Building an Application Process Using App Wizard in Impactfully

What is the App Wizard?

The App Wizard is the tool inside Impactfully that lets you build and manage online grant application processes. When a foundation wants to accept grant applications from nonprofits through the internet, you use the App Wizard to set everything up.

Think of the App Wizard as your form builder. You decide what questions applicants have to answer, whether there is an eligibility screening step, what the landing page looks like, and what the process URL will be. Once configured, applicants visit that URL in the Giving Hub portal to find the foundation and submit their requests.

How it all connects

You build the application process here in the App Wizard (inside Impactfully).

Applicants visit the foundation's Giving Hub URL to find and complete the application.

Submitted applications flow back into the Applications & Outcomes workspace in Impactfully — ready for you and the foundation to review.

The App Wizard and Giving Hub are two sides of the same system: you configure on this side, applicants experience it on the other side.

Before You Start

Setting up an Application Process takes planning. Before you open the App Wizard, work through the following questions with the foundation. Having clear answers before you start building will save you significant time and rework.

Questions to Clarify With the Foundation

• Who is eligible to apply?  Will you use an Eligibility Quiz to screen applicants before they can access the full form? If yes, what are the qualifying criteria? What should happen when someone does not qualify?
• What information do you need from applicants?  Which sections and fields should be on the application form? Which fields are required versus optional? Are there any fields the foundation uses that are not on the standard template?
• Will you require supporting documents?  Should applicants upload a budget, annual report, financial statements, or other attachments? What file types and size limits are acceptable?
• Do you want a password-protected landing page?  Some foundations prefer to share their application link only with specific organizations rather than making it fully public. If so, you will need to set a site password.
• What should the Welcome Page say?  The Welcome Page is the first thing applicants see. Prepare the foundation's welcome message, any instructions for applicants, and confirm the foundation logo and branding are already uploaded in the system.
• What URL do you want to use?  Each Application Process has a unique URL slug that becomes part of the Giving Hub address. Choose something clean and recognizable — for example, the foundation name or the grant program name.

The Five Components of an Application Process

Every Application Process you build in the App Wizard is made up of up to five components. Not all are required — you mix and match based on what the foundation needs. Here is what each component does and when you would use it.

Component	What It Is	Required?
Welcome Page	The public-facing landing page applicants see first. Displays the foundation's name, logo, tagline, and a custom welcome message. Also contains the 'Start Application' button and any instructions you want applicants to read before beginning.	Yes — every process needs one.
Eligibility Quiz	An optional screening step before the application form. Applicants answer qualifying questions with branching logic — different answers lead to different outcomes. Those who do not qualify are screened out before they can access the full form.	Optional
Application Form	The main grant application form applicants complete and submit. Fields are organized into sections. Each field can be marked required or optional. This is the core of your Application Process.	Yes — every process needs at least one.
Supporting Forms	Additional forms that can be added alongside the main application — for example, a separate budget detail form, a reference form, or a project narrative form. Applicants complete these in addition to the main application.	Optional
Correspondence Email Templates	Pre-written email templates used when foundation staff send messages to applicants through the 'Ask for Information' action. Templates ensure consistent, professional communication without writing from scratch each time.	Optional
Activate & Status	Allows you to turn on the Application Process and view the status of each section	Yes, this allows applicants to access your application

Getting to the Application App Wizard

The App Wizard lives inside the Applications & Outcomes module in Impactfully.

1	Open Impactfully for the foundation you are working in Use the 'Manage Client' button in Enterprise Console to enter the correct foundation's Impactfully instance.

2	Navigate to Applications & Outcomes Click 'Applications & Outcomes' in the left navigation menu.

3	Click the Green Application button on the right-hand side Inside the module, look for a green Application button. Click it to select whether you would like to create a new Application Process or Existing Application Process. The following sections will walk you through both processes.

Creating a New Application Process

The steps below walk you through building a complete Application Process from start to finish. Work through them in order — each component builds on the previous one.

Step 1 — Start a New Process

1	Click 'New Application Process’ Under the Application button dropdown, select the option to create a new Application Process. This opens the process setup screen where you will name and configure the overall process.

Name Your Application Process Page:

2	Give the process a name Enter an internal name for this process. This name is visible to foundation staff in Impactfully — it helps you distinguish between multiple processes. Example: 'Spring 2026 General Grants' or 'Education Initiative Applications'.

3

Set the process public URL Choose the unique URL for this process's Giving Hub page. This becomes part of the public link shared with applicants. Pick something short, professional, and easy to share. Keep it lowercase, no spaces — use hyphens if needed (e.g., 'spring-grants-2026'). The full URL will be: givinghub.foundationsource.com/{foundationId}/{your-slug} This cannot easily be changed after creation — choose carefully.

