What’s New in AwardSpring
Manage applications faster, surface better matches, and make decisions with confidence. This release introduces smarter reporting, a redesigned follow-up experience, and AI-driven Fit Scores to help you focus on what matters most.
#1: Smart Reports: Build reports in 3 simple steps
Building reports just got a whole lot simpler. We’ve replaced the old, fragmented experience with a guided, step-by-step workflow that helps you create exactly what you need.
At the top of the Smart Reports experience, you’ll see two tabs:
Saved Reports: Your central library of all previously created reports on your site. Any new report you create will be saved here for easy access.
Build Report: Where you go to create a new report using the guided workflow.
Step 1: Choose a report type
Begin by selecting a report type. Available options depend on your role:
Scholarship Management administrators: Scholarships with Students
Donor Management administrators: Donor Details and Giving History
Once you’ve selected a report type, click Next to move forward. The report type will remain locked for the current session unless you choose to reset and start over.
Step 2: Apply filters
Next, define your dataset by applying filters. Some report types may include required filters that must be completed before proceeding.
If you need additional filtering, you can open the filter dialog to explore and apply more criteria. This gives you precise control over the data included in your report.
Step 3: Customize columns
In the final step, choose which columns to include in your report and arrange them in your preferred order. This allows you to tailor the output to match your specific reporting needs.
Save, share, or export
Once your report is ready, you can:
Save it to your Saved Reports library for future use
Download it for offline access
Email it directly to recipients listed in the report
Saving reports makes it easy to revisit, refine, and share insights with your team—so everyone stays aligned and works from consistent, up-to-date data.
#2: New look of the Follow-up queue
The Follow-Up Queue now features a cleaner, more intuitive layout designed to help you review student responses faster and move through decisions more efficiently.
Information is organized in a clear, top-to-bottom flow—starting with key application details, followed by student responses needed to confirm payment eligibility, and ending with a final decision section. Everything you need is in one place, making reviews easier to navigate and act on.
Review key details at a glance
At the top, the Details section provides a complete overview of the follow-up item, including:
Current status
Scholarship name
Student information (with a link to the application)
Awarded amount
Other relevant context
This ensures you have all the necessary background before reviewing responses.
Scan responses and attachments
Next, you’ll see the student’s responses presented in a structured, easy-to-scan format. This layout helps you quickly assess whether the submitted information meets your requirements.
If attachments are included, you can:
Preview them directly in the interface
Download them for further review
Make disbursement decisions
At the bottom of the page, you can take action on the follow-up item:
Disburse the scholarship payment
Cancel the disbursement
Request resubmission by providing feedback if responses need updates
Take action in bulk
To further streamline your workflow, you can now use bulk checkboxes to:
Make decisions on multiple follow-up items at once
Send emails to multiple applicants directly from the queue
These updates make it easier to manage high volumes of follow-ups while keeping communication and decisions efficient and consistent.
#3: SpringIQ: Fit Score
Instantly identify your best applicants with a new AI-powered feature — SpringIQ: Fit Score.
Define what “fit” means for each scholarship by setting your own alignment criteria. SpringIQ then evaluates each application and assigns a 0–100 score, giving you a clear, consistent way to understand how well each student matches your requirements. With Fit Score, you can quickly spot strong matches, prioritize your review, and focus your time where it matters most.
Set up your Fit Score in a few simple steps
Add instructions
Describe what a strong applicant looks like for this scholarship. Since this is an AI-powered feature, write your instructions in plain English—just as you would guide a human reviewer. Explain how applications should be evaluated by outlining your key criteria and how they should be prioritized. For example, you might emphasize academic achievement, financial need, leadership, or essay quality. A well-defined rubric ensures scores are consistent and aligned with your goals.
Keep your guidance clear, specific, and focused on what matters most.Select questions to evaluate
Choose which application questions should be used in scoring. Focus on the responses that best reflect your criteria and instructions. You can select up to 20 questions to be considered as part of the Fit Score.Save and apply
Click Save to activate your Fit Score. All applications going forward will be evaluated against this rubric, giving you a consistent and automated way to assess fit.
Tips for best results
Be clear and actionable (e.g., “Give higher scores to students with demonstrated financial need and sustained community involvement. <Explain how points should be distributed>”)
Avoid vague terms like “strong” or “good” without defining what they mean
Call out any must-have or disqualifying factors
Indicate what should be prioritized most in scoring
By combining your expertise with AI-driven evaluation, Fit Score helps standardize your review process while still reflecting what matters most to your organization.
#4: Data Enrichment for Donor Accounts
Unlock a deeper understanding of your donors with expanded data enrichment, now including demographic, financial, and lifestyle attributes such as income, wealth, occupation, interests, and more. This enhanced profile data gives you a more complete picture of who your donors are beyond what they’ve directly shared.
How it works
Once this feature is enabled, donor data is automatically enriched in bulk on a predefined schedule, ensuring your records stay up to date over time.
You can also run enrichment on demand for new or specific donors as needed. To enrich a record, all you need is a combination of:
Last Name
Address
What to expect
As new data points are found, they will appear directly on donor profiles as badges, making it easy to quickly identify enriched attributes and scan for key insights.
Use these insights to refine your fundraising strategy: identify high-potential donors, tailor outreach based on interests and capacity, and build more personalized, meaningful engagement. With better context at your fingertips, you can prioritize efforts more effectively and strengthen long-term donor relationships.