposals due within the next 90 days, helping you prioritize your immediate workload.
   
2. Regular Check-ins: Make it a habit to review your Grant Frog dashboard weekly. This keeps upcoming deadlines on your radar.
   
3. Use the Filters: In the Grant Proposals menu, you can filter by status, due date, and more. This helps you focus on what's most pressing.
   
4. Generate Reports: Need to share your plan with the team? Use the Reports feature to create a comprehensive view of your yearly calendar.
   
5. Add Tasks: As you get closer to deadlines, add specific tasks to each proposal. This breaks down the writing process into manageable steps.
   
6. Stay Flexible: Grant Frog makes it easy to adjust due dates, request amounts, or any other details as needed.

Wrapping Up

Planning your yearly grants calendar doesn't have to be a headache. With Grant Frog, you've got all the tools you need to stay organized, meet deadlines, and hopefully, secure more funding for your projects and clients.

Ready to give it a try?