My first day on the job was scholarship deadline day. I spent the day pulling applications off the fax machine, unstapling application packets, and scanning application documents.

I then spent an enormous amount of time reviewing each application (we received around 200 that year) against the requirements of our 50 scholarships. The process was incredibly time-consuming and, looking back, prone to human error.

I don’t know how we did it! We knew we needed to improve our process so we shopped around for online solutions.

We narrowed our options down to AwardSpring and one other vendor. We decided to go with AwardSpring because it provided all the functionality we needed, without all the extra bells and whistles.

For the number of scholarships we manage and the number of applications we receive, AwardSpring was definitely the best solution. Personally, I was sold, and still am, on the usability, simple interface, and reliability of the software.

We did receive some pushback on the purchase as it was (and still is) a significant financial investment for a small foundation. However, we quickly realized the time and cost savings and everyone recognizes it now as well worth the money!

We’ve been able to significantly cut down the time we spend awarding, from two full days to just one half-day. Even though the process takes less time, AwardSpring, with its auto-matching and filtering capabilities, has allowed us to do a better job of selecting the best award recipients in an effort to stick to the donors’ desires.

Cutting down on these administrative efforts has allowed us to focus more on building and maintaining relationships with our donors. We now have time to seek out and hear the stories behind the scholarships we’re offering.

We use other software at our college and I always find myself wishing their teams would handle their support like AwardSpring does! The AwardSpring support team is always responsive, provides me with “best practice” advice, and volunteers tips and tricks to make my experience even better.

They provide more than basic support to help me get through my one issue; they work to understand my process and address issues from a holistic perspective. They also take a real interest in my feedback and I feel like the team is working on features and enhancements that are applicable to my process and what I’m doing.

I don’t feel lost in the shuffle or that I’m just a number. I always feel heard!

We’ve come a long way since implementing AwardSpring. We’ve nearly doubled the number of applications we receive each year, significantly improved our reviewing and awarding processes, and saved countless hours.

AwardSpring is a really great solution for administering our scholarship management process!