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Email Communications: Default Setup & Recommendations

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Micall Searles
Micall Searles
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Contents

Overview

This guide shows Program Admins which email communications in an award cycle are set up by default and our “best practice” recommendations for customizing your setup.

🔍Looking for detailed info about email triggers? ➜ See the guides linked at the bottom of this article.

Key Terms

Here are a few terms you’ll see throughout this article. 

Term What It Means
Trigger The action that sends an email (e.g., applicant clicks "Submit").
Template The email content that gets sent (Found in the Template Library).
Template Library

The “filing cabinet,” where you view, create, and manage email templates.

To access: Open the Award Cycle > Go to Communications > Template Library
Setup 

The “control center,” where you choose which emails to send and when. 

To access: Open the Award Cycle > Go to Communications > Setup. 

Before You Begin: Two Types of Emails

Next uses two types of emails:

  1. Emails You CAN Manage ➜ 🌟The focus of this article.
    • Found in Communications > Setup. 
    • You can add, remove, or change when they send.
       
  2. Emails You CANNOT Manage ➜ System-generated emails that send automatically. 

Emails You Can Manage 

How Email Communications Work 

Each award cycle in Next includes a set of standard email templates. 

  • Many emails are “set up by default” and already active. 
  • Others must be added manually.

⚠️ You can change your Communications at any time, even after publishing your cycle. 

Where to Manage Email Communications in Your Award Cycle 

To access email communications: 

  1. In an award cycle, click Communications in the left-hand menu. 
  2. Under the Communications dropdown, you'll see two tabs: Setup and Email Template Library.

    📌Note: If your organization has SMS enabled, you'll see a tab for that, too. 


 

Email Template Library

  • Your “filing cabinet” for templates in your award cycle. 
  • Templates are categorized by workflow stage: Intake, Review. Award. Post Award 



    ➜ From here you can: 
    • View existing templates 
    • Duplicate templates
    • Create custom templates 
    • Delete templates 

      📌Note: Published templates cannot be edited - you can duplicate one to make changes, or delete and create a new template with the desired content.

➜ For instructions on how to manage email templates, see ➡️How to Manage Your Email Communications Template Library.

Setup

  • Your “control center” for email behavior in your award cycle. 
  • Emails are grouped by workflow stage: Intake, Review, Award, Post-Award



    ➜ From here you can: 
    • Remove emails that are “set up by default” 
    • Add custom emails to trigger conditions 
    • Change the timing of when emails are sent  
       

  • What “Set Up By Default” Means

    • Emails that are "set up by default" are automatically included in your setup: 
      • You can remove them if they’re not needed. 
         

  • When Emails Send: Immediate vs. Scheduled 

    • There are two timing options for sending emails:
      • Immediate: Sends as soon as the trigger happens. 

        📌 Note: All the emails set up by default include “Immediate” timing. 
         
      • Scheduled: Sends a certain number of days before/after a trigger happens.
         
        • Before: Sends X number of days before the trigger happens (for example, a reminder sent 7 days before an application deadline).
        • After: Sends X number of days after the trigger happens.

📌 Note: If you want to send Before/After emails, you must add them to your setup. 

💡 Tips for Managing Your Email Setup:

  • Delete emails you don’t need from your setup and library. For example, if you only accept Individual applications, delete the Organization applicant emails to keep your setup clean.

→ To delete emails:

  1. Delete the email(s) from Communications > Setup first.
  2. Filter the Email Template Library on “Published” and delete any templates you don’t plan to use.
  3. For more detailed instructions, see ➡️How to Manage Your Email Communications Setup
  • Name new templates clearly. Use names that clearly show the email’s purpose. For example, “Intake Reminder – 7 Days Before Deadline.”

Default Set Up & Recommendations

Use this table as a quick reference to see which emails are set up by default in a cycle and what we recommend adding or removing. 

📌Note: This is a high‑level overview. For a full list of all available emails and trigger descriptions, see the guides at the end of this article.

