1. d) Proposal and Reports - Submission

It is best practice for the Shared Platform Project Coordinators to submit proposals and reports, whether online, hard copy, or email. There are some exceptions where the project will submit and copy us. If in doubt, ask the Project Specialist. 

Review and Signing

Please refer to the article on Review and Signing Authority for details on review and signing requirements before submitting proposals and reports.

Online Submissions

  1. Coordinator uploads any supporting documentation into the online funder portal.
  2. If the Coordinator is the one entering the proposal/report into an online portal, they will notify the project or project specialist of any issues encountered when entering information (e.g. word counts, missing responses, etc.).
  3. If approval by an authorized person is required (e.g. a checkbox authorizing submission), the Coordinator should make arrangements with the authorized person to complete it.
  4. Regardless of whether the project or the coordinator enters the proposal/report into the funder portal, the coordinator should always be the one to hit submit.
  5. Before submitting, the Coordinator should save a copy of the proposal/report. For online submissions that don’t allow you to save a copy, take a screenshot or save the page as a PDF before hitting submit.
  6. Coordinator notifies project and Project Specialist once the submission is complete and shares a copy of the submission. 

Email Submissions

  1. The coordinator prepares the email submission text following the template below.
  2. If there are several attachments, include a list of what’s attached. Typically this will only apply to proposals. 
  3. Unless otherwise specified by the funder, all attachments should be converted to PDF.
  4. Copy Project Specialist and Project Director on the submission email.

Template for Email Submissions

Dear [Selection Committee],

It is my pleasure to submit the attached [proposal/LOI/report] and [supporting documentation (if applicable)] on behalf of [project name].

[Project name] is a project on MakeWay’s shared platform, which provides operational supports, governance, and charitable expertise for changemakers. The shared platform enables more time and money to go towards achieving greater impact. MakeWay is a national charity that builds partnerships and solutions to help nature and communities thrive together.

With the shared platform, MakeWay projects benefit from the support of a mission-aligned community, charitable expertise, and shared administrative resources. MakeWay has full fiduciary and governance responsibility for <project name>.

If you have any questions about this [proposal/LOI/report], please contact [project director name], Project Director at [email address] or [phone number]. If you have any questions about MakeWay’s Shared Platform, please contact [Project Specialist name], Project Specialist at [Project Specialist email] or [Project Specialist phone number].

Hard Copy Submissions

Occasionally, funders ask for hard copies of the proposal/report to be submitted by mail, courier, etc. Follow the instructions provided by the funder. The Coordinator will usually be the one to print the required documents, prepare the hard copy package, coordinate signatures, and make arrangements for mail or courier delivery.

After Submission

  1. Save a copy of the final submission email, a scanned version if it's a hard copy submission, or copy of electronic submission and files on the Salesforce opportunity as soon as possible after the submission (ideally no later than two days).
  2. For reports, the update the report Task in Salesforce by changing the Status field to Completed and entering the date the report was submitted in the Completed Date field
  1. Update the Outlook calendar event to include COMPLETED in the title. 
  1. Update the Shared Platform Proposal and Report Deadlines Smartsheet by checking the Done box once all steps have been completed.