Grant programs run on three steps that must connect: applicants submit a proposal, reviewers score it, and a decision creates an award record. Salesforce describes the same chain in Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking, which tracks funding opportunities, manages reviews and approvals, and lets applicants upload documents through Experience Cloud.
The tools below handle that chain with different levels of depth.
What to Compare
Grant teams should ask four questions:
- Does the application adapt to each funding opportunity?
- Can reviewers score and comment inside the same record?
- Do approvals leave a decision history?
- Does the award data land in the system where the organization tracks donors, programs, and finances?
FormAssembly
FormAssembly handles the intake and review stages and connects them to Salesforce. Conditional logic shows each applicant the questions for their funding program, document upload collects budgets and letters, and approval workflows route each application to reviewers with a full decision history.
Forms connect directly to Salesforce, so applications and decisions become records in the same org that holds constituent data. Organizations that need disbursement schedules and post-award reporting modules can pair FormAssembly with their CRM’s grant objects or choose a dedicated suite. Nonprofit teams that run Salesforce get a governed front end for every funding round.
Submittable
Submittable built its name on submission management. Published comparisons credit it with a clean applicant experience and review tools for assignment, scoring, and side-by-side comparison. It suits foundations and programs that run high-volume open calls and want reviewers to collaborate in one place.
Fluxx
Fluxx targets large foundations and corporate giving programs with deep workflow configuration. Published comparisons describe multi-stage approval chains, payment scheduling, and a grantee portal. It fits funders with complex, multi-phase grant processes and dedicated administrators.
Foundant
Foundant offers Grant Lifecycle Manager for foundations and philanthropic organizations, covering application review, award tracking, and compliance. It fits community foundations and similar funders that want a purpose-built system with a defined structure.
SmartSimple
SmartSimple provides a configurable grants and awards platform used by government agencies and large foundations. Configuration depth is its strength, and published comparisons note that implementations for enterprise platforms can take months.
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking
Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking runs inside Salesforce. It manages funding opportunities, applications, reviews, approvals, and awards on Salesforce objects, and it uses Experience Cloud for the applicant portal. It fits organizations that run Nonprofit Cloud and want grant records beside their donor and program records.
Choosing Between Them
FormAssembly fits Salesforce organizations that want a governed application and review front end without a separate grants suite. Submittable fits high-volume open calls. Fluxx and SmartSimple fit complex, multi-phase programs. Foundant fits foundations that want a defined system. Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking fits teams that want everything inside Salesforce. Each team should run one real application through review to the award record before committing.
Learn more
FormAssembly is built for nonprofits that need to scale impact without increasing headcount.
