SmarterSelect review: application management software for scholarships, grants, and awards. Annual plans with unlimited programs; contact for pricing.
Researched and fact-checked by Bartu Cavusoglu · Updated October 26, 2026
SmarterSelect is a cloud-based application management system for scholarships, grants, awards, and similar programs. It is aimed at non-profit program leads who handle applications through spreadsheets and scattered emails. The company says the software can save 75-85% of administrative time and that more than 600 foundations and non-profits use it.
A program, in SmarterSelect's terms, is anything people can apply for, including scholarships, grants, recognition awards, contests, reports, exams, certifications, and surveys. The platform is built for non-technical users, so staff can build applications without IT help. The company also offers SendGrant, a separate product for disbursing funds to universities and students.
Administrators set up programs and applications themselves in the browser, with no coding. SmarterSelect says setup often takes less than one day and that new customers receive free web conference training. Customers short on time can request a quote for administrative services, in which the company builds programs and applications for them.
Applicants log in with a unique email address and can apply to as many programs as the organization has created. Evaluators use a centralized portal to score applications, and administrators run reports and exports. Email and text reminders help keep applicants and reviewers on schedule as deadlines approach.
Every plan includes unlimited programs, online evaluation, file attachments, and unlimited reports and exports. Administrators can pre-qualify applicants, send email broadcasts and reminders, message applicants, and schedule interviews. Evaluator groups and notes support committee review, while a program library helps reuse earlier work.
Higher tiers add more automation. Enhance introduces online recommendations, app rules that apply if/then logic to questions, and autoscoring. Enterprise adds scholarship matching, award tracking, single sign-on, French and Spanish forms, and Salesforce integration. AI detection and digital payments through SendGrant are listed as further options, with SendGrant requiring an add-on subscription.
SmarterSelect is a cloud-based application management system for scholarships, grants, awards, and similar programs. It lets non-profit program leads build applications, collect submissions, and manage reviewer scoring in one place.
SmarterSelect does not list prices publicly and asks visitors to contact the company. It is an annual subscription based on user count and feature level, with Create, Enhance, and Enterprise tiers. There is no setup fee.
Yes. After a demo with a representative, the company can start a trial with no credit card required. The trial account is for evaluation only and cannot be used for live applications.
It is built for non-profit program leads, foundations, universities, and associations that run scholarship, grant, or award programs. The company says over 90% of its customers are non-profits.
It integrates with Salesforce and with more than 7,000 apps through Zapier, and lists a PayPal integration. Single sign-on supports OAuth, SAML, Abila/netFORUM, GINSystem, iMIS, and Personify.
No. The subscription is for one year and renews automatically, and customers can cancel by notifying the company before or at the renewal date. A 30-day money-back guarantee also applies.
A user is anyone who logs in with a unique email address, including admins, evaluators, and applicants. The count covers the 12-month subscription period, and an applicant to several programs counts once.
Support is included in the subscription, with an in-app help widget, an online support site, and forums. Support hours are 8 AM to 6 PM Central US, Monday to Friday, and email tickets are answered within one business day.