GrantExec Update: Foundation Relationship Tracking
If you've been using our Foundations Explore tool, you already know we have data on over 90,000 foundations and their giving histories. But here's the thing we kept hearing from users: finding foundations is great, but what happens next?
Not every foundation has open grant applications. Many accept unsolicited proposals, some prefer direct relationships, and others might not be ready to fund you today but could be perfect partners next year. Until now, keeping track of all these relationships meant jumping between different tools, spreadsheets, and sticky notes.
So, we built something to help.
What's New
We've added relationship tracking directly into the platform. Here's what you can now do:
Save Foundations You're Interested In
When you're exploring foundations and find one that looks promising—maybe they've funded similar organizations or they're in your geographic area—you can now save them with one click. They'll appear in a new "Saved Foundations" tab on your sidebar.
Track Where You Are With Each Foundation
For each saved foundation, you can mark your relationship status:
Confirmed they're a good fit
Reached out
Heard back
In talks
Established relationship
Relationship at risk
Currently dormant
Simple dropdown menu. Nothing fancy, just practical.
Keep Everything in One Place
Add notes about your conversations, attach relevant files, and invite team members to collaborate. If someone on your team had coffee with a program officer three months ago, those notes live right here. No more "wait, who talked to them last?"
Access Historical Giving Data
While you're managing the relationship, you still have full access to their giving history—in many cases back to 2018. See who they've funded, how much they typically give, and what causes they support. It's all there when you need it for outreach or proposals.
How to Use It
Go to Foundations Explore
Find a foundation you want to build a relationship with
Hit the save button
Find your saved foundations in the new sidebar tab
Update the relationship status as things progress
Add notes and files as you go
That's it. No complicated setup, no migration needed.
A Quick Example
Let's say you're a Virginia-based nonprofit. You search foundations in your area and find the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation. You can see they've given to several organizations similar to yours. Great—save them.
Mark them as "confirmed fit," add a note about why they align with your mission, and assign a team member to reach out. When they respond, update the status, add meeting notes, and keep building from there. Six months later when they're ready to accept proposals, you have all that relationship history at your fingertips.
What This Means for You
Look, we know grant seeking involves a lot of relationship building that happens over months or even years. This feature is about making that process more manageable. No more lost contacts, forgotten follow-ups, or scrambling to remember who said what when.
It's not revolutionary—it's just practical. And sometimes that's exactly what you need.
We Want Your Feedback
This is the first version of Foundation Relationship Tracking, and we know there's room to make it even better. As you start using it, let us know what works, what doesn't, and what else would help. You can reach us through the chat feature in the platform.
The feature is live now for all users. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
Thanks for being part of the GrantExec community. We've got more updates coming soon.
Try it now: https://platform.grantexec.com/