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Free grant deadline calendar template
A free grant calendar for Excel and Google Sheets. List every deadline once, see overdue and upcoming ones in color, count them by month, and send them to Google Calendar as all-day events. No email needed to download it, and no macros.
Published 2026-10-25 · Last updated 2026-10-25
What's in it
- Deadlines
- One row per deadline: grant, funder, what's due (letter of inquiry, application, interim or final report, invoice, renewal, site visit), due date, owner and status. Days left counts down. Overdue rows turn red and rows due in the next 14 days turn amber, until you mark them Submitted or Done.
- Year at a glance
- For the year you pick: how many deadlines fall in each month, how many are still open and how many are reports, plus a count of everything overdue right now. Useful for spotting the months when three reports land at once.
- Calendar import
- Fills itself in from the Deadlines tab, in the columns Google Calendar's import reads: subject, start date, all-day event and a description with the funder, owner and status.
The example rows are made up and marked EXAMPLE, so delete them before you add your own.
Put your deadlines on Google Calendar
- Fill in the Deadlines tab. Only rows with a due date become events.
- On the Calendar import tab, delete the empty rows below your last deadline.
- Save that tab as a CSV file. In Google Sheets: File, Download, Comma-separated values. In Excel: File, Save a Copy, CSV.
- In Google Calendar on a computer, create a calendar called "Grant deadlines" so you can remove it in one step later.
- Open Settings, then Import & export. Choose the CSV, pick the Grant deadlines calendar and click Import.
An import is a one-time copy: if a date changes, change it in the calendar too, or delete the Grant deadlines calendar and import again. Google explains the file format in its help article on importing events.
When you want reminders, not just a calendar
A spreadsheet can't email anyone, and an imported calendar doesn't hear about changes. In FundMesa, the person responsible for a grant gets an email before each deadline, 30, 14, 7 and 1 day before unless you change the schedule. Each person also gets a private calendar feed for Google, Apple or Outlook that picks up new and changed deadlines on its own.
FundMesa is free for 30 days with no credit card. The live demo needs no signup.
Frequently asked
What should a grant calendar include?
Every date a funder holds you to, not only applications: letters of inquiry, applications, interim and final reports, invoices or drawdowns, renewals and site visits. Give each one a due date and one person responsible, and keep a status so finished items stop showing as due.
How do I import grant deadlines into Google Calendar?
Save the template’s Calendar import tab as a CSV file, then in Google Calendar on a computer open Settings, then Import & export, choose the file and the calendar to add it to, and click Import. Only rows with a due date become events, as all-day events.
Will the calendar update when I change a date in the spreadsheet?
No. An import copies the events once. If a date changes, change it in the calendar as well, or delete the calendar and import again. A calendar feed you subscribe to, like the one in grant management software, updates on its own.
Does it work with Outlook or Apple Calendar?
The CSV is laid out for Google Calendar. The classic Outlook desktop app for Windows can also import a CSV and match the columns. Apple Calendar does not import CSV files.
Is this template really free?
Yes. No email or signup is needed to download it, and you can copy, change and share it. It has no macros.