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This post was originally published in March 2024
Your programs’ timelines are important. So we want to make sure you have the tools you need to stay on track. If you missed the announcement earlier this week, you can now choose to set an Enforced or Flexible Deadline on all existing and future Additional Forms. Read on to learn a few best practices of how to leverage Additional Forms, and each of the available deadline types, across your programs.
The ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of Forms
Additional Formsserve as a crucial tool to streamline and scale programs by reducing administrative burden and improving applicant experiences. With all of the enhancements to Additional Forms last year, they’re now more beneficial than ever. Whether this is a feature that you know and love or are less familiar with, it’s a perfect time to uplevel your knowledge to improve the way you use Additional Forms to:
- Gather progress reports
- Conduct multi-step application processes
- Build stronger relationships with your applicants
- And MORE
Once created, you can use Additional Forms to support the full lifecycle of your program. Make sure to try out these few best practices to make your work even more efficient:
- Collect and organize data with the end in mind: Additional Forms can be used repeatedly (like a template!), so we recommend duplicating and renaming the form before utilizing it in your program for better data tracking across review and reporting program stages.
- Schedule your forms: At any point, you can schedule a date for your Additional Forms to be sent to subgroups of applicants. (PS – use your program’s Labels to help you easily schedule and send up to 500 Additional Forms at a time!)
- Turn ‘on’ collaboration: Just like with your Initial Application, you can permit your applicants to collaborate across each Additional Form. You’ll even have the ability to message and report on those individuals down the line.
Looking for more? Dive into the world of Additional Forms by checking out this helpful blog, or visit our Help Center for more how-tos!
Enforced Deadlines vs Flexible Deadlines
Just as it sounds, applying an Enforced Deadline on Additional Form means that an applicant is required to submit their requested information back to you by a certain deadline (and are unable to submit after the deadline has passed), whereas a Flexible Deadline provides a deadline to the applicant, but still allows them to submit once that date has passed. An applicant will not know which type of deadline you have assigned to them, so it is up to you if you want to explicitly call it out.
The introduction of Enforced Deadlines and Flexible Deadlines provides benefits for both administrators and applicants. With this enhancement, you gain:
- Increased flexibility: Program Administrators can uphold their program requirements per each program lifecycle stage, and uniquely configure forms with specific dates.
- Better clarity & transparency: Enforced deadlines provide clear expectations for applicants, helping them understand the timeline and requirements of the grant or program process.
- Equitable experiences: These deadlines ensure that all applicants adhere to the same time constraints, promoting fairness in the grant application process.
To help you maintain a tidy application process while leveraging Flexible Deadlines, you could:
- Send reminders to applicants once they have missed a deadline
- Require applicants to submit a payment if they have missed a deadline
- Keep a Flexible Deadline on your Additional Forms for things like quarterly, 6-month, or yearly reports. The deadline gives the applicant a general “target” to submit requested data by!
When you choose to apply an Enforced Deadline to an Additional Form, you are providing your organization, and potentially external stakeholders, with the ability to adhere to timelines that may span across your Finances team, Program Managers team, and even Board of Directors. No more chasing down information from your applicants!
Bottom line, now you have the choice! Jump in to the product today to try it out for yourself – we think you’ll be impressed! As always, contact your Customer Success team with any additional questions.
Sam is Submittable's Product Marketer focused on Foundations, Non-Profits, and organizations that distribute grants or awards. She is passionate about helping organizations of any size to measure their impact and scale their programs with the platform. When not at work you can catch her in the mountains of Montana with her golden retrievers.