ApplyCycle questions and answers
ApplyCycle is grant application, panel review, decision, and payment-tracking software for arts and cultural funders. This page answers common questions about applications from organizations, fiscal sponsors, recordings, panel review, and changing forms and statuses. It also says plainly what ApplyCycle does not do, including scoring rubrics, grant agreements, and progress reports.
Who is ApplyCycle for?
ApplyCycle fits funders that review applications from organizations by panel, run one or a few cycles a year, and track payments after awards. Zivtech built ApplyCycle with music funders. Several people can work on one organization's application, including when it has a fiscal sponsor. ApplyCycle does not fit funders that need grant agreements and progress reports, weighted rubrics, or a SOC 2 report.
Does ApplyCycle integrate with Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, QuickBooks, or DocuSign?
ApplyCycle has no built-in integrations, but it runs on Drupal, and most Drupal integrations are available on request. Zivtech scopes and quotes each integration during setup, separately from the setup fee. You can export CSV and PDF files without any integration.
Can our staff change the forms and workflow themselves?
Yes, your staff can change application forms and workflow statuses in ApplyCycle. Zivtech trains staff to make those changes without a developer. For each status, staff set edit rules, notification emails, and whether it counts as an award.
Can several people work on an organization's application?
ApplyCycle lets several members of an organization work on the same application. The organization owns the application. Members who belong to more than one organization can switch between them.
How does ApplyCycle handle fiscal sponsors?
ApplyCycle records each organization's fiscal sponsor in the organization's profile and formats the sponsor's tax ID. Staff can import lists of fiscal sponsors from CSV files.
Can applicants submit audio recordings or video?
ApplyCycle lets applicants submit audio recordings and video links. Panelists listen to the recordings and watch the videos inside the application.
How does panel review work in ApplyCycle?
Staff assign panelists to applications in ApplyCycle, directly or through review panels, and panelists review the applications assigned to them. Previous and next controls in the reading pane move each panelist through their assigned applications. Each panelist gives one score per application, and staff see every score with the minimum, maximum, and average. Staff decide which comments panelists can see and which stay private to staff.
Does ApplyCycle support weighted rubrics or blind review?
No. ApplyCycle does not offer scoring rubrics, weighted or unweighted, and it does not offer blind review. Each panelist gives one overall score per application.
What does ApplyCycle do after we award a grant?
After a decision, ApplyCycle records the award amount and tracks each payment to the grantee. Payments move through five states: Unpaid, Paid, Received, Returned, and Not Received. Organizations can see their own payments. ApplyCycle does not handle grant agreements, progress reports, or multi-year disbursement schedules.
Is ApplyCycle available in languages other than English?
Yes. ApplyCycle supports languages other than English. Contact Zivtech to discuss the languages you need.
How do we get our data out if we stop using ApplyCycle?
ApplyCycle exports your data as CSV and PDF files. ApplyCycle's code is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Moving off ApplyCycle is a project, not a download.
Who builds and maintains ApplyCycle?
Zivtech builds and maintains ApplyCycle. The current ApplyCycle platform dates from 2016. Zivtech applies security updates roughly monthly.
Is ApplyCycle SOC 2 certified?
ApplyCycle is not SOC 2 certified. If your procurement process requires SOC 2, raise it with Zivtech at the start of your review.