Do you rebuild the board report by hand every cycle?
The board report, your review steps, and what your tier includes: three things arts and panel-reviewed funders weigh when applicants include organizations with fiscal sponsors.
Who this page is for
You run programs where organizations apply and panels review their applications. Several members may work on one application, and an organization's profile holds its fiscal sponsor's details separately.
Your staff want to change forms and statuses themselves after training. You build forms per program and set each status's email, applicant editing rules, and panel visibility.
Not for
- This page is not for applicants looking for a Foundant GLM login.
- ApplyCycle is not for buyers who want self-serve software, because Zivtech sets it up with you and trains your staff.
- ApplyCycle is not SOC 2 certified, so it does not fit buyers who need that certification today.
Your integration requirement is scoped and quoted after a feasibility review, rather than treated as a reason to stay or leave.
ApplyCycle and Foundant GLM, side by side
The Foundant column uses Foundant's own pages, checked on the date below; tell us if something has changed.
| Capability | ApplyCycle | Foundant GLM |
|---|---|---|
| Who applies | Organizations apply, with several members sharing an application and fiscal sponsor details recorded separately. Your staff approve registrations before profiles or applications can be created, or use invitations. | Applicants belong to organization records and can belong to several organizations. They invite collaborators with view, edit, or submit permission. Fiscal sponsors follow a documented workflow with Foundant's CommunitySuite product. Source: Foundant GLM, Who applies |
| Who sees what | Your staff build forms per program, with sections and fields shown by role and application status. Panelists see only assigned applications in statuses that allow panel viewing. | Each question has a visibility setting (Everyone, Applicant, Internal, Administrators), so sensitive questions can be kept from evaluators. Six roles; evaluator print packets show only role-visible content. Visibility by stage or status: not described on Foundant's public pages. Source: Foundant GLM, Who sees what |
| Stages and statuses | After training, your staff define statuses, edit permissions, and status emails, and send templated emails to selected applications. Cycles open and close by date, with application limits per organization. | A process has up to five stages (Eligibility, LOI, Application, Decisions, Follow Ups); staff choose which to use. Automatic emails cover submission confirmation, due-date reminders and evaluator assignment. Applicant editing rules per stage: not described on Foundant's public pages. Source: Foundant GLM, Stages and statuses |
| Panel review | Your staff assign panels or reviewers; a reading pane moves through applications, with comments visible to the panel or staff-only. Each reviewer gives one score per application, with no rubrics or conflict-of-interest declarations. | Assigned evaluators complete forms; optional settings show peers' scores, while "Anonymous" hides peer names, not applicants. Reports apply weights, and staff build conflict-of-interest workflows using evaluator forms. Source: Foundant GLM, Panel review |
| Exports and records | Your staff configure CSV columns after training. At setup Zivtech matches the layout to your board report; four yearly layout changes are included. Each application exports as one PDF with attachments. No dashboards or charts: the export is the report. | A custom report builder produces reports that export to Excel, CSV, or PDF. Print packets provide individual or batch PDFs, and forms download as PDFs. Source: Foundant GLM, Exports and records |
| After the decision | You record award amounts and payment statuses; organizations can see their payments. ApplyCycle has no grant agreements, installment schedules, grantee progress reports, or multi-year disbursement plans. | Merge templates produce award letters for bulk sending or printing. Foundant tracks installments and payments, assigns follow-up forms including award agreements, and syncs with QuickBooks Online and CommunitySuite. Source: Foundant GLM, After the decision |
| Recordings and media | Applicants submit recordings and video links; reviewers listen and watch inside the application. | File upload questions take one file each, with a staff-set size limit and a default total per form; a document viewer opens uploads. Audio or video playback in review: not described on Foundant's public pages. Source: Foundant GLM, Recordings and media |
| Support | Zivtech sets up your programs, statuses, forms, panels, and exports with you, then trains your staff. Zivtech stays on to answer questions, with a person replying by email. | Unlimited user licences and unlimited support by phone, email, chat and knowledge base, with a dedicated success team and the Compass user community. Support hours are 7 AM to 6 PM Mountain, Monday to Friday. Source: Foundant GLM, Support |
| Integrations | No integrations ship with ApplyCycle; data moves by CSV and PDF. Integration work is scoped and quoted as part of your engagement after a feasibility review. | API data sets and an OData feed for Excel and Power BI, both on the Advanced tier. Named integrations: QuickBooks Online, DocuSign, Candid, Workato and CommunitySuite. Zapier and Salesforce: not described on Foundant's public pages. Source: Foundant GLM, Integrations |
| Price | ApplyCycle starts at $7,500 a year per site, plus setup quoted after a walkthrough. | $6,500 (Basic), $9,900 (Standard) and $13,900 (Advanced) a year, plus setup of $2,500, $3,500 and $4,500. The figures are stated in the FAQ on Foundant's Grant Lifecycle Manager page. Source: Foundant GLM, Price |
Where Foundant GLM is stronger
Foundant documents weighted scoring in reports, a custom report builder, installments with payment tracking, award letters and follow-up forms.