4	Click Build Application Process Save the initial setup. The process now exists in the system, and you can begin adding components to it.  After you click ‘Build Application Process,’ you will be taken directly to the Welcome Page section on the App Wizard.

Step 2 — Configure the Welcome Page

The Welcome Page is an opportunity to introduce your application process.

1	Add the foundation's branding to the top of the page This logo will appear on the application’s Welcome Page.

2	Click the ‘Include Welcome Page in Application Process’ toggle to turn on the Welcome Page. If the Welcome page is not turned on, your applicants will go straight to the application once accessing the application.

3

Click the “Click Here” link and write the welcome message Enter the custom welcome — this is the text applicants read before starting the application. This should explain who the foundation is, what types of grants they offer, and any important instructions (deadlines, eligibility notes, what to prepare before applying). Keep it welcoming and clear. Applicants may be nonprofits with limited grant experience. Include the grant cycle deadline if there is one. Mention what documents applicants will need to upload so they can gather them in advance.

4

Click Settings and Configure password protection (optional) If the foundation wants to restrict access to invited organizations only, enable password protection and set a site password. The foundation will share this password with applicants when distributing the link. Leave this off for fully public application processes. Click Save to save your changes.

5	Click Preview to view what your Welcome Page will look like to an applicant (optional) This comes in handy to check your work for how an applicant might view this application.

6

Review everything carefully, then move on to the next tab. Read the Welcome Page content one more time — ideally share a preview with the foundation contact for their sign-off. Check: foundation name and logo are correct. Check: welcome text is complete and accurate. Check: password protection setting matches the foundation's intent.

Step 3 — Set Up the Eligibility Quiz (Optional)

Skip this section if the foundation does not need applicant screening. If you do need it, here is how to build it.

1	Click the ‘Include Eligibility Quiz in Application Process’ toggle to turn on the Eligibility Quiz. In the process editor, enable the Eligibility Quiz section.

2

Click Add New Question and either select a pre-created question or Blank question to create your own. Enter each qualifying question one at a time. For each question, define the answer options and the logic for each answer: does this answer pass the applicant through, or screen them out? Example question: 'Is your organization a registered 501(c)(3)?' Example logic: Answer 'Yes' → Show Qualify Message. Answer 'No' → show disqualify message. You can have multiple questions with different branching paths. Click Save on each question you add.

3

After you have added all of your questions, connect them together in the order you desire by updating the conditionals. For each answer, ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ click the Qualify Message Dropdown and select the next question you would like the applicant to answer. On the last of your questions, make sure the Qualifying Answer goes to the eligibility message.

4	Write the eligibility and ineligibility message by clicking on the Messages Compose the message shown to applicants who do not pass the quiz. Keep it respectful and brief — explain that they do not currently meet the eligibility criteria and, if appropriate, suggest when or how they might reapply.

5	Test the branching logic Walk through the quiz yourself answering different combinations of answers to confirm the logic routes correctly. A wrong branch can either accidentally block eligible applicants or let ineligible ones through.

6

Connect the Qualified Message to the Application Click on the Qualified Message and make sure that Next dropdown is connected to your application. You may have to come back to this section after creating an Application to ensure it is connected correctly. NOTE: If the Qualified Message isn’t connected to the Application, the applicants will not be able to complete the application.

Step 4 — Configure the Application Form

The Application Form is the heart of the process. This is where you define every question applicants must answer when submitting their grant request.

1	Navigate to the Application(s) tab and click Create Application Navigate to the Application tab within your process and click the blue Create Application button.

2

Select the starting point of your application and name your application In the pop-up window, you will have the option to do the following: Standard Template: You can select pre-made templates for your purpose. (Basic, Detailed, Scholarship) Your Previous Applications: You can select to copy a previous application. This must be an application that has been created in this foundation. Create From Scratch: You can create an entire application from scratch. After you have selected your starting point, name your application and click Apply. The application will load and appear.

3

Organize the form into sections Forms are divided into named sections. Standard sections used by most Foundation Source applications include: Organization & Contact Information, Application Information, Grant Evaluation, and Attachments. You can rename, reorder, add, or remove sections based on the foundation's needs. You can add sections by clicking the blue plus icon towards the top of the page:

4

Add fields to each section At the bottom of the application page, there is an Add New button. Clicking this button populates a list of question types that can be created to make your own custom questions. Clicking one of these options will allow you to edit the Field and update the name, required or optional, whether it has multiple lines, max characters, description, etc. You can also move the field by clicking and dragging the Move option. Clicking the Star icon on a field and clicking Create a Reportable Field will allow you to make the field visible on the Application Detail page outside of the Application Form.

