✨ Why All-Airtable
Single platform handles everything: submissions, reviews, scoring, automation, and reviewer/admin portals. No integrations to manage, no data flowing between systems. Just Airtable + DocuSign for e-signatures.
How It Works
📋 Airtable Forms
Grant seekers fill out forms for submissions. Supports file uploads, conditional logic, and auto-saves as drafts.
🗄️ Airtable Base
8 tables store all data: users, submissions, reviews, criteria, scores. Relationships link everything together.
⚙️ Airtable Automations
Built-in workflows handle assignments, score calculations, status updates, and email notifications. No-code interface.
🖥️ Airtable Interfaces
Custom portals for grant seekers, reviewers, and admins. Role-based permissions control access.
✍️ DocuSign
Electronic signatures on submission release forms. Integrates with Airtable for automated workflows.
🎥 Flexible Video Handling
Direct uploads via Airtable, YouTube links, or Vimeo links. All videos embedded in interfaces with unified player. Hybrid approach maximizes applicant options.
☁️ AWS S3 + CloudFront Storage
Cost-effective video storage with S3 ($0.023/GB). CloudFront CDN optimizes delivery. Handles 1TB+ efficiently with only $35-40/month total cost.
🔗 Make.com Integration
No-code automation connects Airtable forms to S3 buckets. When videos upload, they're automatically transferred to S3 and URLs stored back in Airtable.
✅ What You Get
- Submission Portal: Grant seekers create accounts, submit projects, track status
- Review Portal: 25 reviewers access via email link (no Airtable account needed), score on 5 criteria (0-5 scale)
- Admin Portal: Batch assign 10-20 submissions, track 3-round workflow, view analytics
- Automated Workflows: Email notifications, score calculations, status updates
- 3-Round Review Process: 1000 submissions progress through rounds automatically
- 5 Scoring Criteria: Originality, Storyteller Perspective, Feasibility, Audience/Market, Access
Reviewer Access & Onboarding
✨ Zero Airtable Knowledge Required
Reviewers don't need Airtable accounts. They access a custom portal designed specifically for reviewing - clean, simple, and intuitive. They log in with email and see only their assigned submissions.
🔐 Authentication
Reviewers authenticate with email only (no Airtable account needed). Optional password protection for extra security. One-time setup, then bookmark the portal.
👁️ Filtered Dashboard
Reviewers see only submissions assigned to them. All 1000 submissions in database, but each reviewer's interface shows only their 10-20 projects.
⭐ Simple Review Form
Built-in form with 5 criteria (0-5 scale), comment fields, and recommendation dropdown. No configuration needed - just fill in scores.
📊 Auto-Calculations
Submit a review and scores automatically average across reviewers. Final scores calculated instantly. Reviewers see immediate confirmation.
🎬 Video Playback
Videos embedded directly in interface. YouTube, Vimeo, and S3 videos all play in same viewer. No switching between tabs or apps.
📧 Email Notifications
Reviewers get email when assigned new batch of submissions. Includes portal link and deadline. Reminder emails sent automatically.
Reviewer Onboarding Flow
Step-by-Step Process
📋- Admin enters reviewer name, email, and organization in Airtable "Users" table
- Sets "User Type" to "Reviewer"
- Automation triggered: Creates reviewer account (no email sent yet)
- Admin assigns 10-20 submissions to reviewer in "Reviews" table
- Automation triggered: Sends welcome email with portal link, deadline, and brief instructions
- Email includes: Portal URL, reviewer name, number of submissions, due date
- No need to create Airtable account or set password
- Reviewer clicks portal link from email
- Enters email address (first time only)
- Optional: Sets a password for future logins
- Lands on personal dashboard showing all assigned submissions
- No Airtable interface visible - custom portal only
- Reviewer clicks first submission
- Sees: Project title, logline, synopsis, embedded video, all media links
- Rates on 5 criteria (Originality, Storyteller, Feasibility, Audience, Access)
- Adds optional comments for each criterion
- Selects recommendation: "Strong Pass / Pass / Maybe / Pass with Notes / Reject"
- Clicks "Submit Review"
- Automation triggered: Review submitted
- Scores automatically average with other reviewers' scores
- Final score calculated and stored in Submissions table
- Submission status updates (e.g., "Round 1 - 3 Reviews Complete")
- Reviewer sees confirmation: "Review submitted successfully"
- Reviewer completes all assigned reviews
- Portal shows "All reviews complete" with checkmarks
- Optional: Admin sends thank-you email automation
- Reviewer can log back in anytime to view their reviews (read-only)
✅ Reviewer Experience Benefits
- No Training: Portal is self-explanatory. One email with link is all they need.
- No Tech Barriers: Works on any device, any browser. Just email + optional password.
