Contents

• Overview
• What is the "Awarding Closed" Trigger?
  • 📌Good to Know: "Awarding Closed" vs. "Applicant Denied" Triggers
• Before You Begin
• Step-By-Step Instructions
  • Access Communications Setup
  • Set Up the Awarding Closed Trigger
• What Happens After Adding the Awarding Closed Email?
• How to Check if Applicants Were Notified
• Troubleshooting
  • I closed the cycle, but Denied applicants didn't get an email. Why?
• Related Articles

Overview

This article shows program admins how to set up the Awarding Closed trigger in their Communications to automatically email applicants who weren't selected for an award (status changes to "Denied") when a cycle closes in Next.

What is the "Awarding Closed" Trigger? 

The Awarding Closed trigger lets you automatically email applicants when their application status changes to “Denied” after a cycle is closed. This email is off by default on every cycle, so you need to set it up before you close.

• Who gets the email: Applicants still in the final review round who weren't selected for an award ("Under Review" or "Waitlisted"). Their status changes to “Denied” when you close the cycle. (Note: Applicants who were disqualified earlier keep their status and don’t get this email).
   
• When it's sent: Immediately when the cycle closes, or a set number of days after, depending on the timing you choose in your Communications Setup. 
   
• Tracking: Every email sent by this trigger is recorded in the Communication Logs, so Organization Owners and Client Admins can see who was notified and when. 
   
• Who can add it to the cycle’s Communications Setup? 
  • Organization Owners
  • Client Admins
  • Program Owners
  • Program Managers

📌Good to Know: Awarding Closed vs. Applicant Denied Triggers

Next has two triggers that send denial emails. Both are in Cycle Settings > Communications > Setup, on the Review tab. Each one covers different applicants, so no one gets two denial emails.

• "Awarding Closed" (rolling and deadline-based cycles): Sends when you close the Awarding process, to applicants still in the final review round who weren’t selected for awarding.
   
• "Applicant Denied" (deadline-based cycles with multiple review rounds ONLY): Sends in deadline-based cycles when you complete an earlier review round, to applicants who weren’t moved on to the next round.

Before You Begin

• Know which applicant types your cycle accepts: If your cycle accepts both individual and organization applicants, you'll set up one email for each for the Awarding Closed trigger. 
   
• Use the default templates or make your own: Next includes two default templates you can use with the Awarding Closed trigger: "Applicant Denied: Individual Applicant" and "Applicant Denied: Org Applicant." Both use the same wording. The only difference is which applicant type they're sent to. Before you set up the trigger, check whether the default wording works for your program:
   
  
  

Step-By-Step Instructions

Open Communications Setup 

1. Open the program, then click the gear icon on the far right of the cycle to open Cycle Settings. 
   
   
    
2. In Cycle Settings, click Communications in the top menu, then click Setup from the left menu.
   
   
    
3. Click the Review tab at the top of the Setup screen.
   
   
    

Set Up the Awarding Closed Trigger 

1. Click Setup in the upper-right corner of the table.
   
   
    
2. On the Setup New Trigger page, click the Awarding Closed trigger tab.
   
   
    
3. Click + Setup communication in the bottom-left corner of the table.
   
   
   • A new table appears: “Awarding Closed to an application”
      

4. In the Choose Email Template dropdown, select a template. Each template only goes to one type of applicant, so pick the one that matches who your cycle accepts:
    

   • Only individuals: Select Applicant Denied: Individual Applicant.
   • Only organizations: Select Applicant Denied: Org Applicant.
   • Both: Select one template now. You'll add the other one in step 7.

If you created and published your own template, select it instead of the default. 
 

5. In the Choose Recipient dropdown, select Individual Applicant or Org Applicant.

6. In the Timing dropdown, select how you want the email to go out:

• Immediate: The email goes out as soon as the cycle closes.
• Schedule: The email goes out a set number of days after the cycle closes. Enter the number of days.
  
  

💡Tips: 

• Preview the email: Click the eye icon to view a preview of the email template. 
• Delete the email: Click the trash icon to remove the email from your Setup. 

7. If your cycle accepts both individual and org applicants, click + Setup communication again and repeat steps 3–6 above for the other applicant type.

8. When finished, click Save in the upper-right corner of the table.

• A confirmation message appears in the bottom-left corner of the screen. 

What Happens After Adding the Awarding Closed Email? 

• When you close the cycle, applicants whose status changes to “Denied” get the email based on the timing you chose (immediately or after X number of days). To learn more about which statuses change to "Denied" and other changes that happen when closing a cycle, see ➡️Closing an Award Cycle.
   

How to Check if Applicants Were Notified 

• To check which applicants were notified, an Organization Owner or Client Admin can check the Communication Logs in the organization.  For help, see ➡️View Communication Logs.

Troubleshooting

I closed the cycle, but Denied applicants didn't get an email. Why?

🔧 Check these common causes:

• The "Awarding Closed" trigger was not set up before the cycle closed: The email only goes out if the trigger is added to your Communications Setup before you close the cycle. If you added it after, applicants who were already denied won't get the email. 
   
• No email was set up for that applicant type: Individual and organization applicants each need their own email. If your cycle accepts both and you only set one up for the "Awarding Closed" trigger, the other applicant type won't get an email. In future cycles, set up an email for each applicant type your cycle accepts before you close the cycle.
   
• The applicant's status didn't change to “Denied” in the cycle: Only applicants whose status changes to “Denied” when the cycle closes get the email. Applicants who were previously disqualified or are still in an intake round keep their current status, so they don't get the email. For more information about status when a cycle closes, see ➡️Closing an Award Cycle.
   
• The email’s timing is set to "Schedule:” In your setup, if you chose “Schedule” in the Timing dropdown, the email goes out after the number of days you set, not right when the cycle closes. 

➜If none of these apply, check the ➡️Communication Logs to see if the email sent. 

• Log in as an Organization Owner or Client Admin. In the top menu, go to More > Logs > Communication Logs. Look for communication records with the Entity Type “ReviewApplicantDenied.”
   
  • If the Log shows the “ReviewApplicantDenied” email was sent: Ask the applicant to check their spam or junk folder.
     
  • If the “ReviewApplicantDenied” email is not in the Log or is showing only as queued, contact Support. 

Related Articles

➡️Closing an Award Cycle
➡️Review Communications: Email Trigger Guide
➡️How to Manage Your Email Communications Setup
➡️How to Manage Your Email Communications Templates

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