5 Accessibility Considerations for Grant Application Forms
- Nonprofit Learning Lab
- 48 minutes ago
- 5 min read
This is a guest blog.
At its core, grantmaking is about empowering individuals, groups, and nonprofits driving change in the world. The easier it is for these people and organizations to apply for funding, the faster they can put it to work.
Creating a smooth experience starts with intentional, inclusive design. In this article, we’ll dive into some grant application best practices that promote accessibility and ensure no vital project gets left behind.
Clear Expectations & Guidelines
Effective grant management starts even before grant applicants fill out a form. Different grantmakers will have different requirements, so before potential recipients invest time into writing a comprehensive application, provide them the full picture of the grant scope and stipulations.
Make the following aspects of your funding opportunity clear on your grant website:
Clear compliance guidelines: OpenWater recommends defining eligibility criteria for every grant you offer to ensure individuals and organizations only spend their valuable time on funding opportunities that fit their current status and needs.
Transparent timelines: Provide a comprehensive timeline that includes application closing dates, internal review periods, and final award announcements to help applicants manage their time and manpower effectively.
Required project stage: Explicitly state whether a grant is meant for early-stage ideation or in-progress initiatives so your funding goes toward projects with a well-aligned maturity level, maximizing each grant’s impact.
Upfront attachment and budget requirements: Detailing required documents like work plans and budget templates in your instructions gives applicants the lead time they need to gather these resources.
Clarity about the preliminary stages of a grant application round reduces applicants' anxiety and helps them pace themselves to make accurate submissions. For you as a grantmaker, it ensures that reviewers only evaluate submissions that align closely with your organization’s regulatory standards and funding priorities.
User Experience (UX) & Intuitive Design
Application forms are a make-or-break aspect of your grant process. When an application form is simple, straightforward, and easy to navigate, it is easier for applicants to fill it out accurately from start to finish.
Keep in mind these design considerations for application forms to create a user-friendly experience:
Intuitive interface and easy navigation: Prioritize a clean user interface that is easy to scroll through and organized in a logical manner.
Linear, predictable layout: Use a single-column layout to guide the eye naturally down the page, and facilitate continuous reading flow.
Clear progress status: Integrate a visual progress bar to show applicants exactly where they are in the process.
Pre-submission review: Provide a comprehensive, single-page summary to allow applicants to review their responses before submitting their forms.
Font contrast and readability: Select sans-serif fonts and high-contrast font color pairings, such as dark text on a white background, so text remains legible under all conditions.
Web and mobile friendliness: Ensure that forms are also fully responsive on a desktop site as well as a mobile browser or app. Strategic Association Solutions recommends manually testing mobile responsiveness and cross-checking with online tools to identify any necessary improvements.
Good application form design isn't just about looks. It respects the applicant's time, making sure technical glitches or confusing layouts don't get in the way of them sharing their story and making their case.
Thoughtful application form design goes far beyond aesthetics. It respects the time of dedicated nonprofit leaders and staff, ensuring that platform issues do not divert their focus from communicating their mission and impact in their application.
Technical & Assistive Technology Compliance
Inclusivity also involves designing your grant application form to work with the everyday tools that applicants with disabilities use, such as screen readers or specialized keyboards. Making these adjustments to your forms minimizes digital roadblocks and creates a welcoming application experience for everyone.
Some key technical compliance factors to consider are:
Screen reader compatibility: Embed clear text labels into every input box and dropdown so audio screen-reading software can read your questions aloud to blind or low-vision applicants.
Keyboard-only navigation: Check that applicants can navigate every question, button, and checkbox using the Tab, arrow, and Enter keys, allowing individuals with physical disabilities to complete their application smoothly.
Clear and descriptive error messages: Provide descriptive alerts if an applicant misses a question or enters incorrect data, and automatically guide their cursor back to that specific field.
Investing in grant software that enables you to meet these standards ensures that technical difficulties don’t prevent anyone from securing the funding they deserve.
Digital Access & Platform Flexibility
Accounting for the diverse environments where grant applicants work, including varying internet speeds, devices, and unpredictable schedules, can also make your grant application form easier to access. Anticipating these real-world challenges protects applicants from losing hard work and lowers the barrier to entry.
To build a more flexible application process, ensure your grant portal includes these features:
Low connectivity requirements: Optimize your system to load quickly on slow or unstable networks, so applicants in rural areas or with inconsistent internet access can apply without issue.
Automatic saving: Implement a frequent auto-save feature that preserves progress in real time as the applicant types.
Flexible session timeouts: Provide clear, early warnings before logging a user out, alongside a simple one-click button to extend the session.
Downloadability: Offer downloadable PDF or Word versions of each application to allow teams to review questions and draft their answers offline before logging into the portal if they prefer.
Collaborative drafting: Allow multiple users to access the same draft of the applications to enable grant writers to co-complete the form.
Other language options: Translate your application forms and guidelines into the primary languages of your target communities to reach a more diverse pool of grassroots organizations.
Make sure your application management software offers this platform flexibility so it’s easy to implement across different funding opportunities.
Support & Feedback
Providing accessible support and open communication builds trusting relationships with applicants even after the first grant they applied for is awarded, which is important, especially in uncertain funding environments. When you prioritize responsiveness as a funder, you uncomplicate the application process and foster true partnership with the applicants.
Incorporate the following practices into your grantmaking process to ensure that potential grantees feel supported:
Dedicated contact information: Provide a specific phone number and email address specifically for troubleshooting issues.
Open office hours or live Q&A: Host live, accessible sessions where applicants can ask direct questions about specific grants’ guidelines, and always publish a transcript or recording afterward for those unable to attend.
Constructive feedback on declined applications: Offer clear, actionable feedback to rejected applicants to help them strengthen their proposals for future funding opportunities.
Integrating these supportive practices transforms the grantmaking process from a one-way screening process into a collaborative system. By maintaining open lines of communication before, during, and after decisions are made, you can invest in the long-term growth of your applicants and, by extension, their projects.
Accessibility is a powerful bridge that connects meaningful initiatives with the resources they need and deserve. By designing welcoming, intuitive application processes, you can reach a more diverse pool of potential recipients and empower transformative work that benefits the broader community.
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