Funding Portals
What are Funding Portals?
Funding Portals are custom entry points that help applicants discover and apply for the right funding opportunities. Think of them as a front door to your grants programme — they guide applicants through a simple screening process and automatically route them to the funds they're eligible for.
Why use a Funding Portal?
Save time reviewing applications — Applicants are pre-screened before they can apply, so you only receive applications from eligible organisations
Improve applicant experience — Instead of reading through lengthy eligibility criteria, applicants answer a few simple questions and get instant feedback
Reduce enquiries — Clear, automated eligibility checking means fewer "am I eligible?" emails
Professional branding — Portals can be customised with your logo, colours, and messaging
Manage multiple funds easily — One portal can route applicants to several different funds based on their answers
Eligibility Quizzes
What are Eligibility Quizzes?
Eligibility Quizzes are the screening questions applicants answer when they visit your portal. Based on their responses, the system determines which funds (if any) they qualify for.
Why use Eligibility Quizzes?
Automatic filtering — Set your criteria once and let the system do the screening
Consistent decisions — Every applicant is assessed against the same rules
Honest feedback — Applicants know immediately if they're not eligible, rather than investing time in an application that won't succeed
Flexible criteria — Combine hard rules (e.g. "turnover must be under £500,000") with AI-powered assessment for more subjective criteria
The Applicant Journey
Here's what applicants experience when they visit your portal.
Step 1: Welcome Screen
Applicants arrive at your branded portal and see:
Your organisation's logo and branding
A welcome message explaining what funding is available
A clear call-to-action to check their eligibility
Step 2: Answer Screening Questions
Applicants answer questions about their organisation, such as:
What type of organisation are you? (charity, CIC, social enterprise, etc.)
What is your annual turnover?
How many employees do you have?
Where are you based?
What do you need funding for?
Who will benefit from your project?
These questions typically take 2-5 minutes to complete.
Step 3: Get Results
After submitting their answers, applicants see one of three outcomes:
Not Eligible
If they don't meet the criteria, they'll see a friendly message explaining this. You can customise this message to suggest alternative funding sources or next steps.
Eligible for One Fund
If they qualify for exactly one fund, they'll see a success message and can proceed directly to the application form.
Eligible for Multiple Funds
If they qualify for more than one fund, they can either:
Choose which fund to apply to themselves, or
Get a recommendation from Pippin, the AI assistant, who will ask a few follow-up questions about their project and suggest the best match
Enabling Portals
Before you can create portals, you need to enable the feature in your organisation settings.
Click Settings in the main navigation menu
Select the Features tab
At the top of the page, click Funder to switch to funder features
Scroll down to the Grant Management section
Find Portals in the list and toggle the switch to enable it
The Portals option will now appear in your Funder menu
Setting Up Your Portal
Step 1: Create a New Portal
Click Funder in the main navigation menu
Click Portals in the submenu
Click the Create portal button in the top right corner
In the modal that appears:
Enter a Portal name (e.g. "Community Grants Portal")
Optionally add a Description to explain what this portal is for
Click Create
Your new portal will appear in the list. Click on its name to open it.
Step 2: Add Funds to Your Portal
From the portal detail page, click the Edit button in the top right
The editor drawer will open on the right side of the screen
Scroll down to the Funds section
Click the Funds in this portal dropdown
Search for and select the funds you want to include
Click Save changes at the bottom of the drawer
Important: Applicants will only be matched to funds you've added here. You can add multiple funds to route applicants to the most appropriate one based on their answers.
Step 3: Set Up Eligibility Questions on Your Funds
The screening questions shown in your portal are pulled automatically from the funds you've added. When you set up eligibility rules on a fund, the questions used in those rules will appear in the portal's screening form.
