Grant Management Notes — Trello, Slack, and Cadence Workflow

Trello-based Grant Management Overview

  • The main goal is to build a relationship with the grantees (Courtney, Victoria, Josh describe the process). It’s framed as different from simply being in place; the aim is to be in community where people know when to reach out for help.
  • Trello is the central workflow tool; the team uses it a lot, including a Trello board dedicated to kickoff/orientation tasks (new graduate orientations).
  • An executive assistant sends a weekly email listing all grants and their current phase to help track where each grant is in the process and aligned with SLAs.
  • When a grant goes active (or moves into any phase), a Trello board/card is created for the kickoff/orientation process, with a checklist and dates inserted to schedule the kickoff.
  • Scheduling rule of thumb: kickoff is scheduled about 1–2 months after activation, aligned with Victoria’s calendar.
  • A dog-related anecdote appears (light moment about a dog pressing the doorbell) but is separate from the grant workflow.
  • Trello is preferred by the team for tracking; some team members (like Lisa) may prefer other tools, but the current workflow centers on Trello.
  • The team uses Trello’s “orange diamonds” to mark emails sent to grantees (status indicator to show awaiting response).
  • The portfolio includes roughly the mid-point of a few dozen grants; the speaker mentions about a portfolio around 64–65 grants.
  • The team uses a “chiller board” (Kickoff/New Grant Orientation) to manage orientation scheduling, and this is integrated with the NM Trello board where grants are tracked across quarters (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4).
  • There is a habit of reviewing SLAs and reports; if reports aren’t visible, grants can be pulled up in the Trello board to check their phase.
  • The process has been adopted and refined by multiple staff: Roshan joined and started using the same approach; prior staff (Michelle, others) also used similar methods.
  • The team emphasizes a relationship-centric workflow where the grantee gets introduced to the team early and understands who is involved in the grant process.

Kickoff and Check-in Cadence

  • Kickoff (new grant orientation) is scheduled once a grant goes active; the kickoff is a structured meeting to introduce the grantee to the team.
  • Time allotted for kickoff calls:
    • For new grantees: 45 minutes.
    • For grants that have been renewed before (renewals): 30 minutes.
  • Availability options for kickoff candidates: the coordinator reaches out with 3–4 date options; the grantee selects a date that works best for them.
  • The kickoff meeting has a formal agenda; the meeting is led by the Grants Specialist (the “PS” in the conversation) to ensure the grantee knows the process and has a sense of the team’s role.
  • Attendees for kickoff typically include:
    • Project Manager (PM)
    • Program Owner/Officer (PO)
    • The grantee
    • The Program Specialist (PS)
    • Victoria (the sponsor) wants the grantee to know that the PS has a part in the grant process as well.
  • The PM usually handles two items during kickoff:
    • The Strategic Community Planning Hub
    • The Open Change Slack Channel (grantee access and onboarding to Slack)
  • Open Change Slack Channel:
    • A large group Slack channel for grantees to post information about community impact, job openings, and opportunities to share with the community.
    • The channel is managed differently across regions; for New Mexico, there’s a single large Slack channel; the foundation may have different Slack channels for each play space.
    • Access is typically granted by inviting via Slack when the PM initiates the invitation; there is some uncertainty about whether the foundation or NM owns the Slack channel that grants access.
    • Occasionally the channel is quiet, but it can provide helpful information when active.
  • During kickoff, the team asks grantees how often they want to meet; three cadence options are offered:
    • quarterly (about every 3 months)
    • every ext{ }6 ext{ months}
    • monthly (or biweekly in some discussions; the transcript notes confusion between monthly, biweekly, etc.)
  • Victoria typically opts for quarterly meetings (every 3 months).
  • After the kickoff, a new check-in area for grantees is created in Trello with frequency options (monthly, every other month, quarterly, every six months, or as needed).
  • In Flux, interactions are recorded with next steps; the person responsible for the interaction updates the next steps and scheduling; cadence labels help organizational tracking (e.g., quarterly).
  • Example cadence tracking: a grantee was scheduled to meet on Aug ext{ }14; the next meeting is planned for Nov ext{ (the following quarter)} and then Feb ext{ after that}, continuing through the grant period.
  • After the grant ends, there is a closing meeting to review reports; this is typically scheduled around 90 days after final reports are completed.
  • If a grant is renewed, a separate closing meeting is not required; instead, a new grant orientation can be scheduled and the renewal is processed in a combined flow.
  • When a grant closes, the team moves the grant into a “done” status and then begins scheduling the next set of interactions; the done status triggers the scheduling of the next steps (if renewal or new grant).

Slack and OpenChannels

  • Open Change Slack Channel:
    • Provided as a channel for grantees to interact; the PM invites grantees and Slack itself sends the invitation.
    • The foundation vs NM ownership question arises; the NM branch has a large, shared channel for all NM grantees; the foundation may manage different Slack channels per play space.
    • Access allows grantees to post job openings and community updates; it can be quiet at times but can be valuable for information sharing.
  • The Slack invite process relies on the PM to invite; Slack’s auto-invitations depend on the recipient's email in Slack.

Flux Tracking and Next Steps

  • Flux is used to capture interaction data and next steps; once an interaction occurs, the next steps are noted, and future meetings are scheduled accordingly.
  • The team sometimes “switches off” automation or notifications and instead checks Flux or Trello manually; there is a preference for checking once in the morning and once after lunch.
  • The cadence and next steps are tracked in Flux as well as in Trello; the team ensures alignment between Trello tasks and Flux items so that the grantee’s needs are reflected in both systems.