Workflow Stage ✅ Emails Set Up By Default Recommended Customizations
Commonly recommended additions or removals
INTAKE

Sent to Applicants:

  • Application Submitted (when an applicant submits their application)
     
  • Application Edited (when an Admin saves edits to an application in any Intake Round)
     
  • Revision Requested (when an Admin requests a revision to an application)
     
  • Late Submission Approved (when an Admin approves a late application)
     
  • Next Round Open (when the next Intake Round opens)
     
  • Update Application (when an Admin republishes the workflow after making changes to an Intake Form)
     
  • Disqualify (when an Admin disqualifies an application in any Intake Round)
     
  • Deadline (at time of Intake Round closing) 

    📌Note: The Deadline email sends to any applicant, regardless of whether they’ve submitted their application.


Sent to Third-Party Recommenders:

  • Recommendation Request (when an applicant submits a request)
     
  • Recommendation Reminder (at time of Intake Round closing, if the recommender has outstanding requests)
     
  • Recommendation Submitted (when a recommender submits a recommendation) 

    📌Note: The Recommendation Submitted email is sent to both recommenders and applicants) 

     

➕ Recommended Add-Ons: 

  1. Deadline: Add a Scheduled > Before email to notify applicants 7 days before the application deadline.
     
  2. (For Rolling Cycles) - Application Submitted: Add an Immediate email to notify Program Owners and/or Program Managers of a submitted application. 


 

⛔Optional Removals (If Relevant):

  1. Next Round Open: Delete if your  cycle only has one Intake Round. 
     
  2. Recommendation Emails: Delete if you don’t require third-party submissions from your applicants (e.g., recommendations, letters of support, attestations, etc.). 


 
REVIEW

Sent to Applicants:

  • Applicant Disqualified Reversed (when a disqualified application is reinstated by an Admin in any Review or Intake Round)
     
  • Application Edited (when an Admin saves edits to an application in any Review Round)

Sent to Reviewers: 

  • Review Round Started (when applications are advanced to review)


 

➕Recommended Add-Ons: 

  1. Deadline: Add a Scheduled > Before email to notify reviewers before the Review Round deadline (e.g., 7 days before).
     
  2. (For Deadline-Based cycles) - Applicant Denied: Add an Immediate email so applicants not selected to move to the next Review Round (if applicable) and  waitlisted applicants automatically receive a declined message when the award cycle closes. 
     
  3. Applicant Disqualified: Add an Immediate email to notify applicants if they’re disqualified during review.  


 
AWARDING
  • Notify (sent to applicants when an award and agreement are assigned to an awardee)
     
  • Declined (sent to Program Owner + Program Manager when an awardee declines an award)

➕Optional Add-Ons: 

  1. Waitlisted: Add an Immediate email so to notify applicants when they’re put on the waitlist.
     
  2. Selected: Add an Immediate email to notify applicants who are selected for an award, but the award has not yet been officially assigned by an Admin. 

    💡Tip: The Selected email may be especially useful in cycles where there is a long period between selection and funding approval.




 
POST AWARD

Sent to Awardees: 

  • Report Approved (when an Admin approves a submitted progress report)
     
  • Report Rejected (when an Admin rejects a submitted progress report)
     
  • Report Assigned (When a new disbursement with a progress report is assigned to an awardee)
     
  • Report Revision Requested (When an Admin submits a Progress Report Revision request)

Amendment Emails: 

⛔Optional Removals:

  1. Report emails: Delete if you don’t require progress reports.
     
  2. Amendment Emails: Delete any you don’t plan to use (you can always add them back later, if needed). 

    🔍Looking for more info about Amendment triggers? See ➡️Post Award Communications: Email Trigger Guide


     

 

Emails You Cannot Manage 

The emails below are automatically generated by the system. They are not available in your Communications Setup or Email Template Library. 

  • Member Invites (Sent to Organization + Program Members invited by Organization Owners + Program Admins) 
     
  • Ready for Download (Sent to Program Admins when a file they requested is ready for download - for example, when an Organization Owner downloads an Applicant History response, or a  Program Owner downloads awardee details) 
     
  • Intake  > Revision Submitted (Sent to Program Admins when an applicant resubmits a revised application)
     
  • Review  > Review Assignment Declined (Sent to Program Admins when a reviewer declines a review assignment) 
     
  • Award  > Approval Assigned (Sent to an Approver when an award or disbursement approval is assigned to them – if approvals are enabled for the organization)
     

Email Trigger Reference Guides

For full details on all available emails, including trigger descriptions, template names, and recipients, see:

➡️Intake Email Triggers
➡️Review Email Triggers
➡️Award Email Triggers
➡️Post Award Email Triggers







 

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