Work with opportunities

Use opportunities to collect applications and distribute awards.

A portfolio groups related awards, grants, or other funding opportunities (e.g., the New Student Award).

An opportunity contains all application materials (questions, qualifications, etc.) as well as individual applications related to a single award (e.g., the New Student Award for Fall 2025).

To learn how to create an entirely new award, see Work with portfolios.

To learn how to create a new opportunity within an existing portfolio, see Clone and archive opportunities.

From an opportunity record, work with the following tabs:

Most opportunities are either apply-to or auto-match opportunities:

  • Apply-to opportunities require applicants to submit an application before they can be considered for an award

  • Auto-match opportunities automatically submit applications for awards (provided the applicant meets the opportunity's qualifications). For more about qualifications, see Add qualifications.

Tip: For guidance on other types of opportunities, see Set up flexible applications, Set up external opportunities , and Set up and manage renewable awards.

When an opportunity reaches its Public End Date, the following is true:

  • Applicants cannot submit applications or update their responses

  • Admins cannot add or remove application questions

  • References can still submit requested referrals

  • Admins can answer administrator questions

When an opportunity reaches its Internal End Date, the following is true:

  • Auto-match applications will no longer be submitted to an auto-match opportunity

  • Applicant-supplied answers from the General Application and conditional applications will no longer be updated if an applicant changes their answer

    Tip: To turn off data updates before the Internal End Date, use the Import Offset on Site, Settings, User Imports.

To re-open or extend the deadline for an opportunity, change the appropriate end date.

Note: Changing the opportunity end date may also update existing applications with new data. To start a new opportunity, see Clone and archive opportunities.

By default, each opportunity receives a time stamp based on the Opportunity's Start Date:

  • Winter: December - February

  • Spring: March - May

  • Summer: June - August

  • Fall: September - November

Note: You can change these settings by contacting Customer Support (e.g., different time periods, naming by end dates). Any changes you make will affect all opportunities (active and archived) in your system.

From your system's Opportunities grid, you can update information across multiple opportunities or portfolios.

To update this information in bulk:

  1. Go to Opportunity, Portfolios, Opportunities.

  2. Select one or more opportunities.

  3. At the bottom of the grid, select Act on Selected and then one of the following options:

    • Update Applicant Opportunities: Update information across multiple opportunities (e.g., Begin Review Period Date, Fund Period, Post-Acceptance End Date)

    • Update Renewals: Update information across multiple renewal opportunities (e.g., End Date, Opportunity Awards, etc.)

    • Update Portfolios for Opportunities: Update information across multiple portfolios (e.g., Fund Code, Donors, Visibility, Qualified to apply)

    • Update Portfolio Scopes: Add or remove scopes from multiple portfolios

  4. Enter or adjust information as needed.

  5. Select Update.

Tip: Want to make multiple types of updates at once? See Export and re-import opportunities for more details.

You can send a link to an opportunity to an applicant so that they can apply to that opportunity directly when they sign in. If an opportunity is an auto match, applicants are not required to apply to as they are automatically matched to it.

Note: You must disable Qualified to apply on the portfolio settings for applicants to receive the link to an opportunity. For information about Qualified to apply, see Create a new portfolio.

You can use the communications template to send an apply-to opportunity link from Site, Communications, Message Templates. On Applicants, select New Apply-to Opportunities Available.

You can also send applicants links to a flexible application. See Set up flexible applications.