Scaling to new heights 1 STR.Grants and Our Software Solutions 123 Our Software Will Help You Meet...

Scaling to new heights

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STR.Grants and Our Software Solutions

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Our Software Will Help You MeetYour Grants Management Challenges

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About STR

Small business founded in 1985 Offices in Fairfax, Virginia and Baton Rouge, Louisiana Areas of expertise and experience

Grants management expertise 13 years of enterprise-wide grants management system experience Thorough understanding of Federal and State grants management

Software implementation COTS product capabilities Full lifecycle custom software development

Consulting and Services Product implementation and support End-user and technical training Program and project management General management consulting

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Federal Grants Experience Inter-American Foundation (IAF)

Web Application For Grants to Latin America and Caribbean Countries U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Grants database design (DGMS) Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

Developed custom grants management system Went live in June 2002, over 90% paperless within first year Interface with CGI’s Momentum financial system

U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Five years of COTS software experience (2005-2010) (FBMS) Interface added for Grants.gov find and apply

Recovery.gov (OMB) Invited to provide input to Recovery.gov committee. STR.Grants was

only grants vendor invited

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State Grants Experience Mississippi

$3 billion in grants to homeowners as result of Hurricane Katrina Deployed eGrantsPlus three weeks after receiving final requirements Accepted 13,000 applications within first month

Louisiana Largest single housing recovery program in U.S. history Accepted over 200,000 applications and managed over $7 billion in grants Tracked over 10,000 properties and actions on those properties after sale to State

Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Selected eGrantsPlus for agency-wide implementation Implementation scheduled for Q1 2012


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Why Now?

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Federal Grant Recipient Concerns

Because budgets and jobs have been cut, There is “no” time to modify current systems Traditional workaround of using more people to manually gather data

from legacy systems not possible Accuracy of resulting data is being questioned

No systems in place to capture data to meet the new ARRA reporting requirements, like jobs created, and the FFATA reporting requirements

No way to consolidate the data currently in multiple independent systems to allow data to be captured in one location

Administrative delays and infrastructure limitations make internal deployment of any new system difficult

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Recent Reported Audit Findings

Supporting documentation inadequate/insufficient Internal controls lacking separate, specific, and well-documented

policies and procedures for acquisition, rehabilitation, and resale/rental activities

Capacity to administer its allocation of Program funds questionable Staffing (recipient and sub-recipient) overburdened Selection process for approving applicants overburdened

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Recommendations From Audits

Make changes and/or immediately return Program funds to granting agency

Create and maintain policies and procedures to guide decisions to be made

(Grantees need to) perform additional monitoring to ensure that the sub-recipient properly administers the funding in accordance with Federal requirements

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Our Software Solutions

Introduction

Proprietary & Confidential (STR.Grants, L.L.C.) 10


Our Turn-key Solutions Are

Easy to use Quick ROI Web-based user interface Highly scalable Highly configurable …

Grant Programs Application Processing Workflow

End-to-end solution Role-based security Capable of standalone operation or interfacing with other systems Available as subscription service or by license for internal installation



Grants ManagementAllows for standardization of business processes across diverse competitive and formula grant programs while accommodating the unique requirements of each grant program, including application and budget design, processing workflow, and post-award reporting and monitoring. Provides the information needed to meet Federal transparency reporting requirements.

Post-Disaster Financial AssistanceUsed to process over 250,000 applications following Katrina and Rita, this software allows quick response to the financial needs of homeowners and businesses following any disaster. The software accepts applications, tracks the progress of applications including aging metrics, calculates the assistance amount to be provided consistent with policies taking into account the amounts received from other sources, and interacts with closing agencies as funds are disbursed.

Property TrackingProvides ability to track properties and the actions taken for those properties from acquisition to disposition. Developed for use where an organization needs to track the ownership of properties as well as actions being taken on those properties like title search, appraisal, infrastructure work, construction, environmental review, and maintenance and security services.

STR.Grants Software

(Click here for demo of software features)



After you have looked at the products that interest you, click

a button below to proceed

Next SlidePrevious Slide

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Our Goals For This Presentation Were To

Outline The Significant Challenges Of Grants Management Grantee Concerns/ ”Pain Points” Recent Audits Findings And Recommendations

Show How STR’s Software Responds To These Challenges End-to-end Visibility And Management Control Single Repository For Reporting Of Financial And Grants Data Easy-to-use System For Day-to-day Operation A Cost Effective, Turn-key Hosted Solution

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STR.Grants Makes Sense

STR Has The Experience Grants Management Software Development Disaster Relief Property Tracking

STR Has The Solution Modular Financial Assistance & Property Tracking Software

eGrantsPlus Financial Assistance Software eDisasterRelief Post-Disaster Relief Efforts ePropertyPlus Property Tracking Software

This Is What We Do!

