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Grant Management
January 8, 2026
4 min read

Grant Status Lifecycle

Quick reference for grant statuses and what actions are allowed at each stage.

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Grant Status Lifecycle

Grants in GrantLink move through a defined lifecycle. Each status controls what actions are available.

Status Overview

StatusDescriptionTypical Duration
ProspectPotential funding opportunityWeeks to months
AppliedApplication submitted, awaiting decisionWeeks to months
AwardedAward received, not yet activeDays to weeks
ActiveGrant period in progressMonths to years
CloseoutGrant period ended, finalizing30-90 days
ClosedFully completePermanent

Status Progression

Prospect → Applied → Awarded → Active → Closeout → Closed
    │         │                              │
    └─────────┴── (declined/withdrawn) ──────┘

What's Allowed at Each Status

Prospect

ActionAllowed?
Edit grant details✓ Yes
Record fund receipts✗ No
Allocate expenses✗ No
Run indirect costs✗ No
Submit claims✗ No

Use this status for grants you're considering or planning to apply for.

Applied

ActionAllowed?
Edit grant details✓ Yes
Record fund receipts✗ No
Allocate expenses✗ No
Run indirect costs✗ No
Submit claims✗ No

Application submitted—waiting for the funder's decision.

Awarded

ActionAllowed?
Edit grant details✓ Yes
Set up budget✓ Yes
Record fund receipts✓ Yes
Allocate expenses✗ No
Run indirect costs✗ No
Submit claims✗ No

Award received but grant period hasn't started. Set up the budget and record initial funding.

Active

ActionAllowed?
Edit grant details✓ Yes
Record fund receipts✓ Yes
Allocate expenses✓ Yes
Run indirect costs✓ Yes
Submit claims✓ Yes
Generate reports✓ Yes

This is where most work happens. Full functionality is available.

Closeout

ActionAllowed?
Edit grant details✓ Limited
Record fund receipts✓ Yes
Allocate expenses✓ Yes (within period)
Run indirect costs✓ Yes (final run)
Submit claims✓ Yes (final claim)
Generate reports✓ Yes (final report)

Grant period ended. Finalize allocations, run final IDC, submit final claims and reports.

Closed

ActionAllowed?
View grant details✓ Yes
View history✓ Yes
Edit✗ No
Allocate✗ No
Run IDC✗ No
Submit claims✗ No

Grant is complete. Data is preserved for audits and historical reference.

Changing Grant Status

Moving Forward

  1. Go to grant Details tab
  2. Click Change Status
  3. Select the next status
  4. Confirm the change

Moving Backward

In some cases, you can move backward:

  • Closeout → Active — If more work is needed
  • Closed → Closeout — Requires admin permission

Declined or Withdrawn

From Prospect or Applied, you can mark a grant as:

  • Declined — Funder didn't approve
  • Withdrawn — You chose not to proceed

Expense Date Constraints

GrantLink enforces date rules based on grant settings:

SettingEffect
No expenses beforeCan't allocate expenses dated before this
No expenses afterCan't allocate expenses dated after this
Grant period datesTypically match the above

This prevents accidentally charging expenses outside the grant period.

Best Practices

  1. Update status promptly — Move grants through the lifecycle as events occur
  2. Use Closeout properly — Don't skip to Closed; use Closeout for final activities
  3. Set date constraints — Configure expense date limits to prevent errors
  4. Archive old grants — Move completed grants to Closed to keep active lists clean

Quick Status Check

From the Grants list:

  • Filter by status to see all grants at each stage
  • Sort by status to group similar grants
  • Status badge shows current state at a glance
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Related Topics

grant-statuslifecycleworkflowreference
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On this page

  • Status Overview
  • Status Progression
  • What's Allowed at Each Status
  • Prospect
  • Applied
  • Awarded
  • Active
  • Closeout
  • Closed
  • Changing Grant Status
  • Moving Forward
  • Moving Backward
  • Declined or Withdrawn
  • Expense Date Constraints
  • Best Practices
  • Quick Status Check

Continue Reading

Creating and Managing Grants

Learn how to create grants, set up budgets, and manage the grant lifecycle in GrantLink.

Working with Funders

Learn how to manage funders, track relationships, and organize your funding sources.

Setting Up Grant Budgets

Learn how to create and manage grant budgets with categories that match funder requirements.

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