Enhance your tracking capabilities with your own Custom Fields! Transform how you store and itemize vital information. This feature allows you to present your information in an easily readable format, streamlining data management and improving efficiency.
Track what matters to you: Use Custom Fields to add new columns to your tracker. Effortlessly capture and organize essential data such as priority status, probability of winning, private notes, renewal dates, restrictions, internal IDs, and more.
Custom Fields are available to accounts beginning on the Professional Plan and above. Compare our plans' features here.
Custom Fields Uses
Custom Fields can be assigned to Opportunities and Funders. Custom Fields are useful for creating priorities, tracking communication, storing important links/urls, identifying key highlights, capturing dates, expectations, gauging quality, documenting information relevant to your organization's structure, reporting data used internally in the ordinary course of business, client suitability, and much more!
See some examples of custom funder and opportunity fields below.
Funder Field Examples
Basics
Funder type
Related links
Reception - relationship standing
Funder insights
Average grant amount
Average giving
Geographic focus
Mission
Link to 990
Opportunity Examples
Prospecting
Grant focus / funding uses
Probability / risk
Fit: good, medium, or poor
Ease of application process: star-based rating
Key points of feedback from leadership
Application guidelines
Eligibility / restrictions
Specific caveats
Reporting requirements
Expected outcome
Organization structure
Multi-chapter: divisions, chapters, colleges
Grant attributes
New, renewal, re-attempt
Likelihood of reapplying
Grant type: e.g., general operating, capital, matching, sub-grant
Grant contract number
Source
Use of AI-grant writing
Financial
Yield for revenue planning and projections
Outstanding balance
Award vs. budget
Payment frequency (one-time, 4x/year)
Expected outcome
Consultants
Client pricing per grant proposal
Relevancy for multiple similar clients
Client priority & interest
Notes/thoughts from client
Expected time/effort
Cultivation & stewardship
Relationship liaison
Tracking correspondence
Preferred communication method
Last contacted date
Growth prospects & standing
How to Create Custom Fields
At the bottom of the lefthand navigation menu, head to Account > Custom Fields. Then click +Add Field.
Next, you'll fill out the required information detailed below:
Field Name | Identify the data you're tracking |
Type | Format: Text, Amount, Date, or Dropdown |
Appears On | Assign to Opportunities or Funders |
Field Name
Field Name is the name of the field you'd like to track, e.g., "Priority".
Type
Type defines the type of field you'd like to create. Choose from Short Text, Long Text, Date, Amount, or Dropdown.
If you select dropdown, you'll be able to create the options for your dropdown menu.
Appears On
Appears On assigns the Custom Field to an Opportunity or a Funder. If you want to have the same Custom Field for both Opportunities and Funders, create two of the same fields and assign one to Opportunities and one to Funders.
Once you've completed all required information, click Save to add the field. Now you're ready to utilize the Custom Fields you've created for opportunities and funders.
Where do Custom Fields appear?
Custom Fields conveniently appear in three places:
Saved Funder/grant tabs | Project Trackers | CSV Reports |
1) Saved Funder & Opportunity Tabs
When you click on an Opportunity or Funder, you'll see a separate tab called Custom Fields which contains the fields.
2) Directly on your Tracker
Be sure to click Edit Columns at the top right of your Tracker to check off and display your Custom Fields!
3) CSV Reports
To export Custom Field data, simply navigate to reports and create an Opportunity Report, Awards Report, or Funder Report. All of your Custom Fields will be included in the CSV reports.
FAQs
Can I use Custom Fields to add my own "Status" to the built-in Tracker Statuses?
Can I use Custom Fields to add my own "Status" to the built-in Tracker Statuses?
Not quite - Custom Fields allow for storing and tracking the status of various data types to suit your personalized needs! These are your own statuses "by proxy" and don't have the same functionality as Instrumentl's built-in statuses. They are not added to the default list of application statuses (researching, planned, in progress, LOI submitted, etc.).
Why isn't my Custom Field showing up on my Tracker?
Why isn't my Custom Field showing up on my Tracker?
Once you save a new Custom Field for opportunities, be sure to go to the top right of your Tracker and hover over the pencil icon to check off and add the field to your Tracker view! Here you can add, remove, or adjust other fields as necessary to customize your Tracker columns.
Contact Us 
Reach out to our friendly Customer Support team if you have any questions about using Custom Fields! Just use the chat bubble when you're logged into your account, or email us at hello@instrumentl.com.