Sovereign Vault Guide

Overview

The Sovereign Vault is your audit-readiness tracker. For each tracked grant, it monitors whether you have the key records an auditor would need and calculates a readiness score. Records are retained for the full 7-year federal audit window (2 CFR 200.334).

Available on the Sovereign tier and above.

What the Vault Tracks

Each grant in the vault shows an Audit Readiness Score (0–100%) based on key compliance areas:

Boundary Verification — Your project location has been verified against tribal boundaries

Financial Reports — You've uploaded federal financial status reports (SF-425) for the grant

Protection Notes — You've documented why this project is on tribal lands and how it serves your community

Successor Handoff — You've designated a successor who can respond to audits if staff changes

When all key areas are addressed, the grant shows "Audit-Ready" status.

Uploading Documents

You can upload documents directly to the vault for each grant:

SF-425 forms — Financial status reports. The system auto-detects SF-425 documents by filename.

General documents — Any supporting records related to the grant.

File limit: 25 MB per file.

Documents are stored securely in cloud storage, organized by grant.

Protection Notes

Protection notes are text records that capture your rationale for why a project is on tribal lands and how it serves your community. They appear in audit records and compliance exports as "Sovereign Intelligence Notes."

Add protection notes from the grant detail page when you verify your project location.

Successor Handoff

The successor handoff ensures that if staff changes, the next person can respond to audits without delay.

How it works:

1. Click "Seal and Send" on a vault card

2. Enter the successor's email and an optional note

3. The system generates a secure audit link and emails it along with a Successor Checklist PDF

The checklist gives the successor everything they need: your authority basis, compliance status, which files to verify, and the audit safety timeline. You can manage successors from Settings > Succession.

Compliance Export

Generate a Tribal Funding & Authority Report PDF from the vault. This export gives auditors, tribal leadership, or federal agencies a complete compliance snapshot — including your legal authority basis, sovereignty shield status, and protection notes — without requiring system access.

Vault Statuses

Each vault card shows a trust badge:

Sealed — All components complete, grant is audit-ready

Archived — Grant has closed or been completed

Drafting — Still gathering records, not yet audit-ready

Tips

Start building vault records as soon as you track a grant — don't wait until the audit

Boundary verification happens automatically when you pin your project location on the grant detail page

Send the successor handoff even if you're not planning to leave — it creates a backup access path for your team

Export the compliance report before board meetings so leadership has a current snapshot

Sovereign Vault & 7-Year Records