5	Configure Attachments by selecting a File Upload custom field If the foundation wants supporting documents, add an attachments section and specify what files to request. Let applicants know the file size limit (30 MB maximum per file) and what formats are acceptable.

6

Review the form end-to-end by clicking the Preview button Preview the form from the applicant's perspective if a preview option is available. Check that the field order makes logical sense, all required fields are marked, and the section headings and labels are clear to someone who has never used the system before.

7	Click Settings to make your Application active. By making the application active, you can add it to your eligibility quiz (if you created one). There are also other settings you can manipulate like Duration of the Application and making the application the primary application.

What fields are typically included in a standard application

Organization & Contact Information — Organization Information: Legal organization name, Tax ID / EIN, organization type, website, mailing address, founding year, mission description.

Organization & Contact Information — Primary Contact: First name, last name, title, phone, email of the main contact managing the application.

Organization & Contact Information — Executive Contact (optional block): CEO or Executive Director if different from the primary contact.

Application Information — Application Information: Project name, project description, grant amount requested, project start and end dates, geographic area served, target population.

Application Information — Grant Evaluation: Narrative responses — goals, expected outcomes, how success will be measured, alignment with the foundation's mission.

Application Information — Attachments: Project budget, annual report, financial statements, supporting media. Max 50 MB per file.

Step 5 — Add Supporting Forms (Optional)

Supporting Forms are additional forms that accompany the main application. They are useful when you need information that does not fit cleanly in the main application — for example, a detailed budget breakdown, a reference submission, or a secondary narrative form.

1	Add a Supporting Form to the process In the process editor, navigate to the Supporting Forms tab and add a new Supporting Form component and give it a name that makes its purpose clear to applicants (e.g., 'Project Budget Detail Form').

2	Configure it the same way as the Application Form Supporting Forms use the same field-building interface as the main application. Add sections, fields, and any attachment requests that apply.

3	Set it Active in the Settings tab

NOTE:  Most foundations use a single Application Form without Supporting Forms. Only add Supporting Forms if there is a clear reason — extra complexity in the application process can discourage applicants from completing their submission.

Step 6 — Add Correspondence (Optional)

The Correspondence tab allows you to customize the email templates for the correspondence you will have with the applicant. This tab gives you the ability to create custom and default email templates that can be easily sent out with no rewriting.

1	Click the Add Correspondence button to add a new Correspondence Much like the Application and Supporting Forms, you can choose from a template, a previous correspondence, or create from scratch. Name your Correspondence and click Apply.

2

Configure the Correspondence You can update the following fields in the Correspondence: Title/Name To CC BCC Subject Message These fields will have tokens that can be configured. Tokens are placeholders that auto-fill with personalized data. Tokens automatically update to the listed information when it is sent out in an email. For instance, if there is a token that says, “Applicant Email,” when sent via email, that token will update to the Applicant’s actual email.

3	Save your new Correspondence by clicking the ‘Save’ button Once you are done editing the Correspondence, click the Save button on the top right of the screen.

Publishing and Sharing Your Application Process 

Once you have finished building the process components, you need to publish it and share the URL with the foundation so they can distribute it to potential applicants.

1	Confirm all components are complete Before publishing, do a final check: Welcome Page is saved, Application Form has all required fields, Eligibility Quiz logic is correct (if applicable), and the URL is finalized.

2

Activate or publish the process in the Activate & Status tab Click the ‘Turn On Application Process’ toggle to set the Application Process to active. This makes it live and accessible at the Giving Hub URL. Before activation, the URL returns no content to applicants. At least one application must be active in order to activate the process.

3	Copy the process URL from Impactfully Navigate to Impactfully and select the Applications & Outcomes module. In the Status dropdown, select Manage Application and copy the URL for the Application you just activated.

4

Share the URL with the foundation Give the URL to the foundation's contact (officer, director, or administrative staff). They will distribute it to prospective applicants through their own channels: website, email newsletter, social media, or direct outreach. The foundation is responsible for distributing the link — Impactfully does not automatically notify any applicants. If the process is password-protected, share the site password separately from the URL. Recommend the foundation test the link themselves before distributing it widely.

5

Test the process end-to-end Before the foundation goes live, walk through the application as if you were an applicant: visit the URL, go through the Eligibility Quiz (if applicable), start filling out the form, and verify the experience matches what was configured. Use a test email address — do not submit a real application with your own credentials. Confirm the Welcome Page branding looks correct. Confirm all required fields are working and the form submits without errors. Check that submitted test applications appear correctly in the Applications & Outcomes workspace.

IMPORTANT:  Delete any test applications you submit during end-to-end testing before the process goes live. Test submissions will appear in the foundation's Applications workspace alongside real applications, which can cause confusion during the review process.