It publishes its tier prices and includes unlimited support by phone, email, chat and knowledge base, plus the Compass user community.
AI Summary summarises text answers on Standard and above. AI Application Analysis, on Advanced with Support enablement, scores against weighted criteria with a summary and flags.
Checked on . Tell us if something here has changed.
See it with your program
Bring your current program to a walkthrough set up with your program's forms, statuses, panels, and exports.
Register an organization with a fiscal sponsor
- Start with one sample organization, two members, and a fiscal sponsor. Your staff accept its registration before it creates a profile. The profile records the sponsor's tax ID and determination letter.
Draft one application together
- Both members work on the same application, save a draft, and return to it. They see sections appear as the status allows. They preview the application and submit once the required fields are complete.
Move through your statuses
- Your staff move the application through the statuses you use. Each status sends its configured email when the application enters it. After training, your staff change these settings themselves.
Review the application with your panel
- Assigned panelists see the application and sections their role and its status allow. Each gives one score and marks it reviewed. Your staff see each score, plus the minimum, maximum, and average.
Export your board report
- Download the CSV in the layout matched to your board report, and the application as a combined PDF with its attachments. Your staff can also download the whole cycle as a zip of PDFs.
Record the award and payment status
- Your staff move the application to a status flagged as an award and record the award amount. Record a payment status: Unpaid, Paid, Received, Returned, or Not Received. The organization can see its payments.
What switching involves
Start by exporting reports as CSV from Foundant. Its reports and data sets export the fields you choose.
Your staff import application and payment data into ApplyCycle by CSV. The import covers those records; it is not a promise to transfer everything from Foundant.
Bring the fields from your Foundant CSV export to the walkthrough. Zivtech sets up your ApplyCycle program with you, trains your staff, and answers questions by email.
Extending ApplyCycle
ApplyCycle runs on Drupal, where Zivtech also builds AI. So staff-side AI assistance and integrations are built as part of your engagement, scoped and quoted with you, rather than shipped as modules. Any AI we build works for program staff and reviewers; it never scores, ranks or recommends decisions on applicants. Nothing of this kind ships today, and nothing is built unless you ask for it.
Questions program officers ask
Can our panelists see budgets?
Yes, if the application is assigned to them and its status allows panel viewing. The budget section must also be visible to their role in that status.
Can we change a status email ourselves?
Yes. After training, your staff change each status's email themselves. The application entering that status triggers the email. Your staff also set whether applicants can edit and whether panelists can view applications in that status.
What happens to our Foundant data?
You export reports as CSV from Foundant, choosing which fields to export. Your staff import application and payment data into ApplyCycle by CSV. This is not a transfer of every Foundant record or feature.
Does it connect to our CRM or accounting system?
No. Bring your CRM or accounting requirement to the walkthrough for a feasibility review. Zivtech scopes and quotes integration work; today, data moves by CSV and PDF.
Do we build the board report, or does Zivtech?
Your staff configure the CSV columns after training. At setup, Zivtech matches the layout and the PDF packet to your board report. The annual fee includes up to four layout changes a year; further reporting work comes from an improvements budget. There are no dashboards or charts: the export is the report.
Bring your program
Bring your current program to a live walkthrough. Show us how organizations apply, how your panel reviews them, and what records your staff need.