NCJA ZoomGrants Overview Presented by: Lindsey Johnson July 30, 2017

Why DCJ chose ZoomGrants We needed a new affordable system and quick. DCJ has been using ZoomGrants since October 2016. * DCJ implementation took several months, but included the development of business process, training material creation and training for both Grantees & Staff. We are still refining business processes and how we leverage ZoomGrants. ZoomGrants Other Options DCJ explored Implementation time ~ few days * Implementation time ~ 6-12 months Implementation Fee = $3,000 Implementation Fee ~ $500,000 Annual Fee = $2,500 Annual Fee ~ $20-40,000 Other Fees = $2,000 per application cycle Other Fees = various

ZoomGrants Overview The system is a web-based online system which can be accessed from any device connected to the internet. It simplifies the task of managing your programs and making it easier for your applicants to apply and submit their post-award reports. A majority of functions can be done within ZoomGrants.

DCJ Utilization of ZoomGrants Announcement; Applicants completing and submitting applications within the system and with attachments; Board members reviewing, scoring, and voting; Grant Manager finalizing the funding decisions; and finally Grant Award recipients completing post-award activities.

ZoomGrants Accessibility Applicants can create a ZoomGrants account, apply, and preview the Announcement by following a link that is provided by the funding organization. Funding organization must provide a specific link to the Applicants, otherwise the grantee can not access it. The administrator with the funding organization is responsible for providing access to the program.

Announcement Can preview the entire application, including the announcement, before deciding to apply Can make it as detailed as you want Can upload whatever you want at any time Will stay with the application throughout the entire process

Application Broken into two sets of tabs Program/Funding Opportunity Tabs Application Tabs The application tab structure and functions are consistent between all applications, but may have different naming conventions between Programs/Funding Opportunities.

Application, cont. Summary Tab: Contact information, organization contact information, and general application information (title, amount request, etc.) Pre-Application Tab: Can be used to vet applications Questions Tab: Most funders put the bulk of their application content here Budget Tab: Funders may request budget information here Tables Tab: Captures uniquely-formatted data Documents Tab: Provides a link to or directly upload the requested documents.

Application, cont. Click on the Submit Now Button to submit your application. You will be required to enter your initials on a certification statement. If there are any incomplete fields the system will display them in RED.

Committee/Board Review Review Tools: score, vote, and keep notes on each application My Private Notes: These notes are visible only to you as the reviewer, but will be saved in the system

Funding Decisions Administrators finalize the funding decisions and send out notifications via ZoomGrants. Notifications/Messages can be based on custom templates that include merge fields to help auto bulk communication. When an award is approved a second row of tabs appears within the project/application providing access to post- funding activities.

Award The content of this field is Program specific. Depending on your policies/process you can create, execute an agreement, and everything else.

Post-Funding Contract Tab: Where Funders ask grantees to review and sign a contract/grant agreement Financial Tab: Used for invoices/payments Report Tab: Used for Post-Funding Reports

Payment Requests and Financial  (online) and Programmatic (by attachment) Reports Snapshot of overall federal or state funds awarded.

Reporting Each report is housed in its own tab with the deadline dates being displayed, if the report is over due the date turns RED. The reports may be customized to accept attachments or allow for submission within the report tab itself.

Closeout Project Status: This is a custom DCJ field, the status is either Open or Closed. The project will only be marked closed once the Grant Closeout Checklist (external to ZG) is completed and the project is official closed. Program History: Tab contains all of the programs – past and present – administered by an organization. After a program has been closed for more than a year, it is removed from the Recently Closed Programs section of the Account Home page and filed into the Program History tab. Click any header in the tab to sort the list of programs by that column.

Reports we can run on an administrative level The Data tab allows you to run reports. There is no mapping or additional security that is needed. You may run a pre-made report or create your own.

Final Thoughts cont. What are some of the negatives and how do we get around them? Customer support: you get what you pay for, it is a hit or miss, but they are very eager to help Lack of follow-up. Staff time it takes to track and follow-up on all issues. No testing environment. They make changes while live and without warning. Struggling with our grant chart. It has been an ongoing challenge. Would we recommend it to other states? Yes, if you need a low cost solution without a lot of frills. Notes: keep within 15 minutes and leave 5 minutes for questions.

Final Thoughts What works well/what are some of the positives? Easy to Navigate Board thought it was easy to use Electronic filing cabinet Accessible from anywhere Cost & Implementation time

Resources ZoomGrants: https://www.zoomgrants.com/ DCJ Grants Page: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dcj/dcj_grants Contact Information: lindsey.johnson@state.co.us