End-of-Grant Procedures and Renewals

  • Grant closing meeting happens after the grant ends and final reports are completed; usually planned around 90 days after the last report, depending on workflow.
  • If a grant is being renewed, the team may opt to re-run (or rebalance) an orientation rather than performing a separate closing meeting; renewal activities can be integrated with the next grant orientation.
  • The Trello card status moves from active to done as tasks are completed and the grant enters the closing/renewal phase.

Organization, Templates, and Portfolio Management

  • The team maintains a physical-style planning board (or a staged Trello board) with quarterly sections (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4). The board is sometimes used collaboratively in person (coffee shop or lunch) to plan the cultivation timeline and grant movements.
  • At the start of each year, Victoria identifies which grants will move through the cultivation process; grant lines are updated with start dates (e.g., 01/01/2026) and the cultivation dates (e.g., early October for cultivation planning).
  • For each grant, the dates include milestones such as LOI due date, the LOI review step, and the final proposal due date; in the transcript, there’s a mention of LOI due around a specific date (e.g., 5/25) and a proposal due date after LOI.
  • The “cultivation” category in the bottom part of the fields (easy, medium, hard) is defined by the POs; the speaker does not define the exact criteria, noting that some grants marked “easy” can be deceptively easy, while some marked “hard” require more support.
  • If the grantee already has a P-number in Flux, that number is recorded in Flux and then flows through the process to completion; the process transitions toward a new grant orientation card when appropriate.
  • Once a grant moves into the “done” phase, the team creates or updates the new grant orientation card to begin the next cycle (for renewals or new grants).
  • Lisa serves as the grants-services person; she uses Trello to capture needed items and signals what is needed from the grantees during cultivation so those items can be included in LOI preparation.
  • The team emphasizes consistency and centralization so templates for proposals and LOIs can be consolidated; there’s an ongoing discussion about moving templates from spreadsheets (e.g., used by Nara) into Trello for consistency.
  • A cross-team collaboration moment: Courtney and Nara are exploring unifying their proposal templates in Trello to keep all related tasks in one place and maintain consistency.
  • The team uses a dedicated file archive and a board for a “chill” vibe to ensure the process remains rigorous yet approachable for grantees.

People, Roles, and Team Culture

  • Victoria: Sponsor and primary driver of cadence decisions; frequently sets the cadence and approves the quarterly rhythm.
  • Josh: Provides detailed walkthroughs of workflow; acts as a key collaborator with Courtney on process improvements.
  • Courtney: A co-presenter and collaborator in setting up and refining the workflow; acknowledges lag or internet issues at times.
  • Lauren: The PM who handles coordination and attendance for meetings; works with the PS and the PO.
  • PO (Program Owner) and PS (Program Specialist): Key roles in meetings; PM handles strategic items while PS drives day-to-day facilitation (agenda, introductions, etc.).
  • Lisa: Grants services person who liaises with grantees for required documents; helps collect information needed for LOIs and proposals.
  • Tish and Paxton: Colleagues to verify Slack access and Slack-channel ownership; involved in confirming Open Change Slack channel access.
  • Roshan: Former team member who adopted the same Trello-based workflow; the process has been institutionalized across team members.

Potential Improvements and Practical Takeaways

  • Consolidation of templates: There is interest in moving template content for proposals, LOIs, and meeting agendas into Trello to create a single source of truth and reduce context switching.
  • Unified workspace: Consider consolidating templates (proposal templates) and keeping all grant progression data in a single tool (Trello) to improve consistency across Courtney and Nara’s teams.
  • Access and onboarding: Clarify ownership and access rules for Slack channels (Open Change Slack) and ensure new grantees get invited promptly by the PM.
  • Notifications strategy: Some team members opt out of Trello notifications to reduce email noise; a structured daily check-in cadence (e.g., morning and post-lunch) helps balance responsiveness with focus.
  • Data integrity: Maintain Flux entries for next steps and ensure Flux and Trello stay aligned for each grant; ensure that changes in cadence are reflected in both tools.
  • Training and onboarding: With staff turnover, the described approach seems to be a robust onboarding method; consider documenting the exact steps (checklists and templates) to ease onboarding for new team members.
  • Ethical and practical considerations: The workflow emphasizes relationship-building and timely communication; ensure respectful scheduling and flexibility to accommodate grantee timelines while meeting organizational SLAs.

Quick References and Key Details (LaTeX-formatted numbers)

  • Kickoff duration: 45 minutes for new grantees; 30 minutes for renewals.
  • Cadence options: quarterly (≈ 3 months), every 6 months, or monthly/biweekly (as discussed).
  • Closing meeting timing: typically scheduled at 90 days after final reports.
  • Grantee portfolio size: about 64–65 grants.
  • Scheduling horizon after activation: kickoff scheduled about 1–2 months after activation.
  • Meeting frequency chosen by Victoria: usually 3 months (quarterly).
  • Next-step planning: use Flux to capture next steps and Trello for scheduling and status indication (orange diamonds).
  • Planning quarter structure: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 in the NM Trello board and yearly cultivation planning.

Connections to Foundational Principles

  • Kanban/flow-based mindset: Using Trello as a central Kanban-like board to visualize grant stages (active, orientation, check-ins, renewal, done) mirrors lean project-management practices.
  • Stakeholder alignment: Regular cadence with PM, PO, PS, Victoria, and grantees ensures alignment and transparency across the grant lifecycle.
  • Continuous improvement: The team frequently revisits templates, cadence options, and Slack access flows to improve efficiency and consistency across grants.
  • Real-world relevance: The approach emphasizes proactive relationship-building, predictable cadence, and clear ownership—key for long-term program impact and grantee success.