What is The Grant Gateway?

The Grant Gateway is the AmeriCorps grant application and review system — a purpose-built platform designed specifically for state service commissions that administer AmeriCorps Formula grants. It provides a complete grant application system for collecting, reviewing, scoring, and managing grant applications — replacing spreadsheets, email chains, and generic tools with a streamlined, auditable workflow.

Who built The Grant Gateway?

The Grant Gateway is built by America Learns, a company that has partnered with the AmeriCorps community since 2003. With over two decades of experience serving state service commissions, AmeriCorps programs, and national service organizations.

How much does The Grant Gateway cost?

The Grant Gateway is one annual license — Unlimited Competitions — at $7,500 per year, or $3,500 per year for organizations using the America Learns Impact Suite. Summer pricing is $4,500 through September 1, 2026. The license includes unlimited applicants, reviewers, and commission staff.

Does The Grant Gateway support the Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF)?

Yes. The Grant Gateway supports multiple concurrent competitions, so your commission can run Formula, Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF), and any other grant competitions simultaneously — each with its own timeline, application template, scoring rubric, and reviewer pool.

How quickly can our commission get started?

Your commission can go live in as little as one day. The Grant Gateway is a cloud-hosted SaaS platform — there's no software to install, no servers to configure, and no lengthy implementation process.

Is The Grant Gateway secure and compliant for government use?

Absolutely. The Grant Gateway is a secure platform with encryption at rest and in transit, WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, complete audit trails, and multi-tenant data isolation.

How does The Grant Gateway compare to other grants management platforms?

Unlike general-purpose grants management software (such as Submittable, Fluxx, or Foundant), The Grant Gateway is the only AmeriCorps grant application and review system purpose-built for Formula grant competitions. This specialization means less configuration, faster setup, and a platform that fits your process out of the box.

Can our state procurement office sole-source this?

Yes. The Grant Gateway is a purpose-built, niche solution specifically for state service commissions managing AmeriCorps Formula grant applications. There is no comparable off-the-shelf product. A sole-source justification template is available upon request. America Learns is registered on SAM.gov with an active UEI.

Why was The Grant Gateway created?

When AmeriCorps shifted to block grants, state service commissions suddenly needed their own systems to collect and review Formula grant applications — a process previously handled at the federal level. The Grant Gateway was built to solve that problem with a dedicated, compliant, and easy-to-use platform.

What features does The Grant Gateway include?

The Grant Gateway includes a flexible form builder, structured reviewer scoring with customizable rubrics, conflict-of-interest management, real-time reviewer progress tracking, in-platform clarification requests and resubmissions, aggregated score ranking, exportable reports, and a branded applicant portal with custom welcome video support.

How does reviewer management work?

Commissioners can invite internal or external reviewers and assign them to specific applications. Built-in conflict-of-interest disclosure and recusal tools ensure fair, unbiased reviews. Reviewers score independently using your custom rubric — they cannot see each other's scores.

AmeriCorps grant management

The AmeriCorps grant management platform
built for state service commissions

The Grant Gateway is AmeriCorps grant application software built for the commissions that administer Formula and Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) competitions — and even competitions for governor's service awards, mini grants, VISTA applications, and host site applications. It replaces spreadsheets, shared drives, and general-purpose submissions tools with a single, auditable system that fits how AmeriCorps commissions actually work.

Built for the AmeriCorps grant lifecycle

Application intake, structured peer review, conflicts of interest, clarifications and resubmissions, scoring, and award decisions — all in one workflow designed for state service commissions, not adapted from a generic submissions tool.

2 CFR 200 — defensible by design

Every action is captured in an immutable, timestamped audit log: submissions, score changes, COI events, returns, and decisions. When auditors or AmeriCorps ask for the trail, you can produce it without hunting through inboxes and shared drives.

Formula, VGF, and any other competition

Run multiple concurrent competitions, each with its own template, rubric, reviewer pool, and timeline. Switch from Formula to VGF without buying another tool or rebuilding your process.

Live in as little as one business day

Cloud-hosted. Nothing to install. AmeriCorps-aware templates for application, budget, attachments, and performance measures are ready out of the box — your team configures what's specific to your commission and launches.

What commissions get on day one

Notice of Intent collection, decisioning & hard gate to the application
AmeriCorps-aware application, budget, attachment & performance-measure templates
Blinded peer-reviewer scoring with custom rubrics
Structured conflict-of-interest disclosure, recusal & resolution workflow
Risk assessments linked to each award, with edit history
Two-way clarifications & resubmissions in-platform
Immutable audit log covering every submission, score, return, and decision
Security posture dashboard for commission admins
Unlimited applicants, reviewers, and commission staff
Sole-source procurement template — SAM.gov registered with active UEI

Why commissions switch

Most commissions arrive carrying a system that wasn't built for AmeriCorps: a generic form builder, a CRM bolt-on, or a stack of spreadsheets and email threads. The cost shows up as returned applications, missing audit evidence, and reviewers who can't get a clean rubric in front of them.

The Grant Gateway is the dedicated AmeriCorps grant application and review system. The compliance rules, the COI workflow, the reviewer experience, and the audit trail are first-class — not features you have to configure into a general tool.

See it on your Formula or VGF competition

Walk through the platform with a member of our team and see exactly how your commission's next competition would run on The Grant Gateway.

Schedule a demo View pricing

The AmeriCorps grant management platformbuilt for state service commissions