đ Submittable for Nonprofits
Drowning in grant applications and spending weeks coordinating reviewers across spreadsheets and email threads? Submittable transforms grant management from chaos to clarityâoffering one centralized platform where applicants submit, reviewers collaborate in real-time, and AI helps surface the best proposals automatically. Used by 11,000+ organizations to process 25 million applications and distribute billions in funding, Submittable saves administrators an average of 12 hours per week while ensuring fair, efficient grantmaking.
What It Does
Tired of chasing down incomplete applications, manually routing submissions to reviewers, and consolidating feedback across multiple tools? Submittable provides an end-to-end grant management system that handles everything from application submission to fund distribution.
The platform eliminates the spreadsheet juggling and email chains that plague grant programs. Applicants submit through user-friendly online forms, reviewers collaborate directly within the system with built-in anonymization to reduce bias, and administrators gain real-time visibility into every stage of the process. AI-powered automation handles repetitive tasks like data extraction from tax forms, eligibility screening, and preliminary scoringâfreeing your team to focus on strategic decisions about which programs to fund.
Whether you're a foundation distributing grants, a nonprofit accepting applications, or a corporation managing CSR programs, Submittable centralizes the entire workflow in one accessible, cloud-based platform.
Best For
Organization Size
- Mid-sized to large foundations distributing $500K+ annually across multiple grant cycles
- Corporate CSR programs managing employee giving, community grants, or scholarship programs
- Government agencies accepting and reviewing grant applications from nonprofits or community groups
- Higher education institutions managing scholarship, fellowship, and research grant applications
Best Use Cases
- Organizations receiving 200+ applications annually who need efficient review workflows
- Programs requiring multi-stage review processes with multiple reviewers and scoring rubrics
- Teams needing real-time collaboration on applications and live progress tracking
- Organizations managing multiple grant programs (scholarships, community grants, capacity building, etc.)
Ideal For
- Grants Managers coordinating application intake, reviewer assignments, and decision workflows
- Program Officers evaluating applications and managing grantee relationships
- Executive Directors needing visibility into program pipelines and impact reporting
- CSR and Community Investment Teams managing corporate giving portfolios
Key Features for Nonprofits and Foundations
Smart Application Forms
Build accessible online applications in minutes with drag-and-drop form builderâno coding required. Add conditional logic, eligibility screening, multi-stage workflows, and file uploads to collect exactly the information you need.
Practical impact: Reduces incomplete submissions by automatically showing/hiding fields based on applicant responses and validates data before submission.
AI-Powered Review & Scoring
Automated Review extracts data from tax forms and documents, validates nonprofit status through Candid integration, and applies AI-powered scoring based on your custom rubricâautomatically surfacing top candidates.
Practical impact: Cuts initial screening time from days to hours; human reviewers focus on evaluating quality applications instead of administrative verification.
Real-Time Collaboration
Reviewers and administrators collaborate directly within applicationsâleaving notes, scoring submissions, and tracking progress live. Applicants can invite collaborators to co-edit forms in real-time, similar to Google Docs.
Practical impact: Eliminates email threads and version control nightmares; everyone sees the same up-to-date information.
Bias Reduction Features
Built-in anonymization tools hide applicant identifying information during review to reduce unconscious bias. Customizable scoring rubrics ensure consistent evaluation criteria across all reviewers.
Practical impact: Promotes equity in grantmaking by focusing reviewers on program quality and mission alignment, not applicant demographics or reputation.
Multi-Stage Workflows
Create complex application processes with letters of intent, full proposals, site visits, and reporting stagesâall within one system. Automatically advance or decline applicants based on stage outcomes.
Practical impact: Saves applicants time (only invited proposals proceed to full application) and reduces your team's workload reviewing non-viable submissions.
Integrated Fund Distribution
Once you've selected grantees, send batch notifications via templated emails, then distribute funds with a single click through integrated payment processing. Track budget drawdowns and payment history centrally.
Practical impact: Eliminates manual check processing and reduces fund distribution time from weeks to days.
