Overview

The Funds tab is a new section in your AwardSpring admin site that turns Funds into structured, manageable objects — not just labels. For the first time, you can create and manage Funds directly, link them to scholarships, add custom fields, and track balances, all from a single place.

Previously, Funds existed only as metadata attached to individual scholarships. Now they're a central object you can build your scholarship stewardship and reporting around.

Where to Find It

The Funds tab appears in the left navigation of your AwardSpring admin site. Select it to view your full list of Funds, create new ones, or open an existing Fund to manage its details.

Setting Up Funding Terms

Before your Fund can track financial activity over time, you'll need to create at least one Funding Term. A Funding Term is a defined date range — similar in concept to an Award Cycle — that segments a Fund's balance and transaction history into distinct periods (for example, by fiscal year or academic year).

Funding Terms are managed separately from Funds themselves and must be set up in Settings before they can be applied.

How to Create a Funding Term

Go to Settings in the left navigation.
Select Award Cycles.
On the Cycles and Terms page, click the Funding Terms tab.
Click New Funding Term.
Enter a name and set the start and end dates for the term.
Save the Funding Term.

Repeat this process to create additional terms for other time periods. Terms are listed in descending order by date.

Creating a Fund

To create a new Fund:

Navigate to the Funds tab in the left nav.
Click New Fund.
Fund ID is the only required field.
Save the Fund.

Linking Funds to Scholarships

Once a Fund exists, you can associate it with your scholarships. This creates a clear, visible connection between the funding source and the awards it supports.

To link a Fund to a scholarship, click on the 'Scholarship's tab and under details enter the Fund ID.

Tracking Fund Balances

You can track financial activity against a Fund using credits and debits:

Scholarship awards are automatically debited from a Fund's balance when an award is processed — keeping your Fund balances current without manual entry.
Manual transactions can be created or edited directly on a Fund for cases like recording external deposits, adjustments, or corrections.

This gives your team a running picture of each Fund's activity over time.

Common Questions

Do I need to recreate Funds I've already been using?

If your team has been entering Fund IDs on scholarships, those IDs will automatically populate once a funding term is created.

Will this change how my scholarships work?

No. Linking a Fund to a scholarship does not change the scholarship's application, review, or awarding process. It adds structure and visibility without disrupting existing workflows.

Who can see Funds?

Access is controlled by your admin permissions settings. By default, Fund management is available to site administrators.