Exporting Data for Board Presentations

GrantLink doesn't currently create board slides, and the dashboard has no button to download its charts. Instead, export reviewed Excel, CSV, and PDF files from GrantLink, and build the presentation in your organization's own presentation software.

Before you start

Check the following items before you export:

• You know the meeting date and the reporting cutoff date.
• You know which grants, funders, initiatives, and fiscal period the board packet covers.
• QuickBooks has synced through the cutoff date, and you've reviewed any sync problems.
• Allocations, budget lines, income, releases, and indirect cost postings for the packet are complete.
• You know who may receive the packet, and whether you must remove transaction-level or donor information.
• You're a Member or Admin of the organization. Viewers can look at organization data, but they can't use chat to create exports or reports.

Choose the right GrantLink output

Use the dashboard to find grants and problems to discuss. Because the dashboard has no chart download, rebuild charts from a reviewed workbook instead of copying dashboard figures without their context.

Export the workbook for all grants

1. Open Grants > Budget vs actual.
2. Select By fund to show one column group for each grant. The By fund option appears only when you have more than one grant.
3. If the page shows Include committed, decide whether the export should add outstanding commitments to Actual.
4. Select Excel.
5. Open all-funds-budget-vs-actual.xlsx and review the All Funds BvA sheet.

The sheet shows Budget, Actual, and Variance for each grant, with a Committed column when commitments exist. It also shows awarded revenue and the amount received, total expenses, and a net balance equal to the amount received minus actual spending. Posted indirect costs and uncategorized spending appear on their own rows when they exist. If you export from By month instead, the workbook shows all grants combined by month.

Note on measures: Remaining budget, net balance, cash, and restricted net assets are different measures. Don't label the workbook's budget variance or net balance as cash available until you reconcile it under your accounting policy.

Export supporting detail

1. Open Chats > New chat.

2. Ask for the exact schedule you need. For example:

   Export approved allocation detail for active grants for the fiscal year through June 30. Include grant, funder, transaction date, vendor, budget line, and allocated amount.

3. On the export card, check the file name and the number of rows, columns, and filters.

4. Select Download .xlsx for analysis or Download .csv for a simple data transfer.

5. Reconcile the schedule to the workbook totals before you use it as an appendix.

The downloaded file shows the data at the time you exported it. After a later sync or correction, export the file again.

Draft a board narrative or PDF

1. Open Chats > New chat, or select Draft report with Assistant on the Reports tab of a grant, initiative, or funder.
2. Say that the audience is the board, and name the exact period and the grants or initiatives to cover.
3. Ask for the sections you need, such as changes to the grant portfolio, spending pace, deadlines, problems, and decisions the board must make.
4. Review every number, conclusion, and omission in the chat.
5. Ask chat to generate a PDF, and then select Download PDF on the file card.

Web reports require a Professional, Enterprise, or agency plan. A PDF exists only after someone asks chat to generate one. On initiative and funder Reports tabs, the PDF column shows a dash until a PDF exists. For a grant report, select the report on the grant's Reporting > Reports tab to find its Download PDF link.

Build the board packet

Use the reviewed files to put together a short packet:

1. Summary: The reporting period, the grants covered, and the main points the board needs for its decisions.
2. Grant table: Awarded, received, budget, actual, and variance amounts, using the same measure names as the export.
3. Problems to discuss: For example, grants ending soon, spending that is behind or over budget, incomplete allocations, uncategorized costs, missing release evidence, or sync problems.
4. Decisions requested: For example, approvals, accepted risks, staffing, or who will follow up.
5. Appendix: Only the transaction or grant detail needed to answer likely questions.

Security and review limits

• Excel, CSV, and PDF downloads are ordinary files. GrantLink can't take them back after you share them.
• A published report is a web link, not a board portal that requires sign-in. With No password (public access), anyone who gets the link can open it.
• Password protection is available on Professional, Enterprise, and agency plans. When you can, send the link and the password through different channels.
• The Visibility setting in the publish window, including Private, isn't applied when you publish. Use a report password, and open the published link in a signed-out browser before you share it.
• Remove vendor, payroll, donor, or internal note detail that the board doesn't need.

Repeat the process for each meeting

Use the same cutoff and reconciliation steps for each meeting:

1. Sync QuickBooks and clear the problems that affect the packet.
2. Write the reporting cutoff date in the packet.
3. Export new workbooks and schedules.
4. Reconcile totals and write down any differences.
5. Update the board narrative and charts outside GrantLink.
6. Share the approved files or the protected report link, and keep them under your retention policy.