Case Study: American Kidney Fund

Modernized GMS Transforms How a National Nonprofit Manages $350M in Annual Grants

Opportunity: Overcoming Legacy System Limitations With a Custom Grant Management Systems

The American Kidney Fund (AKF) is a national nonprofit dedicated to fighting kidney disease and improving the lives of people affected by it. Through financial assistance, public education, prevention initiatives, and advocacy, the organization helps patients access essential care and supports them from diagnosis through dialysis, transplantation, and beyond.

An efficient, accessible grant management process is essential to AKF’s mission of providing timely financial assistance to patients with kidney disease. However, its legacy Grant Management System had become outdated, unreliable, and slow for staff to use, creating barriers for applicants and inefficiencies that complicated the delivery of critical support.

AKF needed to modernize their platform to simplify applications, automate complex workflows, improve data reliability, strengthen security, and support compliance requirements. The system also needed to integrate with core business processes and scale to support approximately 94,000 patients and process $350 million in grants annually.

Solution: Accelerate Grant Processing with a Modular, Cloud-Native System

AKF engaged Orases for their expertise in custom nonprofit software to build a modern, cloud-based grant management platform, dubbed “GMS 2.0”, that makes it easier for patients to apply for assistance and for AKF staff to manage requests from application submission through to payment.

GMS 2.0 gives AKF a flexible foundation for growth. Its modular architecture connects with core business systems and third-party tools, allowing staff to refine workflows, add functionality, and expand grant programs without rebuilding the platform

Streamlining Grant Applications with an Intuitive Web Portal

Orases expanded AKF’s grant management system from a tool built for renal professionals into a platform that also serves patients and caregivers. Through a UI/UX redesign, Orases simplified complex workflows across mobile and desktop, making it easier to apply for financial assistance directly or on a patient’s behalf.

A secure web portal brings applicant profiles and grant submissions into one place, making it more seamless to request financial assistance. Applicants can save and reuse their information across grant requests, reducing cognitive load, repetitive data entry, and opportunities for error.

A dedicated admin portal gives AKF staff the flexibility to configure and manage distinct grant programs as needs evolve, without rebuilding the underlying platform. Together, these improvements simplify the application process and give staff greater control over grant operations.

Automating Grant Processing and Payments

GMS 2.0 streamlines and automates the operational workflows that move grant requests from submission through processing and payment, reducing manual work and giving AKF staff greater control throughout the grant lifecycle. Staff can return submissions to patients for updates, respond to questions, and manage follow-up steps within the platform, making the process more efficient and responsive to patient needs. 

Once applications are processed and approved, GMS 2.0 streamlines payment distribution through third-party payment integrations, reducing the hours AKF staff spend managing payments. Previously, AKF printed and mailed more than 300,000 payments annually, most from its headquarters. As part of the shift to a SaaS model, integrated payment services now support batch processing and distribution through prepaid cards, checks, debit cards, and ACH deposits, connecting grant approvals to the efficient delivery of financial assistance. 

Building Custom Reporting and Reliable Data Management

AKF’s previous system offered limited reporting, and extracted data was often unreliable. Orases designed a configurable analytics and reporting environment that allows administrative staff to build customized reports using data collected throughout the system.

Reports can cross-reference cohorts and perform calculations directly within the platform, eliminating the need to export information into separate tools for analysis. A sophisticated database schema provides more reliable, structured data, giving AKF leadership better visibility into operations and the information needed to identify additional efficiency opportunities.

Results: Streamlining the Grant Lifecycle to Deliver Timely Support to 94,000 Patients Annually

Orases replaced AKF’s outdated system with GMS 2.0, a faster, more configurable platform that improved speed, response time, usability, and interaction capabilities for applicants and administrative staff. By automating complex workflows and centralizing grant information, the platform streamlined grant processing, improved data quality and accessibility, and enabled AKF to manage requests more efficiently through an intuitive, user-friendly interface.