Submittable

Submittable is a software company based in Missoula, Montana that sells full-lifecycle grant management software and corporate social responsibility (CSR) tools. The platform covers the stages of a giving program: a drag-and-drop form builder with custom logic and eligibility checks, application intake from individuals and organizations, multi-stage customizable review workflows, identity verification and fraud prevention, awardee agreements, fund disbursement with budget drawdown tracking, and reporting and analytics across programs. Related capabilities include real-time collaboration and in-app communication, an organization portal for team coordination, a CRM-like view of applicants, and integrations such as Candid Charity Check.

Alongside the grantmaker-facing product, Submittable offers employee giving and volunteering features that let employees receive campaign notifications, donate, sign up to volunteer, register for employee resource group meetings and check account balances without logging into a separate CSR tool. A separate public marketplace, Submittable Discover, lets individual submitters and applicants search free listings of opportunities including creative calls, grants, fellowships, scholarships, residencies and contests, and apply through a free individual account.

The company originated as Submishmash, a marketplace platform intended to connect writers and agents, and was repositioned as a tool for publishers to accept media-intensive submissions before expanding into grants and social impact programs. Submittable, WizeHive and Bright Funds now operate as one organization, with Submittable continuing to support the Bright Funds, Zengine and Next (formerly NextZen) product experiences.

Founding story

Michael FitzGerald, Bruce Tribbensee and John Brownell, University of Montana graduates and college friends, co-founded the company in Missoula in 2010 after the recession left them piecing together writing, filmmaking, music and coding work. FitzGerald spent roughly 18 months building a marketplace to connect writers and agents under the original name Submishmash; when that proved hard to sell, the team redeveloped it as a tool for publishers to accept submissions and renamed it Submittable.

Business model

Submittable sells software to organizations that run giving, granting and employee engagement programs, with a sales-led motion (demo requests, sales contact, customer success for billing and upgrades) and participation in customer RFP processes for grants management and CSR software. Applicants and submitters use the platform and the Discover marketplace at no charge on the individual side.

Revenue comes from organizational customers licensing the grant management and CSR software; upgrades and billing are handled through customer success. Some Discover marketplace opportunities are listed with submission fees.

Traction

The company reports 165,000+ programs supported and more than $10 billion in funds managed on the platform, with 89% of customers launching a new program in two weeks or less and three-quarters describing the software as easy or very easy to use. In 2018 it claimed 10,000 clients across 124 countries, revenue in the millions of dollars, and growth from 26 employees in spring 2017 to 72. Between its Series B and its 2022 Series C the team nearly doubled.

Latest developments

Submittable, WizeHive and Bright Funds now operate as one company while continuing to support the Submittable, Bright Funds, Zengine and Next (formerly NextZen) product experiences, and Submittable offers a Bright Network registration path for nonprofits. Product marketing highlights grant management, employee giving and volunteering modules and a demo center with product videos and interactive demos.