- Fast Reviews: Streamlined interface means 5-10 minutes per submission average.
- Clear Instructions: Each field labeled, guidance text provided, scoring scale visible.
- Instant Feedback: Reviewers see confirmation when they submit. Know their work is saved.
- Professional Appearance: Custom-branded portal (matches your organization, not generic Airtable).
- Video Integration: All media in one place - no hunting for links or downloading files.
- Mobile Friendly: Can review on tablet or phone if needed.
🔧 Technical Implementation
How it works behind the scenes: Airtable Interfaces allow you to create custom, permission-based views. You set a role "Reviewer" that filters the database and shows only assigned records. Reviewers authenticate via email (Airtable's built-in auth), and they only see their filtered view. No coding required - all no-code configuration.
Security: Each reviewer can only see their own submissions. Admins can revoke access anytime. All activity logged in Airtable.
Scalability: Works with 5 reviewers or 500. Each person gets their own filtered dashboard automatically.
📊 Airtable Base Structure
8 tables work together to manage 1000+ submissions with 3-round reviews. This is the complete database architecture.
Core Tables Overview
All tables needed for complete submission and review workflow
| Table Name | Purpose | Key Fields |
|---|---|---|
| Users | All system users (grant seekers, reviewers, admins) | Email, Name, User Type, Bio, Submissions, Reviews |
| Submissions | Documentary film grant applications | Project Title, Format, Genre, Logline, Synopsis, Stage, Video Source (Upload/YouTube/Vimeo), Video Upload, Video URL, Video Playback URL, Status, Scores |
| Documents | Files uploaded with submissions | Document Type, File/URL, Upload Date, Version |
| Review Criteria | 5 scoring categories (0-5 scale) | Originality, Storyteller Perspective, Feasibility, Audience/Market, Access, Weights, Max Score |
| Reviews | Individual review records per round | Submission, Reviewer, Round (1/2/3), Status, Comments, Recommendation |
| Score Details | Individual criterion scores (0-5) | Review, Criteria, Score, Comments, Weighted Score |
| Submission Rounds | Organize by time periods | Round Name, Start/End Dates, Active Status |
| Email Log | Track all automated emails | Recipient, Email Type, Status, Related Submission |
🔗 Key Relationships
• Users → Submissions (one user, many submissions)
• Submissions → Documents (one submission, many files)
• Submissions → Reviews (one submission, 1-3 reviews across rounds)
• Reviews → Score Details (one review, 5 criterion scores)
• Users (Reviewers) → Reviews (one reviewer, 10-20 submissions per round)
⚙️ Airtable Automations
Built-in no-code automations replace traditional integration tools. Point-and-click interface makes it easy for non-technical team members to maintain.
Core Automations (7 workflows)
1. New Submission Processing
Trigger: When a record is created in Submissions table
Actions:
- Check if user exists, create if new
- Verify release form signed (DocuSign integration)
- Update status to "Submitted" if complete
- Send confirmation email to applicant
- Log email in Email Log table
2. Batch Reviewer Assignment
Trigger: When "Assigned Reviewer" field is updated
Actions:
- Create Review record for assignment
- Increment reviewer workload count
- Send batch notification email to reviewer
- Update submission status to current round
- Notify applicant submission is under review
3. Score Calculation
Trigger: When Review status changes to "Complete"
Actions:
- Calculate average of 5 criterion scores
- Update Round Score in Submissions table
- Calculate Final Score (average across rounds)
- Decrement reviewer workload count
- Notify admin review is complete
Formula: (Originality + Storyteller + Feasibility + Audience + Access) ÷ 5
4. Round Advancement
Trigger: When Status changes to "Round 2", "Round 3", or "Finalist"
Actions:
- Update Current Round field
- Send advancement notification to applicant
- Prepare submission for next reviewer assignment
5. Email Notifications
Triggers: Various status and field changes
Email Types:
- Submission received (with Submission ID)
- Review assignment notification
- Review complete alert (to admin)
- Round advancement notice
- Finalist notification
- Final decision (approved/rejected)
7. Video Processing & S3 Upload
Trigger: When Video Upload field has attachment OR Video URL field is populated
Actions (via Make.com):
- For direct uploads: Fetch from Airtable attachment, upload to S3 bucket
- For YouTube/Vimeo links: Extract video ID and validate link
- Generate CloudFront CDN URL for S3 videos
- Update "Video Playback URL" with correct embed format
- Update "Video Status" to "Ready for Review"
- Notify admin if upload fails
Formula for Playback URL: Conditional logic based on Video Source (YouTube iframe, Vimeo iframe, or CloudFront CDN URL)
✅ Automation Benefits
- No-Code: Anyone on team can modify automations, no technical knowledge required
- Visual Builder: Drag-and-drop interface shows exactly what happens
- Built-In Testing: Test automations before activating
- Execution History: See every automation run with detailed logs
- Error Handling: Get notified if automation fails
- 25,000 Runs/Month: More than enough for 1000 submissions/year
🚀 2-3 Week Implementation Timeline
Complete end-to-end setup from database design through testing and launch. All work happens within Airtable.
