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Managing Grants through Microsoft Power Pages


Updated 12/27/2022

Microsoft has overhauled the portal capabilities of the Power Apps Portal product which was formerly available as an add-on component for Dynamics 365 apps such Sales and Customer Service,  and now makes these capabilities available as Power Pages.  Power Pages websites allow you to build websites with static pages and content as well as, more importantly, forms and views to display data from Dataverse.

Power Pages enable grant applicants, grant reviewers, vendors and the public to interact with grant data.  Because a Power Pages portal is a website, users do not have to learn a new user interface, and you have control over the look of the site such as branding consistent with the graphic standards used by your organization. 

Here are some of the portal pages typically used for grant portals:

  • Authentication. Login and related functions such as forgot password or change password.  These are provided out of the box.
  • Grant program information.  Publish your notice of funding availability (NOFA) here and other information needed by prospective grant applicants.
  • Grant outcomes. Reports, statistics and visualizations to show the impact of your grant programs. These may include heat maps showing where funding has the greatest impact as well as business charts and graphs.
  • Grant applications. Online applications are the heart of the grant process, and replace paper or document-based (PDF) applications.  Grants Manager Plus makes the applications dynamic so that each program shows only the fields needed for the applicant.  Forms may be broken into pages and sections and progress is automatically saved.
  • Review and scoring. Reviewers access applications on the portal, and use portal forms to submit scores and comments. 
  • Application status. Applicants can check on the status of their application and be notified when an award decision is made.
  • Payment requests. Grantees use the portal to make payment requests, submitting any required backup materials such as receipts online. 
  • Payment history and status. Grantees can see which payments have been processed as well as notifications for additional information requests.
  • Post-award reporting. Grantees submit periodic reports on the portal showing how they achieve grant goals. 
For more information on Grants Manager Plus, see my blog posts including these:

5 Ways to Ensure Compliance with Your Grant Management System
6 Things to Look for in Grant Management Software
Estimating the Cost of a Microsoft Grants Manager Plus Implementation
Extending Grants Manager Plus
Flexible Grant Management Software: Long Term Considerations
Grant Management for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
Grant Management Portal: What to Include
Grant Management with FedRAMP Certification: Microsoft Dynamics 365
Grants Manager Plus: Theme and Variations
InfoStrat Grants Manager Plus Review on FinanceOnline
InfoStrat Releases New Version of Grants Manager Plus
Microsoft Grants Manager Plus
Microsoft Grants Manager Plus Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Online Resources for Microsoft Grants Manager Plus
Portal Options for Microsoft Grants Manager
Statewide Grant Management Systems
The DATA Act Driving Grant Management Automation
The Story of InfoStrat and Grant Management
Usage Scenarios for Microsoft Grants Manager
User Stories for Grants Manager Plus
Understanding Budget, Payments and Milestones in Grants Manager Plus
Understanding Grant Management Data: CDBG-DR Programs

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