A GrantLink funder is the organization or person behind one or more grants. The funder record stores contact details and default terms, and it groups the funder's grants and reports. It isn't a funder login, a contact management system, or a shared portal.

Before you start

Confirm that:

You have the Member or Admin role. Viewers can look at funders but can't add, import, or edit them.
You know whether the funder already exists as a QuickBooks Customer.
QuickBooks is connected and synced if you plan to import or link a Customer.
You understand your QuickBooks setup. A common setup uses a parent Customer for the funder and a sub-customer, job, or Project for each grant.

Add a funder in GrantLink

Open Funders.
Select Add Funder.
Enter the required Funder Name.
Add any optional details:
- Short name
- Type: Foundation, Federal Government, State Government, Local Government, Corporation, Individual, or Other
- Description and website
- Contact name, email, and phone
- Default indirect rate from 0% to 100%
- Default reporting cadence: Monthly, Quarterly, Semiannual, Annual, Final Only, or Custom
In the QuickBooks section, choose Skip for now or Link to existing QuickBooks customer. To link, choose an active Customer.
Select Create Funder.

GrantLink creates the funder for your organization and records the action. Creating a funder doesn't create a grant, and it doesn't create a QuickBooks Customer.

The funder's default cadence and indirect rate are reference values on the funder record. GrantLink doesn't copy them into the funder's grants. Check the reporting schedule and indirect cost terms on each grant.

Import a funder from QuickBooks

Use this when the funder already exists as a QuickBooks Customer.

Open the QuickBooks customer import. When you have no funders, select Import from QuickBooks on the Funders page. You can also go to /funders/import-from-qbo.
Search the QuickBooks customer inbox.
Select the Customer.
Review the funder name and email that GrantLink fills in on the new funder form.
Complete the optional fields, and select Create Funder.

The inbox lists active Customers that aren't QuickBooks Projects and aren't already linked to a funder. It searches display names and company names, shows 50 Customers at a time, and combines duplicate entries that have the same display name and email.

If a Customer is missing:

Confirm that QuickBooks is connected and has synced.
Confirm that the Customer is active.
Confirm that it isn't a QuickBooks Project.
Check whether another GrantLink funder is already linked to it.
Search by both the display name and the company name.

Keep the funder and grant structure aligned

For the common parent Customer and sub-customer setup:

Create or import the parent Customer as the GrantLink funder.
Create the grant by hand or from award documents.
Select the funder on the grant.
Link the grant to its own sub-customer, job, Project, Class, or other supported QuickBooks record.

Don't link the funder and the grant to the same Customer only to connect the records. Keep the structure the same as your QuickBooks setup, so that income, claim, and mapping workflows can tell the funder and the grant apart.

Review the funder page

A funder page has three tabs:

Grants shows the funder's grants, the total and active counts, and the total awarded, grouped by status with each grant's period and award amount.
Reports shows the funder's reports in Draft and Published views. Select Draft report with Assistant to start a chat about the funder. Open a draft in the chat, a published web report from its link, and a PDF when one exists.
Details lets you edit the funder's details and link an existing QuickBooks Customer.

The Reports tab doesn't invite the funder into GrantLink. A published report is a web link that you share. Use a custom report password when your plan includes it and the content shouldn't be open to anyone with the link. A funder report can't use a grant's default report password.

QuickBooks Customer changes

To link a Customer from Details, choose it under Link an existing customer and select Save QuickBooks Link. You can't remove a Customer link from the GrantLink interface.

Changing a funder's name or email in GrantLink doesn't update the QuickBooks Customer. Under QuickBooks writeback, an Admin can select Preview QuickBooks customer change, review the preview, and apply it. The change also needs the Create or update QBO funder customers permission in Settings > QuickBooks > Permissions. GrantLink is making QuickBooks changes available in stages, so Customer changes may not be available yet. If the preview isn't available, create or correct the Customer in QuickBooks, sync, and link the Customer in GrantLink.

Archive and restore

Open the Funder actions menu on the funder page to Archive or Restore the funder.
Archiving removes the funder from active GrantLink lists, but it doesn't make its QuickBooks Customer inactive.
Restoring an archived funder doesn't reactivate a Customer in QuickBooks.
After you change the linked Customer, check the funder's grants and income matching.

Prepare a funder report

Open the funder and select Reports.
Select Draft report with Assistant.
State the reporting period, the grants to include, the measures you need, and the audience.
Check the source data and reconcile the totals before you approve the narrative.
Use a PDF when one is available, or publish the reviewed report with the right password setting.

A funder can have many grants, so check the report's scope. Confirm whether the report should include all of the funder's grants or only some grants and periods.

Security and special cases

Contact fields are internal data. They don't send email to the contact or give the contact access.
GrantLink has no funder user role and no funder portal with a login.
QuickBooks stays the source of Customer status and accounting records. Correct errors there and sync.
GrantLink checks that a linked Customer or funder belongs to your organization, so a link can't show another organization's records.
People can forward a published link, a PDF, or a workbook. Share only the information the recipient needs.
If a funder's grants have different reporting or indirect cost terms, set those terms on each grant instead of relying on the funder's defaults.