💰 Complete Cost Breakdown
* Hourly rate is negotiable based on freelancer experience, location, and engagement terms. Typical range: $60-100/hr for quality developers.
Monthly Software Costs
| Tool | Plan/Usage | Cost | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airtable | Pro Plan (3 users) | $228/mo | Database, forms, automations, interfaces, portals |
| AWS S3 | Standard Storage (1TB) | $24/mo | Video file storage at $0.023/GB |
| AWS CloudFront | CDN Delivery | $10/mo | Fast video streaming with reduced data transfer costs |
| Make.com | Pro Plan | $30/mo | Airtable to S3 automation, no-code integration |
| DocuSign | Standard | $10/mo | Electronic signatures for release forms |
| TOTAL | $302/mo | $3,624/year | |
Implementation Phases
Phase 1: Foundation (Days 1-4)
1- Set up 8 core tables (Users, Submissions, Documents, Review Criteria, Reviews, Score Details, Submission Rounds, Email Log)
- Configure field types (text, email, numbers, attachments, relationships, lookups)
- Create table relationships and linked records
- Set up views for each table (Grid, Calendar, Form views)
- Create primary submission form (Project Title, Format, Genre, Logline, etc.)
- Add conditional logic (show/hide fields based on project stage)
- Set up file upload fields for documents and video links
- Configure form email confirmations
- Test form with sample submissions
- Invite admin users and set permissions (Full Edit, Edit, Read-Only)
- Configure notification preferences
- Set up field validation rules
- Create custom automation templates
Phase 2: Portals & Access (Days 5-8)
2- Create user dashboard showing all submissions
- Display submission status (Draft, Submitted, Round 2, Round 3, Finalist, Final Decision)
- Show current scores and feedback (if reviewer comments enabled)
- Link to submission forms for new projects
- Add filters and sorting (by date, status, score)
- Create review dashboard showing assigned submissions
- Build inline scoring form (5 criteria, 0-5 scale, comments)
- Show submission details (title, logline, stage, linked videos)
- Display workload (how many assigned, how many complete)
- Add export option for review records
- Filter by round, status, and priority
- Create analytics dashboard (total submissions, completion rates, round progression)
- Build batch assignment interface (select submissions, assign to reviewers)
- Add reviewer management (workload, assignments, status)
- Create submission browsing interface (advanced filters, search)
- Show scoring data (averages, distribution, criteria breakdown)
- Add export options for reports
- Set sharing permissions: Admin (Edit all), Reviewer (View/Edit own), Applicant (View own)
- Create filtered views based on user type
- Hide sensitive fields from applicants/reviewers
- Test access controls with sample users
Phase 3: Automations & Integration (Days 9-14)
3- Automation 1: New Submission Processing (verify complete, send confirmation)
- Automation 2: Batch Reviewer Assignment (create review records, send notifications)
- Automation 3: Score Calculation (compute averages, update submission status)
- Automation 4: Round Advancement (update current round, notify applicants)
- Automation 5: Email Notifications (send at key workflow milestones)
- Automation 6: Document Tracking (log file uploads and versions)
- Automation 7: Video Processing & Optimization (handle direct uploads and link validation)
- Create AWS S3 bucket for video storage
- Set up S3 bucket permissions and lifecycle policies
- Configure AWS CloudFront distribution for CDN delivery
- Create CloudFront origin pointing to S3 bucket
- Set up Make.com account and connect to Airtable
- Build Make.com automation: Airtable upload trigger → S3 upload action
- Generate CloudFront URLs in Airtable automation
- Test upload and CDN delivery with sample video
- Configure DocuSign Airtable integration
- Create automation: Submission triggers DocuSign envelope send
- Add signed document status to Submissions table
- Test end-to-end signing workflow
- Create fallback for manual signature tracking
- Create email templates for each trigger (submission received, assignment, round advancement, etc.)
- Personalize with dynamic fields (applicant name, submission title, round number)
- Test templates with staging automations
- Create 10 test submissions with different scenarios
- Verify each automation triggers correctly
- Check email accuracy and delivery
- Verify score calculations with different reviewer inputs
- Test round advancement workflow end-to-end
- Test Make.com workflow: Direct upload to S3 (verify file transfer and URL generation)
- Verify CloudFront CDN URLs are working and videos play
- Test YouTube and Vimeo link validation and embed generation
- Document any issues and fixes