To add eligibility questions to a fund:
Go to Funder > Funds and click on the fund you want to configure
Find the Eligibility section
Toggle Eligibility screening to enable it
Choose an Evaluation mode:
Conditions only — Use specific rules to determine eligibility
AI only — Let AI evaluate based on your fund description
Hybrid — Combine rules with AI evaluation
Click Add rule to create your first eligibility rule
For each rule, click Add condition to add criteria
Select a question from the dropdown (e.g. "Annual turnover", "Organisation type")
Choose the condition type (e.g. "Between", "One of", "Minimum")
Enter the required values
Click Save changes
How questions appear in the portal:
When you add a fund to a portal, all the questions used in that fund's eligibility rules automatically appear in the portal's screening form
If multiple funds use the same question, it only appears once
Questions are combined from all funds in the portal, so applicants answer everything in one go
The system then checks each applicant's answers against each fund's rules to determine which funds they qualify for
To manage the available questions:
In the fund's eligibility section, click Manage questions
A drawer will open showing all available questions
To add a new question:
Click Add new question
Enter a Label (the question text)
Choose the Type (Number, Dropdown, Checkbox, Yes/No, or Short answer)
Add Options if it's a dropdown or checkbox question
Click Save question
Standard questions (like "Annual turnover" or "Organisation type") are marked with a blue "Standard" tag and cannot be deleted
Step 4: Configure Portal-Level Eligibility (Optional)
You can add an extra layer of screening that applies before checking individual fund eligibility. This is useful for basic requirements that apply to all your funds.
Click Edit on your portal
Scroll to the Portal-level eligibility section
Toggle Eligibility screening to enable it
Choose your Evaluation mode
Click Add rule and configure your conditions
In the Message when not eligible field, enter what applicants will see if they fail this check
Click Save changes
Example use case: If all your funds require applicants to be UK-based charities, you could add a portal-level rule to check this first, rather than repeating it on every fund.
Step 5: Configure Multi-Fund Behaviour
When applicants qualify for more than one fund, you can choose how to help them decide.
Click Edit on your portal
Scroll to the Multi-match behaviour section
For When multiple funds match, choose one of:
Let the user choose — Show all eligible funds and let applicants pick
AI recommends best match — Pippin asks follow-up questions and suggests the best fit
If you choose AI recommendation:
4. Toggle Show alternatives to control whether applicants see other eligible funds after the recommendation
5. Optionally customise the Refinement prompt — this is the text shown when asking applicants to describe their project
Click Save changes when done.
Step 6: Customise Branding
Make the portal feel like part of your organisation.
Click Edit on your portal
Scroll to the Branding section
Configure any of the following:
Logo — Click Upload logo to add your organisation's logo (PNG or SVG, recommended size 200×80px)
Hero header image — Click Upload hero image to add a banner image (recommended size 1200×400px)
Primary colour — Click the colour picker to choose your main brand colour (used for buttons)
Accent colour — Choose a secondary highlight colour
Organisation name — Override the default organisation name if needed
Welcome heading — Custom text shown at the top of the portal
Welcome description — Brief introduction for applicants
A preview of your branding appears below the editor
Click Save changes
Step 7: Set the No-Match Message
Customise what applicants see if they don't qualify for any funds.
Click Edit on your portal
Scroll to the Messages section
Enter your message in the No match message field
Click Save changes
Tip: Use this message to suggest alternative funding sources, provide contact details, or explain what applicants can do next.
Step 8: Share Your Portal
Once your portal is configured:
From the portal detail page, click Copy link to copy the URL to your clipboard
Click Open portal to preview it in a new tab
Share the link:
Add it to your website
Include it in email communications
Share on social media
Send directly to potential applicants
How Questions Flow from Funds to Portals
Understanding how screening questions work will help you set up your portals effectively.
The Question Library
Your organisation has a central library of eligibility questions. This includes:
Standard questions — Pre-built questions like "Annual turnover", "Organisation type", "Region", etc.
