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

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BLANK FORM

Part A: Intake

1. Organization name

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(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)

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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

B2. Must have at launch (from requirements checklist)

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B3. Should have soon after

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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)

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.

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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, [email protected], (555) 010-0142. Spending approval: Marcus Ortega, President & CEO.

Part B: Requirements

B1. Segments and tracks

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)

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.

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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