How This Tool Uses AI
What's Actually AI-Powered
đ¤ Automated Review & Data Extraction
Type of AI:
Computer vision and natural language processing trained on millions of grant applications and supporting documents
What it does:
Extracts data from uploaded files (tax forms, financial statements, ID documents), validates nonprofit 501(c)(3) status through database cross-checking, and analyzes application narratives for completeness and relevance
How it learns:
Uses human-in-the-loop (HITL) monitoring where administrators provide direct feedback when the AI makes errors, continuously improving accuracy over time for your specific program requirements
Practical impact:
Automatically verifies that "ABC Youth Services" submitted a valid IRS determination letter, extracted their EIN number, and confirmed their nonprofit status through Candid's databaseâwithout manual data entry
đ¤ AI-Powered Scoring & Ranking
Type of AI:
Machine learning algorithm that applies custom-defined rubric criteria and correlates data across third-party sources
What it does:
Automatically scores applications based on your organization's evaluation criteria (e.g., "mission alignment: 30%, organizational capacity: 25%, budget reasonableness: 20%"), then ranks submissions to surface top candidates
How it learns:
Analyzes historical funding decisions and reviewer patterns to understand which application characteristics predict successful grants in your context
Practical impact:
Instead of manually scoring 300 applications, the AI provides preliminary scores (e.g., 87/100, 72/100, 65/100), allowing reviewers to focus on the top 50 applications that meet threshold criteria
đ¤ Fraud Detection & Risk Assessment
Type of AI:
Pattern recognition algorithms that scan for anomalies, duplicate submissions, and inconsistencies across data sources
What it does:
Cross-references applicant information with online databases, social media profiles, and review platforms; flags suspicious applications with duplicate bank accounts or inconsistent organizational details
Practical impact:
Identifies that "Community Center A" and "Youth Program B" share the same EIN, address, and bank account but are applying as separate organizationsâpreventing duplicate funding or fraud
What's NOT AI (But Still Useful)
- â˘Form Templates: Pre-designed application forms are created by humans, not AI
- â˘Workflow Automation: "Send email when application is submitted" is rule-based automation, not AI
- â˘Basic Reporting: Standard analytics (application volume, average scores) are traditional database queries
- â˘Reviewer Assignments: Manually assigning reviewers to applications is standard workflow management
AI Transparency & Limitations
Data Requirements
- AI scoring works best with structured rubric criteria and at least 50-100 completed applications for training
- Document extraction accuracy improves over time; expect 85-90% accuracy initially, reaching 95%+ after human corrections
- Fraud detection requires access to third-party databases and may have limited coverage for smaller or newer organizations
Human Oversight Still Required
- AI scores are recommendations, not final decisionsâhuman judgment remains essential for nuanced evaluation
- Automated data extraction should be spot-checked for accuracy, especially for critical fields like bank account numbers
- AI cannot understand unique organizational contexts, community relationships, or qualitative factors only humans can assess
Data Privacy & Ethics
- Your data is NOT used to train AI models for other organizationsâapplication data remains private to your account
- All AI processing happens on Microsoft Azure secure servers; data is encrypted in transit and at rest
- Submittable follows Responsible AI Principles: transparency, bias mitigation, human oversight, and strict data privacy
- You can export all application data and AI-generated insights at any time; full data portability guaranteed
When AI Adds Real Value vs. When It's Just Marketing
â Genuinely Useful AI
- ⢠Extracting EIN numbers from uploaded tax forms (saves 5-10 min per application)
- ⢠Flagging duplicate applications from same organization under different names
- ⢠Scoring 500+ applications based on rubric criteria in minutes vs. days
â ď¸ AI That's Nice But Not Essential
- ⢠AI-suggested review assignments (manual assignment works fine for most programs)
- ⢠Predictive analytics for "likely to succeed" (historical data often too limited)
Bottom Line: Submittable uses AI where it genuinely saves time and improves accuracy (data extraction, scoring, fraud detection). It's not using AI for every feature, which is actually a good signâit means they're focused on AI applications that matter, not just AI for marketing purposes. The Automated Review feature is a premium add-on, not included in base pricing, which reflects its genuine value.
Real-World Nonprofit Use Case
A regional community foundation managing $2 million in annual grantmaking across education, health, and arts programs was overwhelmed by their application process. Their 3-person grants team received 400+ applications twice yearly, coordinating reviews across 15 volunteer board members via emailed PDFs and Excel spreadsheets. The process took 8-10 weeks from application deadline to award decisions, with constant follow-ups about missing documents and reviewer feedback.