Custom questions — Questions you've created specific to your needs
How Funds Use Questions
When you set up eligibility rules on a fund, you select questions from this library. For example:
Rule: "Annual turnover must be between £25,000 and £500,000"
This rule uses the "Annual turnover" question
How Portals Aggregate Questions
When applicants visit your portal, they see a screening form containing:
All questions used in the portal-level eligibility rules (if configured)
All questions used in eligibility rules across every fund in the portal
Example:
Fund A has rules using "Annual turnover" and "Organisation type"
Fund B has rules using "Annual turnover" and "Region"
The portal screening form will show: Annual turnover, Organisation type, and Region
The "Annual turnover" question only appears once, even though both funds use it.
What This Means for You
Add questions to funds, not portals — The portal automatically pulls in the questions it needs based on your fund eligibility rules
Changes cascade automatically — If you add a new eligibility condition to a fund, the question will automatically appear in any portal containing that fund
Keep funds' rules up to date — The portal is only as smart as the eligibility rules you've configured on your funds
Managing Eligibility Rules
Understanding Conditions
Conditions are the building blocks of eligibility rules. Each condition checks one thing about the applicant's answers.
For number questions (turnover, employees, etc.):
Minimum — Must be at least this amount
Maximum — Must be no more than this amount
Between — Must fall within a range
Equals — Must be exactly this amount
For selection questions (organisation type, region, etc.):
Equals — Must match exactly
One of — Must be one of several options
Not equal — Must not be this option
For yes/no questions:
Equals — Must be yes (or no)
Exists — Must have answered the question
Combining Conditions
Within a single rule, all conditions must be met (AND logic).
If you have multiple rules, the applicant only needs to pass one of them (OR logic).
Example:
Rule 1:
Turnover between £50,000 and £500,000
Organisation type is Charity
Rule 2:
Turnover between £25,000 and £250,000
Organisation type is CIC
An applicant would be eligible if they're a charity with turnover in the £50k-£500k range, OR if they're a CIC with turnover in the £25k-£250k range.
Adding Rules and Conditions
In the eligibility section (on a fund or portal), click Add rule
Give your rule a name by clicking on "Rule 1" and typing a new name
Click Add condition to add criteria to the rule
Select a question, condition type, and value
Repeat to add more conditions (all must be met)
Click Add rule again to add alternative rules (any can be met)
Click Save changes
Tips for Effective Portals
Keep it simple
Only ask questions that genuinely affect eligibility. Every additional question increases the chance of applicants abandoning the process.
Be specific in your criteria
Vague eligibility rules lead to edge cases and appeals. Where possible, use measurable criteria.
Test the applicant experience
Click Open portal and go through your portal as if you were an applicant. Is the flow clear? Are the questions understandable?
Customise your messaging
The default messages work, but personalised welcome text and not-eligible messages create a better experience.
Review regularly
As your funding criteria change, remember to update your fund eligibility rules — the portal will automatically reflect the changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have multiple portals?
Yes. You might have different portals for different grant programmes, or create separate portals for different audiences.
Can the same fund appear in multiple portals?
Yes. A fund can be added to as many portals as you like.
What happens if I change eligibility rules on a fund?
Changes take effect immediately for new applicants visiting any portal containing that fund. Applications already in progress are not affected.
Can applicants go back and change their answers?
Yes. If they're shown as not eligible or want to review their answers, they can click Review answers to go back and update them.
How does the AI recommendation work?
Pippin reads the fund descriptions and the applicant's responses, then considers which fund best matches their organisation and project. It provides reasoning for its recommendation.
Can I see which applicants came through the portal?
Yes. Applications track which portal and eligibility responses were used.
Why isn't my question showing in the portal?
Questions only appear in the portal if they're used in an eligibility rule. Make sure you've added the question as a condition on at least one fund (or the portal-level eligibility).
How do I add a new question type?
Go to any fund's eligibility section and click Manage questions. From there you can add new questions that will be available across all your funds and portals.