Choosing scholarship and grant management software is a high-stakes decision. The right platform can reduce administrative work, improve reviewer consistency, protect applicant data, and give leadership clearer reporting. While SmarterSelect is a recognized option for application and award workflows, many organizations compare alternatives when they need different pricing, deeper integrations, stronger reporting, or a more specialized grantmaking environment.
TLDR: The best SmarterSelect alternative depends on whether your priority is scholarship administration, grantmaking, reviewer management, or donor reporting. For example, a community foundation processing 1,200 applications annually might save 25-40% of staff review time by moving to a platform with automated eligibility screening and scored reviewer workflows. Strong options include Submittable, SurveyMonkey Apply, AwardSpring, Blackbaud Award Management, Foundant, WizeHive, and Kaleidoscope. Before switching, compare total cost, support quality, data migration, integrations, and reporting depth.
What to Look for in a SmarterSelect Alternative
Before reviewing vendors, define what is not working in your current process. Some teams need a cleaner applicant experience; others need more control over reviewer assignments, conflict-of-interest rules, payment tracking, or post-award reporting. A serious evaluation should include both program staff and finance, IT, compliance, and leadership stakeholders.
- Workflow flexibility: Can the system handle renewals, multiple award cycles, eligibility logic, and custom scoring rubrics?
- Reviewer management: Look for blind review, reviewer groups, recusal tools, scoring calibration, and clear audit trails.
- Reporting: Strong dashboards should show submission volume, demographics, award decisions, funding allocations, and year-over-year trends.
- Integrations: Consider CRM, student information systems, accounting software, payment tools, and single sign-on.
- Security and compliance: Confirm data encryption, permission controls, retention settings, and vendor documentation.
1. Submittable
Submittable is a strong fit for organizations that manage scholarships, grants, fellowships, awards, and community programs from one submission platform. It is known for a polished applicant interface and flexible review workflows, making it suitable for foundations, universities, associations, and public-sector programs.
Administrators can build custom forms, collect attachments, assign reviewers, and communicate with applicants inside the system. Submittable is particularly useful when an organization runs several program types and wants a consistent intake and evaluation process. Its reporting tools are practical, though complex data analysis may still require exports or integration with business intelligence tools.
Best for: Organizations seeking a modern, broad-use submission and review platform.
2. SurveyMonkey Apply
SurveyMonkey Apply is designed for application-based programs such as scholarships, grants, awards, and academic opportunities. It offers configurable applications, eligibility screening, reviewer portals, automated notifications, and workflow tracking.
One of its advantages is familiarity. Many users already know the SurveyMonkey brand, which can reduce training friction for smaller teams. The platform is especially effective for programs that need structured forms, scoring, and decision management without building a system from scratch. It can work well for midsize scholarship offices or nonprofits that need reliability and a clear administrative interface.
Best for: Teams that want a structured, recognizable application management platform with solid review features.
3. AwardSpring
AwardSpring focuses heavily on scholarship management, especially for colleges, universities, foundations, and education-focused organizations. Its strengths include application matching, donor fund management, award packaging, and renewal workflows.
For scholarship teams managing many funds with different eligibility rules, AwardSpring can be a compelling alternative. Instead of asking students to complete many separate applications, administrators can use a more centralized approach that matches applicants to relevant opportunities. This can improve completion rates and reduce applicant confusion.
Its scholarship-specific design is a major advantage, but organizations running broader grant programs may want to confirm that it fits non-scholarship workflows before committing.
Best for: Education institutions and foundations with complex scholarship funds and eligibility matching needs.
4. Blackbaud Award Management
Blackbaud Award Management, formerly associated with AcademicWorks, is a mature option for institutions already using Blackbaud products. It is commonly used by higher education institutions to manage scholarships, stewardship, donor reporting, and student applications.
The platform’s value is strongest when paired with a broader advancement, fundraising, or financial aid ecosystem. It can support fund compliance, scholarship matching, committee review, and communication with recipients. For institutions that need alignment between scholarship awards and donor stewardship, this can be a serious advantage.
However, organizations should review implementation timelines, data structure, and licensing costs carefully. Enterprise-level platforms can provide depth, but they also require internal ownership and process discipline.
Best for: Colleges and universities that need scholarship management connected to advancement and donor data.
5. Foundant Grant Lifecycle Manager and Scholarship Lifecycle Manager
Foundant offers two well-known platforms: Grant Lifecycle Manager for grantmakers and Scholarship Lifecycle Manager for scholarship providers. This separation is useful because grant management and scholarship management often require different workflows, terminology, reporting, and compliance steps.
Foundant is widely used by community foundations, private foundations, and nonprofit grantmakers. Its strengths include application intake, evaluation, grant agreements, follow-up reports, payments, and historical records. For scholarship programs, it supports student applications, committee reviews, award tracking, and renewals.
The platform is often appreciated for its sector focus and knowledgeable support. Organizations that want a vendor deeply familiar with philanthropy and foundation operations should include Foundant on their shortlist.
Best for: Foundations and philanthropic organizations that need purpose-built grant and scholarship lifecycle tools.
6. WizeHive Zengine
WizeHive Zengine is a flexible platform for grants, scholarships, fellowships, awards, and other application-based programs. It is known for configurability and can be adapted to complex workflows that do not fit neatly into standard templates.
Zengine is a strong candidate for organizations with multiple departments, unusual approval paths, custom data structures, or advanced automation needs. Administrators can configure forms, portals, reviews, dashboards, and communications. This flexibility can be valuable, but it also means buyers should clarify implementation scope and administrative training requirements.
If your current process includes many exceptions, manual spreadsheets, or custom status tracking, WizeHive may offer the structure needed to standardize operations without oversimplifying them.
Best for: Organizations with complex, customized program workflows and multi-stage review processes.
7. Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope is a scholarship and grant management platform with a strong emphasis on applicant experience, branded programs, and sponsor visibility. It is often used by corporations, foundations, and organizations running public-facing scholarship programs.
The platform can help organizations launch application portals, manage eligibility, coordinate reviews, and promote opportunities to applicants. For sponsors that care about brand presentation and outreach, Kaleidoscope can be attractive. It may also be useful for organizations that want to expand applicant reach rather than simply digitize an existing process.
As with any platform, buyers should evaluate reporting, data ownership, export options, and long-term program administration features alongside the front-end experience.
Best for: Scholarship providers that value applicant reach, branding, and a streamlined user experience.
How to Choose the Right Platform
Do not choose software based only on a demo. A polished presentation may not reveal how the platform handles edge cases, incomplete applications, reviewer disputes, post-award documentation, or annual renewal cycles. Ask vendors to walk through your actual workflow using sample data, including your most complicated eligibility rules.
- Map your current process from application launch to final reporting.
- List required integrations, including finance, CRM, student data, email, and identity management.
- Request realistic pricing, including implementation, training, support, storage, and added modules.
- Check references from organizations with similar program size and complexity.
- Plan migration carefully, especially if historical applications, awards, and reviewer notes must be retained.
Final Thoughts
The strongest SmarterSelect alternative is the one that matches your program’s operating reality. AwardSpring and Blackbaud Award Management are especially relevant for scholarship-heavy institutions, while Foundant is a trusted option for foundations and grantmakers. Submittable, SurveyMonkey Apply, WizeHive, and Kaleidoscope each offer different strengths in flexibility, applicant experience, and program visibility.
For the best result, treat the selection as a governance decision, not just a software purchase. The right platform should give applicants a fairer process, reviewers better tools, and administrators reliable data for decisions that affect real funding outcomes.