After implementing Submittable, they created three separate grant programs with custom application forms, each with conditional logic that showed only relevant questions based on program type. The Candid integration automatically verified nonprofit status by EIN, eliminating the need to manually check 501(c)(3) letters. They set up a two-stage review process: AI-powered automated scoring filtered out applications below 60/100 threshold, then human reviewers evaluated the top 150 applications using standardized rubrics directly in the platform.
Reviewers could now collaborate in real-time, leaving notes and questions for each other without email threads. When the grants team was ready to make final decisions, they sent personalized award or decline notifications to all 400+ applicants via batch email templates, then distributed $2M in funding through integrated payment processingâall within the Submittable platform.
Results after first year:
- Reduced review timeline from 8-10 weeks to 5 weeks (40% faster)
- Saved grants team 12 hours/week on administrative tasks (eligibility verification, document tracking, reviewer coordination)
- Increased reviewer participation by 30%âboard members found the platform easier than email-based reviews
- Improved applicant satisfactionâreal-time collaboration allowed nonprofits to update applications before deadlines and track submission status
- Better reporting to boardâgenerated program analytics and impact reports in minutes instead of compiling spreadsheets for hours
Pricing
Custom Pricing Model
Submittable does not publicly disclose pricing tiers. Pricing is customized based on your organization's size, number of users, application volume, and specific feature requirements. Based on third-party research and user reviews, approximate pricing ranges are:
Monthly Pricing (month-to-month)
~$399/month for up to 5 users
~$799/month for up to 20 users
~$1,499/month for up to 50 users
Annual Pricing (typical starting point)
Starts at approximately $10,000/year for smaller programs
Enterprise pricing for large-scale programs (1,000+ applications annually)
Note: The AI-powered Automated Review feature is a premium add-on not included in base pricing. Contact Submittable directly for a custom quote based on your specific needs.
Free Trial
Submittable offers product demos and trial access on request. Contact their sales team to schedule a demo and request trial access for your team.
Pricing Disclaimer: Pricing information is subject to change. Please verify current pricing directly with Submittable by visiting their official pricing page or contacting their sales team.
Nonprofit Discount / Special Offers
Submittable does not publicly advertise a specific nonprofit discount program. However, pricing is custom-quoted for each organization, which may provide opportunities for discounted rates based on:
- Organization type: Nonprofits and foundations may receive consideration during pricing negotiations
- Application volume: Smaller programs may receive lower pricing tiers
- Annual contracts: Committing to annual billing may provide savings vs. month-to-month
How to Inquire About Nonprofit Pricing:
- Contact Submittable sales team directly through their website
- Identify yourself as a nonprofit organization or foundation
- Provide details about your grantmaking program (application volume, budget, timeline)
- Ask specifically about nonprofit pricing considerations or discounts
Cost Reality: Even without explicit nonprofit discounts, Submittable's ROI can be compelling for organizations managing significant grant volumes. If the platform saves your 3-person team 12 hours/week (Submittable's reported average), that's 624 staff hours saved annuallyâequivalent to $25,000-37,000 in staff time at $40-60/hour nonprofit salaries. For a $10,000-15,000 annual subscription, the time savings alone may justify the investment.
Learning Curve
Intermediate
Submittable is designed for non-technical users and receives high marks for ease of use (4.6/5 rating). While the interface is intuitive, the breadth of features means there's a learning curve to maximize value.