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Contact Us

STR.Grants (Fairfax VA) Dean Moore, Business Development Manager

[email protected] 703-460-9011

Bob Kuhnle, CTO and Solution [email protected] 703-460-9009


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Our Software Solutions

eGrantsPlus - Grants Management Software


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eGrantsPlusOur Best-of-Breed Grants Management Software



Grants Management System “Users”

Senior Management – General Oversight Grants Office – Administrative/Process Control Program Office – Project Management Applicants/Grant Recipients

eGrantsPlus can be used by all of these groups

eGrantsPlus provides the data and the functionality that these groups need

Auditors IT Technical Staff (Technical Requirements) Reporting Team(s) – Need to extract data for ad-hoc reporting



With eGrantsPlus, You Can …

Create and Post Solicitations Accept and Process Applications Document Selection Processes Make Selections/Awards Manage Recipients After Award

Progress Reports Financial Status Reports Site Visits Claims Processing

You Can Accept and Process Applications For Financial

Assistance, Documenting All Processing Actions Taken

and Decisions Made

You Can Manage Post AwardActivities And Interactions

With Grant Recipients

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Key Components of 2011 Release

Feature Benefit

Integration Layer eGrantsPlus has enhanced the interface layer to add an Enterprise Service Bus that permits the addition of new APIs and the modification of existing APIs by configuration changes and not code changes. The architecture allows for rapid integration while minimizing any costs associated with establishing and maintaining integration with other products.

Configurable Financials Options

Aligns processing workflow to support client-specific financial processes. Allows configurability by individual grant program. This translates into even greater flexibility for the workflow

Application Evaluation and Processing

Provides more comprehensive audit trail of panel/reviewer scores changes to those scores. Provides date-based permissioning to initiate application review process. Provides streamlined award authorization and approval workflow.

Configuration Enhancements

Provides greater flexibility for aligning progress and financial status reporting timelines to the unique terms of the award. Allows for managing correspondence in bulk or via individual grantee with the ability to tailor the correspondence message to each grantee/program. Provides more flexible review panel configuration, assignment and tracking.

Visibility Enhancements

Provides an added measure of security and flexibility to control of visibility of grant objects (applications, grants, progress reports and financial status reports)



Create and Post SolicitationSolicitation can be delivered in PDF format for distribution.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?><!DOCTYPE FundingOppSynopsis SYSTEM "GrantFundingSynopses.dtd"><FundingOppSynopsis><PostDate>06112011</PostDate><UserID>doiadmin</UserID><Password>xxxxxxxx</Password><FundingInstrumentType>G</FundingInstrumentType><FundingActivityCategory>T</FundingActivityCategory><ExpectedNumberOfAwards>100</ExpectedNumberOfAwards><EstimatedFunding>5000000</EstimatedFunding><AwardCeiling>100000</AwardCeiling><AwardFloor>none</AwardFloor><FederalAgencyName></FederalAgencyName><FundingOppTitle>2011 DOT Transportation Enhancement Grants</FundingOppTitle><FundingOppNumber>DOT-TE-2011</FundingOppNumber><ApplicationsDueDate>07012011</ApplicationsDueDate><ApplicationsDueDateExplanation></ApplicationsDueDateExplanation><ArchiveDate>07312011</ArchiveDate><FundingOppDescription>The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) established the Transportation Enhancement (TE) program…..</FundingOppDescription><CFDANumber>20.205</CFDANumber><EligibilityCategory>01</EligibilityCategory><EligibilityCategory>02</EligibilityCategory><EligibilityCategory>04</EligibilityCategory><AdditionalEligibilityInfo>None</AdditionalEligibilityInfo><CostSharingOrMatchingRequirement>Yes</CostSharingOrMatchingRequirement><ObtainFundingOppText FundingOppURL='https://www.dot.gov/programs/tep/tep-repository/TEP%20Project%20Application%20Fillin%200308.pdf'>FY 2011 Call for NEW TE Applications. The Department of Transportation will be accepting TE applications beginning October 1, 2010 until 3:00 p.m. June 15, 2011. TE projects must fall into one or more of the twelve eligible categories (.pdf, 95K) . A</ObtainFundingOppText><AgencyContact AgencyEmailAddress='[email protected] ' AgencyEmailDescriptor='[email protected]'>Robert L. Kuhnle</AgencyContact></FundingOppSynopsis>

Solicitation can be delivered in XML format for posting to any web site, including Grants.gov.



