# One-Page Funding Portal Spec

*Build a Funding Portal · Track B · Capstone (Lesson 6)*

This page is the brief for whoever builds your portal: your developer, a vendor, or OpenGrants Build. **Part A (seven fields) is also the intake for an OpenGrants Build scoping call.** Complete all of Part A. Keep Part B to a few lines per section.

It should fit on one page. If it doesn't, you're describing features instead of needs.

Where to send it when it's done:

- **OpenGrants Build:** ops.opengrants.io/developers. API subscription $299/month or $239/month billed annually; no upfront cost for the build; the uplift is quoted on the scoping call before you commit; you own the code.
- **OpenGrants Whitelabel:** opengrants.io/contact
- **Hiring:** your developer or contractor, with Track A of this course
- **Another vendor:** with the vendor questions from the path decision matrix

---

## BLANK FORM

### Part A: Intake

**1. Organization name**
______________________________________
(Name members know you by, if different: ____________)

**2. Organization type** (check one)
- [ ] Economic development organization
- [ ] Small Business Development Center
- [ ] Chamber of commerce
- [ ] Incubator or accelerator
- [ ] Membership or trade association
- [ ] Community foundation
- [ ] Other: ____________

Government entity? [ ] Yes [ ] No
Main funding sources for your organization (relevant to procurement and reporting): ____________

**3. Member count**
Number served by the portal: ______ How counted: ____________________
Contacts in CRM / member database: ______

**4. What members need** (3–5 sentences: segments, sources, notification preference, what's failing today with numbers)

______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________

**5. Where the portal lives** (check one, name the platform)
- [ ] New standalone site
- [ ] Inside our website. Platform: ____________
- [ ] Inside our member dashboard / portal. Product: ____________
- [ ] Inside our CRM / member management system. Product: ____________
- [ ] Email-first, with a simple web view

Where members log in today: ____________

**6. Do you have an engineer?**
- [ ] Yes, with time for this
- [ ] Yes, but no time for this
- [ ] No
- [ ] Contractor or agency we already use: ____________

**7. Contact**
Name / title: ____________________
Email / phone: ____________________
Person who approves spending (if different), name / title: ____________________

### Part B: Requirements

**B1. Member segments and tracks at launch**
| Segment | Track | Filter |
|---|---|---|
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |

**B2. Must have at launch** (from requirements checklist)
______________________________________

**B3. Should have soon after**
______________________________________

**B4. Content standards**
- [ ] No eligibility or outcome language; match labels and reasons only
- [ ] Amounts and deadlines as published by the funder, with source links
- [ ] Five-line plain-language summaries with human review process: ____________

**B5. Accessibility and devices**
- [ ] Portal and all emails conform to WCAG 2.2 Level AA
- [ ] Mobile first; emails readable with images off
Legal context (e.g., subject to ADA Title II web rule): ____________

**B6. Data and privacy**
Data we can prefill: ____________
Data we will not collect: ____________
Constraints from policies or funders: ____________
Counsel review needed on: ____________

**B7. Success metrics (with baseline)**
| Metric | Baseline |
|---|---|
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |

**B8. Path, constraints and open questions**
Leaning toward: [ ] Hire [ ] Buy / Whitelabel [ ] Have it built. Why (one sentence): ____________
Our own key dates (board meetings, reporting deadlines): ____________
Open questions for the builder or vendor:
1. ____________
2. ____________
3. ____________

*Don't write a delivery date for the builder or assume a price. List your own constraints and let each provider respond in writing.*

---

## FILLED EXAMPLE (fictional organization)

*Tri-County Economic Partnership is a fictional organization. Names, numbers and contact details below are invented for illustration.*

### Part A: Intake

**1. Organization name:** Tri-County Economic Partnership (members call us "TCEP")

**2. Organization type:** Economic development organization. Government entity: No (nonprofit). Funded partly by our three member counties and an EDA Planning award.

**3. Member count:** About 1,800 member businesses (dues-paying members as of last renewal cycle); 2,400 contacts in our CRM.

**4. What members need:** Our members are mostly manufacturers and main-street businesses under 50 employees, plus about 60 early-stage technology companies from our incubator. They need state and local grants and loan programs, workforce training funds, federal R&D programs for the tech companies, and government contract opportunities by NAICS code, in one place. They want a weekly email, not another login; most read email on their phones. Our resources page has 2 open programs with deadlines out of 44 links, and our program manager fields about 15 funding questions a month.

**5. Where it lives:** Inside our existing member dashboard, where members already log in to renew and register for events. A public funding search page on our website as a secondary entry point.

**6. Engineer:** No. Our website is maintained by a part-time contractor.

**7. Contact:** Dana Whitfield, Director of Business Services, dana@example.org, (555) 010-0142. Spending approval: Marcus Ortega, President & CEO.

### Part B: Requirements

**B1. Segments and tracks**
| Segment | Track | Filter |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturers | Grow & Hire | State and local capital programs, workforce training funds |
| Main street | Local Programs | City, county and regional programs |
| Incubator companies | R&D Funding | SBIR/STTR and state innovation programs, by agency and deadline |

**B2. Must have at launch:** Profile prefilled from our CRM (county, industry, employee band) plus description, certifications and funding interests; ranked matches with a stated reason on every row; opportunity detail page; weekly per-member digest readable without login; standing disclaimer on every view and email.

**B3. Should have soon after:** Contracts view by NAICS and set-aside, with a "get help" link to our APEX Accelerator partner. Staff view of everything closing in 30 days across members, and a zero-match list.

**B4. Content:** No eligibility or outcome language. Amounts and deadlines as published, with source links. Five-line plain-language summaries; staff review a weekly sample and every summary featured in the digest.

**B5. Accessibility:** Portal and all emails to WCAG 2.2 AA; mobile first; readable with images off. Not a government entity; counties we work with are, so we want to meet the same bar.

**B6. Data:** Prefill from CRM. No financial data collected in profiles. Outcome survey optional and reported only in aggregate, suppressing groups under 5. Counsel to review survey wording and member privacy notice.

**B7. Metrics (baseline)**
| Metric | Baseline |
|---|---|
| Members matched | 0 |
| Digest click rate | n/a |
| Advisor requests about funding | About 45 per quarter (two-month inbox sample) |
| Applications started (self-reported) | Not tracked |
| Awards from portal-found opportunities (self-reported) | Not tracked |

**B8. Path and questions:** Leaning toward having it built: the portal must live in our member dashboard and we have no engineer. Our dates: board reviews next year's budget at its November meeting; our EDA annual report is due in the first quarter. Open questions: subscription uplift for this scope; minimum term; handover timing and format; hosting and maintenance after handover; how accessibility is tested; what happens to member data if we end the subscription.

---

## Final review checklist

- [ ] All seven Part A fields complete, including the spending approver
- [ ] Need statement names segments, sources, notification preference and what's failing today, with numbers
- [ ] "Where it lives" names where members log in today
- [ ] Must-haves include a per-member digest that needs no login
- [ ] Content standards ban eligibility and outcome language
- [ ] Accessibility target is WCAG 2.2 AA, including emails
- [ ] Every metric has a baseline or says "not tracked"
- [ ] Open questions listed; no builder timeline or price assumed
- [ ] Fits on one page