Time to First Value:
- Initial setup: 2-4 hours (creating first application form, setting up review workflow, inviting team)
- First application accepted: Same day after setup complete
- Full program launch: Most customers launch within 2 weeks
- Proficiency: 2-3 weeks of regular use to master core features; 4-6 weeks for advanced automation and reporting
Technical Requirements
- No coding or technical skills requiredâfully web-based with drag-and-drop builders
- Comfort with online forms and basic spreadsheets helpful for data import/export
- Understanding of your grant review process (stages, criteria, decision workflows) needed to configure effectively
- Admin access to integrations (Salesforce, payment processor) if connecting external systems
Support Available
- Dedicated customer support team for both administrators and applicantsâhighly rated for responsiveness
- Knowledge base and help documentation with step-by-step guides
- Onboarding assistance to help launch programs quickly
- Training webinars and resources for ongoing learning
Integration & Compatibility
Connects With
CRM / Donor Management
- Salesforce (including Nonprofit Cloud)
- Integration via Zapier for other CRMs
Nonprofit Verification
- Candid (Guidestar) for 501(c)(3) verification
Communication & Collaboration
- Gmail and Google Drive
- Slack for team notifications
- Mailchimp for email campaigns
Website & Content Management
- WordPress (embed forms on website)
Automation
- Zapier (connect to 5,000+ apps)
Payment Processing
- Built-in payment distribution for grantees
Platform Availability
- Web-based: Works on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edgeâno software installation required
- Mobile-friendly: Responsive design allows reviewers and applicants to access from tablets and smartphones
- Cloud-based: Data accessible from anywhere with internet connection
Data Portability
- CSV export: Export application data, reviewer scores, and reports
- PDF reports: Generate and download program reports and analytics
- API access: Available for custom integrations and data sync (may require higher-tier plan)
- Form templates: May not be fully exportable to other platformsâvendor lock-in consideration
Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Genuinely saves time: Administrators report saving 12+ hours/week on application management, verification, and reviewer coordination
- +User-friendly for all parties: High ease-of-use rating (4.6/5) for both administrators and applicantsâconsistently praised in reviews
- +Fast implementation: Most organizations launch grant programs within 2 weeks, not months
- +Excellent customer support: Responsive support team for both admins and applicants, reducing implementation friction
- +Comprehensive feature set: Handles entire grant lifecycle from application to fund distribution in one platform
- +Real-time collaboration: Reviewers and applicants work together seamlessly, eliminating email version control issues
- +Equity-focused features: Built-in anonymization and bias reduction tools support fair grantmaking practices
Cons
- âHigh cost for small organizations: Starting at ~$10,000/year makes this prohibitive for small nonprofits or foundations with limited grant budgets
- âPricing not transparent: Custom quotes required; difficult to budget without sales conversation
- âLicense block purchasing: Must buy user licenses in blocks of 10, meaning you may pay for unused seats during low-activity periods
- âEmail deliverability issues: System-generated emails sometimes flagged as spam; formatting problems reported by users
- âLearning curve for custom reports: While standard reports are easy, creating custom analytics requires time to master
- âAI features are premium add-ons: Automated Review and advanced AI capabilities not included in base pricing
- âMay be overkill: If managing fewer than 100 applications annually, simpler (cheaper) alternatives may suffice
Alternatives to Consider
If Submittable doesn't feel like the right fit, consider these alternatives:
SurveyMonkey Apply (formerly FluidReview)
Grant management with strong evaluation tools
Pricing: Starts at $699/month for 10 users
Best for: Academic institutions, large enterprises, organizations needing robust review and evaluation features
Key difference: More expensive than Submittable for comparable user counts but offers stronger evaluation and assessment tools. Limited payment integration. Better for programs where review sophistication matters more than end-to-end workflow.
Choose SurveyMonkey Apply if: You need advanced evaluation features and your reviewers are comfortable with more complex workflows. Choose Submittable if: You want an all-in-one platform with simpler user experience and integrated fund distribution.
SmarterSelect
Affordable grant and scholarship management
Pricing: More affordable than Submittable, with straightforward pricing tiers
Best for: Small to mid-sized organizations managing scholarships, grants, and awards with simpler workflows
Key difference: Lower cost and simpler feature set. Fewer advanced automation and AI capabilities. Better for organizations with straightforward review processes that don't need Submittable's complexity.
Choose SmarterSelect if: Budget is primary concern and you have simpler review workflows. Choose Submittable if: You need advanced features like AI scoring, real-time collaboration, and integrated fund distribution.
Good Grants / Evalato
Grant management alternatives with different focuses
Best for: Organizations looking for alternatives with specific feature sets or pricing models
Key difference: Each offers unique approaches to grant management; worth exploring if Submittable and SurveyMonkey Apply don't fit your needs
Research recommendation: Compare feature sets and pricing with your specific requirements before committing to any platform.
Why you might choose Submittable instead: Superior ease of use, faster implementation (2 weeks vs 4-6 weeks for competitors), excellent customer support, comprehensive end-to-end workflow from application to payment, and robust AI features for organizations that need automation. Submittable's 11,000+ customer base and 25M+ applications processed demonstrate proven track record at scale.