Create Application RecordFor formula and entitlement programs, application records can be created and submitted in a few as five configurable steps by applicants or staff

Applicant organization is identified

How the applicant is applying is identified

The Program Office and grant program are identified

Application record is created and ready for submission



Create and Submit ApplicationApplication content can include other highl configurable content. This is especially useful for competitive grant programs.

The content of four of the tabs can be configured to be very different depending on program requirements

Application is organized to it easy to navigate and complete



Configurable Application ComponentsApplication narratives are configurable. The user can configure the

- number

- title

- sequence

- allowable number of characters

Application attachments are configurable. The user can configure the - number - title - sequence

Target performance goals and the requirement for a project plan can be specified

Attachment templates can be provided for completion.



Budget Configuration The budget can be configured in any way the user desires

Budgets can be “line-item” budgets. For line-item budget categories, the software has eight available templates for layout of the entries

Budgets can be “roll-up” budgets

Budgets can include features of both

Budgets can be annual, semi-annual, quarterly, or monthly

- line-item budgets

- roll-up budgets



Create and Submit Application

Click “Submit Application” and the application has been submitted and received.

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When all required data has been entered, clicking “Verify Application” will show that all data has been entered.

Anytime during the completion of the application, the user can click “Verify Application” to see a list of required items remaining to be entered.



Review and Evaluate ApplicationOnce the applicant has submitted the application, staff can take one of the configurable workflow actions, including scheduling the application for review.

Staff and Peer Reviews are completed and documented on the Review screen.

The “Show Questions” links display the questions that guide the scoring.

Users enter the category scores and click “Update Category Scores.”

Scores are totaled and ranked automatically.



Options For Processing To Award – Competitive Programs

Program Office Set Performance Period Dates Set Award Amount

Budget/Fiscal Office (Optional) Process Commitments

Grants Office Determine Eligibility Create Header Record For Contract/Financial System (Optional) Send Final Award Document to Applicant for Acceptance (Optional) Process Obligation/Encumbrance (Optional) Complete Award Process



Options For Processing To Award – Formula Programs

Identify Formula Factors For Opportunity Enter and Test the Formula Enter Formula Factor Values and Calculate Grant Amounts Configure Desired Review (Optional) Conduct Review (Optional) Award Grants (Batch Operation)



Traceability Of Actions From Submission to Award

The flow of applications from submission to award is traceable using this standard report .



Progress Reports After funding is approved, configurable progress reports are created for submission on scheduled dates.

Recipients can start to complete the report at any time. The report allows performance metrics and narratives to be included.

Configurable letter or email messages can be triggered automatically to remind the recipient of an upcoming or past due report .

A complete history of correspondence sent to the recipient is viewable at any time.

The first tab identifies the preparer of the report and contains the quantitative performance measures that must be provided when the report is submittedThe second tab contains the project plan that was provided in the application. The recipient must provide an update of each goal before the report can be submitted

The third tab contains the narratives configured for the grant program that must be provided when the report is submitted

The “Documents” tab can be used by the recipient to attach documents



Financial Status ReportsAfter funding is approved, configurable financial status reports are created for submission on scheduled dates.

The FSR is organized by tabs like to grant application and the progress report..

The first tab contains information about the recipient organization

The second tab identified the submitter of the report and any appropriate remarks

The third tab allows the user to enter data about the financial transactions during the period. Data from previous periods is automatically transferred to the “Previously Reported” column

Like the PR, the “Documents” tab can be used by the recipient to attach documents to the FSR



Calendar EntriesOnce the award has been made, the reports and any site visits scheduled for this applicant appear on the application calendar



Site VisitseGrantsPlus provides a very convenient way to schedule and document site visits and generate the correspondence to the recipient about the visit.

Generation of the notification letter is a single mouse click.

Once the site visit has been conducted, the observations and the items needing follow-up can be easily documented.

After documenting the visit, a follow-up letter can be generated.

Both the notification letter and the follow-up letter can be reviewed and sent directly from this screen



Reviewing Existing ClaimsRecipients create claims for reimbursements or for advances.

Shown is a grant (0000012601) that already has two claims, claim 1423 and 1446

A user can view the details of an existing claim by clicking on the claim number link

The history of the claim can be displayed or hiddenseen by clicking the claim status “History” link

The attachment(s) from any claim line item can be viewed by clicking the “Attachment” link. The actual attachment can be viewed by clicking the link for the attachment name

The authorization any claim line item can be viewed by clicking the “Authorizationt” link.

