TLDR
Restricted fund tracking in GrantPipe connects the fund, grant, donor restriction, release record, and supporting evidence. Growth teams can manage terms, additions, releases, alerts, and restricted rollforwards. Audit-Ready teams can add evidence package output for auditor review.
The problem
Restricted funds become fragile when the donor restriction, grant award, spending plan, and balance report live in separate places. Staff can spend the money correctly and still struggle to prove it later.
How GrantPipe solves it
GrantPipe keeps restrictions, grant allocations, spending, balances, and reports connected. The fund view shows both the current posture and the record behind it.
For teams that ask about a chart of accounts, this page is the restriction layer behind that accounting structure. GrantPipe does not try to become the general ledger; it keeps grant, fund, release, and evidence context organized so finance can map restricted activity back to the accounts it already closes.
Restricted fund tracking in GrantPipe connects each restriction term to the fund, grant, donation, source document, release record, and supporting evidence. The goal is simple: when someone asks what created a restricted balance, what released it, what evidence supports the release, and what is left, the answer is in the product.
TL;DR
- Growth includes restriction terms, additions, releases, evidence links, alerts, and restricted rollforwards
- Audit-Ready adds evidence package output for auditor review
- Starter keeps basic fund and grant visibility, with upgrade prompts for lifecycle workflows
- Releases are manual-control-first in this release
- GrantPipe does not replace CPA judgment or provide accounting advice
What this feature does
Restricted fund tracking is the operating record for money accepted with restrictions. A federal grant, a donor gift restricted to scholarships, or a board-designated reserve can have its own term, balance, release history, and evidence checklist.
The first version keeps releases manual because teams need control over messy historical records. The system checks available balance, keeps soft-deleted activity out of active math, and links evidence to existing documents or generated reports instead of copying files.
How it works
- Create a restriction term tied to a fund, grant, donation, or source document
- Record additions when restricted money comes in
- Record releases when a purpose or time condition has been satisfied
- Link existing documents or generated reports as release evidence
- Review missing evidence, expired time restrictions, and negative balance risk
- Generate a restricted rollforward for the period
Who it’s for
Finance leads at $500K to $10M nonprofits who currently maintain parallel spreadsheets for every restricted grant. Executive directors who have been surprised at the audit when a restriction showed a different balance than the board report. Grants managers who have been asked by a program officer for a spend-down and spent two days rebuilding it.
Why GrantPipe built it this way
GrantPipe approaches this as product infrastructure, not as accounting advice. The restriction layer is a first-class record that sits beside funds, grants, documents, reports, and activity history. The GL stays the GL. The restriction lifecycle owns the terms, balance movements, releases, evidence, and rollforward output.
What it replaces
- The per-grant spreadsheet tab with a pivot that never matches the GL
- The monthly journal entry to move funds out of restriction
- The two-day scramble to rebuild a funder spend-down
- The audit finding on missing or misclassified net asset releases
- The board report that is two weeks stale by the time it is printed
For organizations on Audit-Ready and Enterprise plans, restricted fund records are also accessible through the Auditor & Funder Portal: external reviewers see the specific grants and fund balances you choose to share, with scoped, expiring access and a full view log - no spreadsheet exports, no inbox threads.
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Q&A
Why does restricted fund tracking matter for a $2M nonprofit?
At $2M in revenue with three to five restricted grants, the reconciliation burden is roughly 20 hours a month in spreadsheets and a recurring source of audit findings. A system of record for restrictions removes both.
Q&A
What is a net asset release?
Under FASB ASC 958-205, funds held with donor restrictions are released to without-restriction status when the purpose or time condition is satisfied. In GrantPipe, teams record the release against the related restriction term and attach evidence for review.
Q&A
Can we pull a funder-specific spend-down report?
Yes. Reports can filter to a single grant, a funder, a date range, or a program. Restricted rollforwards export as CSV, with related evidence links available for auditor review.
Q&A
How is this different from fund accounting in QuickBooks?
QuickBooks classes can tag transactions, but do not enforce restrictions or generate ASC 958 releases. GrantPipe holds the restriction model; QuickBooks holds the debits and credits.
Frequently asked