Getting Started
Your first two weeks with Submittable:
Step 1: Schedule Demo & Request Trial (1 hour)
Contact Submittable to schedule a product demo tailored to your grant program needs. Ask specific questions about:
- Pricing for your organization size and application volume
- Nonprofit-specific pricing considerations or discounts
- AI Automated Review feature availability and cost
- Integration capabilities with your existing CRM or systems
Step 2: Plan Your Grant Program Structure (2-3 hours)
Before building forms in Submittable, document your grant program requirements:
- Application questions and required documents (eligibility criteria, program description, budget template, etc.)
- Review stages (single-stage vs. multi-stage with LOI, full proposal, site visit, reporting)
- Scoring rubric criteria and weights for each section
- Reviewer roles and assignments (who reviews what, at which stage)
Pro tip: Start simple. Build a basic application form first, test it with a few internal colleagues, then add complexity (conditional logic, multi-stage workflows) after you're comfortable with the platform.
Step 3: Build & Test Your First Application (3-4 hours)
Use Submittable's drag-and-drop form builder to create your application:
- Add application fields (text, multiple choice, file uploads, etc.)
- Enable Candid Charity Check to auto-verify nonprofit status by EIN
- Set up review workflow and assign test reviewers
- Submit a test application yourself to experience the applicant view
Pro tip: Have 2-3 colleagues submit test applications from the applicant perspective. This reveals confusing questions, unclear instructions, or technical issues before real applicants encounter them.
Step 4: Train Reviewers & Launch (1-2 hours training + launch)
Prepare your review team for the first grant cycle:
- Host a 30-60 minute training session for reviewers (in-person or video)
- Walk through: logging in, accessing assigned applications, using scoring rubric, leaving comments
- Set up automated email notifications for application deadlines and reviewer assignments
- Announce your grant opportunity with link to Submittable application portal
Pro tip: Monitor the first 5-10 submissions closely. Applicants will find edge cases and unclear instructions you didn't anticipate. You can update form questions and instructions even after launching (applicants in progress will see updated version).
đ¤ Need Help with Implementation?
Setting up a comprehensive grant management system can feel overwhelming, especially when you're coordinating multiple stakeholders and managing tight deadlines. If you'd like expert guidance getting started with Submittableâfrom program design to workflow configuration to reviewer trainingâwe're here to help.
One Hundred Nights offers implementation support for grant management platforms, including needs assessment, system configuration, integration setup, and staff training.
Contact Us to Learn MoreFrequently Asked Questions
Is Submittable free for nonprofits?
No, Submittable is not free. Pricing starts at approximately $10,000 per year (or ~$399-$1,499/month depending on user count). Submittable doesn't publicly advertise a specific nonprofit discount, so organizations should contact Submittable directly for custom pricing and potential nonprofit rates.
How long does it take to implement Submittable?
Most Submittable customers launch new grant programs within two weeks or less. Initial setup includes creating application forms (2-4 hours), configuring review workflows (2-3 hours), and training team members (1-2 hours). However, complex integrations with CRM systems or custom AI features may extend the timeline by 1-2 weeks.
Does Submittable integrate with Salesforce?
Yes, Submittable integrates with Salesforce both directly and through Zapier. This allows you to sync grantee information, payment data, and application details between Submittable and your Salesforce CRM, keeping donor and grant records centralized.
What's the difference between Submittable and SurveyMonkey Apply?
Submittable offers more advanced AI automation features, stronger collaboration tools, and a broader range of use cases beyond grants (scholarships, awards, contests). SurveyMonkey Apply (formerly FluidReview) starts at $699/month for 10 users and focuses more on academic institutions. Submittable tends to be more user-friendly but may be more expensive for large-volume programs.
Can Submittable help with grant application review?
Yes. Submittable's AI-powered Automated Review feature can extract data from documents, analyze applications, validate information, and apply automated scoring based on custom criteria. This helps reviewers focus on high-quality applications and reduces time spent on administrative tasks. The system uses human-in-the-loop monitoring to continuously improve accuracy.
Is Submittable worth it for small nonprofits?
Submittable's pricing (~$10,000+ annually) can be challenging for small nonprofits with limited budgets. It's best suited for mid-to-large organizations managing hundreds or thousands of applications annually, or foundations distributing significant grant funding. Small nonprofits managing fewer than 100 applications per year should consider more affordable alternatives like SmarterSelect or Google Forms with add-ons.