The current state of the applicant budget can be seen by clicking the number of the line item and then the “View Budget Summary” link. Awarded, pending, processed and available amouts are displayed for each budget line-item



The Message on the Claim Information screen indicates that the claim has been successfully created

Creating A ClaimShown is the claim from the previous slide. To create a new claim, click the “New” button

On the “Create New Claim” screen, the user enters the claim type and clicks “Save”

The user clicks the “Add New Line” link to add each new line item

The user must pick the appropriate budget line item

After the other required information is added, the user clicks “Add” to add the line item to the claim

At this point, the user can add attachments to support the claim and submit the claim

When a user attempts to submit a claim, they must authenticate with the software to electronically sign the claim

At this poing the claim has been submitted



Processing A Claim

The user can review the claim by clicking the link at the left of any claim row

The user can take one of three actions with each claim line-item:

- Authorize - Reject - Suspend

If a user elects to authorize a claim line-item, the user must enter the payment type, select a funding source, and enter the amount to be paid

Once a claim has been submitted, it is ready for processing by the staff

When all data has been entered, the user clicks “Authorize” to authorize the payment

When completed, the used clicks “Processing Complete’ to complete the processing action



Submitting a Claim For Payment and Recording Payments Once a claim has been authorized for

payment, it is ready to be submitted for payment by the staff

Claims can be submitted individually or in batch for payment by selecting the claims for submission

The Message appears when the payment has been submitted for payment.

The completion of the payment may be processed automatically by interface to the financial/payment system or manually.

Payments are added manually by clicking “Add Payment”

The details about a payment are entered and “Add Payment” is clicked



FFATA Reporting

Each application that is processed in eGrantsPlus automatically has an associated FFATA report record created.

Clicking on the “Details” link displays the elements of that record in table form.

Clicking on the “Export” exports the data in fixed length row format.



Management Oversight ReportsManagers can check at any time to determine how much of the funds received have been approved, committed, obligated or paid out.

Views are available by - Awarded year - Program Office - Grant Program - CFDA number - Opportunityor any combination of those options. Show here, a report by opportunity will be produced.

Reports are available for all applications, awarded applications, or “not awarded” applications.

Managers can also see reports to show progress and financial status reports coming due or past due.

Shown here is the report for Progress Reports past due.

Clicking on the link in the total column will display a list of the reports either past due or coming due.

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Benefits from eGrantsPlus®

Improved customer service Applicants/Grantees 24/7 online status checks Extensive online help Immediate validation of their input

Can be operated standalone or integrated with financial system Financial system and grants system data never out of sync

Managerial control with complete, accurate, and real time information on all granting activities Prepare for transparency initiatives (FAADS/FFATA/ARRA) Grants.gov interface (find and apply)

Reduction in work load through automated validation Reduction in application review costs

Click a button to proceed

Product List Previous Slide


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ePropertyPlusOur Land Bank Management

and Property Tracking Software

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Create And Maintain Property Records (Land Bank) Assign Property “Owner” Identify, Order, Track, and Monitor Required Actions, e.g.,

Appraisal Environmental Review Title Search

Document Vendor Actions Review And Approve All Input Track Costs By Property, Action, Or Vendor Record Closing And Buyer Information

With ePropertyPlus, You Can

Allows You To Maintain A Land Bank And Track Activities And Costs Associated With Each Property

Demolition

Construction

Closing(s)

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Property SearchProperty Search screen allows search by several property characteristics.

The user enters the search criteria, in this case Property ID, and clicks the “Search” button.

The search results are returned. The user can click on the Property ID link to view the Property Details.

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Property DetailsThe Property Detail Report is the central screen of the ePropertyPlus tool. Everything about a property is displayed on this screen or the user can use links on the page to view the data.

Shown here is the top section of the screen. The next slide will display the bottom section of the screen.

A significant feature of the ePropertyPlus tool is the ability to make all the attached documents related to a property available from a single screen.

Shown here are six of the sub-folders for document attachments. Attachments can be viewed by clicking the “View” link.

Using the “Add Attachment”, “Delete”, and “Move” links, a user can upload attachments, delete attachments and move attachments to a different “folder.”

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Property (Case) Notes

In the top banner of each property-centric screen are links to the Property Notes for the selected property.

A user can view existing notes or add a new note by clicking the corresponding link. Here the user is clicking the “View” link.

The Property Notes have a filter to allow the user to search for specific notes of interest

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Actions Summary

The Actions Summary is displayed at the bottom of the Property Details screen on the previous slide.

This section shows the Actions that are to be taken, the current state of each action, the date of that action, and the assigned vendor.

Where action has been taken, a “View” link is available for the user to view the current data for that action.

Here the user is clicking on the “View” link for the Appraisal action.

This is a typical “Action Details” screen, reached when the “View” link is clicked on the Property Details Report screen. The screen displays the data for the action that was taken, including any entry that was made in the Property Notes and any attachments loaded by the Vendor when the action was completed.

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The user enters the property ID and clicks the “Search” button.

The expenditure data for the property is displayed as a single row as the search results.

The user can click on any expenditure total to drill down to the details about this total.

Expenditure DataThe user can search for expenditure data associated with a property.

In this case, the first level of drill-down shows the expenditure totals by month.

The user can further drill-down to see the specific details by clicking on the amount link for the month of interest.

In this case, there is a second level of detail available to show the individual line-items that contributed to the total on the previous screen.

In this case, the user has clicked on the February total to see the details.

004445

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Standard Reports

ePropertyPlus comes with a full set of exportable standard reports. The user uses the Report Type dropdown to select the report of interest.

In this case, the user has selected the Buyer Race and Ethnicity report.

With the report type selected, the user clicks the “Export” button to export and view the data.

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Property Disposition and LMI Dashboard

Distribution of Propertiesby National Objective Category

Distribution of Propertiesby Method of Disposition

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Benefits from Benefits from ePropertyPlus

Improved customer service Vendors have 24/7 online access and status checks Extensive online help Immediate validation of their input

Can be operated standalone or integrated with other systems Managerial control with complete, accurate, and real time information

on all property related activities Reduction in work load through automated validation Reduction in costs to retrieve and review property related data




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eDisasterReliefAllows Submission and Processing of Applications

for Assistance After a Disaster

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Accept And Process Applications Associate Unlimited Attachments With Each Application Document Eligibility Criteria Interface With Other Benefits Sources

Insurance Companies FEMA SBA

Document And Make Selections/Awards Manage Recipients After Award

Process Adjustments Recapture Funds Incorrectly Paid Review And Close Records

With eDisasterRelief, You Can

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Home Page & Aging Reports

Staff home page shows the current distribution of applications by status.

For each status, there is a link to show a report of the aging of applications in that status.

For each day range, the link provides a list of reasons why applications are “stuck” in a status and cannot be processed.

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Applicant Data ReportThe menu system has been designed to allow users to quickly find and access the necessary data. A user can click on a menu heading and then on any item on that menu to display the requested screen.

The resulting search screen allows a user to search for a specific application (shown here) or applications in a particular status or from a particular geographic area (county) or processed from a specific service center.

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From this screen, the user can view all data about the application by clicking on the application ID link.

The user can see the option entry report by clicking the View option.

The user can view the Case Log by clicking on the case log view link.



Applicant Report Applicant Information Co-Applicant Information Relative/Friend Information Eligibility Information (Questions Configurable) Damaged Property Information Estimate of Structural Damage Insurance & Lawyer Information Lienholder Information Occupant / Household Member Information Homeowner Information Tax Record ID Information Income Information Service Center Checklist Answers (Questions Configurable) Attached Files

All Available From A Single Screen

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Attachment ProcessAttachments are grouped in configurable folders to make it easier to find documents.

Double-clicking the link opens each folder to allow contents to be viewed.

Within each folder, the attachments are grouped by configurable document types, again to simplify searching for documents.

The document name is a link that allows the user to open and view the attachment.

Attachments are stored in the database or in an external document management system. Location is transparent to the UI user.



Approve Grant Amounts ScreenUsers can retrieve the screen that allows review of the eligibility and grant calculation information.

To search for information for a specific application, the application ID is entered.

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From the search results screen, a user can navigate to the Approve Grant Amounts screen by clicking the Application ID link.



Approve Grant Amounts Screen Details

Property Information Applicant/Homeowner Information Title Search Information Appeals, Lawsuits, and Duplication of Benefits Information Eligibility Information Frozen Values From Letter(s) To Applicant Information about Disbursed Amounts Information About Amounts Currently Eligible Data Feed History (To and From Closing Agency)



Calculation InformationOption

Letter Values Values Frozen Before First

Closing

Sum of All Previous Closings

Pending Adjustments

(If Any)

Current Eligible

Amounts

Net Amounts – Taking Into

Account Any Return of Funds

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Benefits from eDisasterRelief

Improved Customer Service Applicants Have 24/7 Online Access To Check Status Of Application Immediate Validation Of Their Input

Can Be Operated Standalone Or Integrated With Other Systems Managerial Control With Complete, Accurate, And Real Time

Information On All Application Related Activities Reduction In Work Load Through Automated Gateway Checks Reduction In Costs To Retrieve And Review Data

Application Information Visible From Single Screen Grant Calculation Information Available From Single Screen



Scaling to new heights 1 STR.Grants and Our Software Solutions 123 Our Software Will Help You Meet...

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