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Using artificial intelligence for fundraising… yup, there’s a bot for that! Savvy software developers are building AI fundraising tools faster than donation appeals on Giving Tuesday.

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We can now use Generative AI for everything from predicting donor behavior, to grant prospecting, to writing grant proposals, and more. The field is growing fast, and you can be easily overwhelmed by hype and marketing.

5 AI Tools to Write Grant Proposals

I want to help you figure out which AI-generated grant writing software is the best for your organization. Here are five examples and my thoughts on each GenAI fundraising tool based on demos and my early use. You can click on each tool name to see their website.

1. Grantable

• Overview: Grantable acts as a central hub for your existing proposals and relevant data, using this information along with AI-generated text to help you create new proposals.
• Pros: User-friendly interface, efficiently organizes and utilizes existing proposal materials, and is affordable at $20/month
• Cons: Limited customization options for advanced users.

2. Grant Orb

• Overview: Grant Orb offers a proposal wizard to help you create proposals based on a standard template.
• Pros: Easy to use, with sample proposals to get you started.
• Cons: The templates provided are not easily customizable, and the subscription costs can add up for smaller organizations, starting at $44 per grant application.

3. Grant Assistant

• Overview: Grant Assistant provides AI-assisted writing, preloaded templates, and a comprehensive toolkit for crafting complex proposals.
• Pros: Excellent proposal creation guidance tools, built-in security features, and RFP compatibility and compliance testing.
• Cons: Specialized focus on large, government and NGO proposals and not yet suitable for foundation and corporate grant writing. Pricing is not stated.

4. GrantBoost

• Overview: GrantBoost extracts information from provided organizational data and customizes responses to grant applications.
• Pros: Simple, user-friendly interface, and offers a free version along with a low-cost option at $20/month.
• Cons: Very light on features.

5. ChatGPT

I’ve also found that generic AI tools like ChatGPT are somewhat useful options for creating draft proposals. Just upload the grant application, add in your organization and program details, and use the right prompts to customize your narrative.

For example, copy and paste these prompts into ChatGPT:

1. You are a grant writing expert. Does this grant opportunity fully match my organization’s focus and programs? Is it likely that I can win this grant?” [Of course you believe it is, but get ChatGPT’s perspective to help you think objectively about the opportunity]
2. What elements of my program should I highlight in the proposal, based on the application requirements? Where is my approach unique? How can I best differentiate my proposal from one from [competing organization]?
3. Create a narrative template based on the application and fill in responses based on my organization’s relevant focus areas and programs, paying attention to the maximum word count for each section.
4. Is there anything I am missing in the proposal? Does it meet all the requirements for a successful proposal? Does it fully reflect the particular focus and goals of the solicitation?
5. Please review the content. Make the writing more [inspirational, professional, etc].

Please fully review and revise the output before submitting – you must think of ChatGPT as an overeager graduate assistant. After you have made your own revisions to the proposal, you also have the option of asking ChatGPT to do a final review, checking for clarity and overall strength of the proposal.

What AI Tools Do You Use?

What about you? Have you tried any of these tools? Are there other favorites I should review? Also, I’m still waiting for is a smart budget-generation tool. Do you know of one we can use? I’d love to hear your experiences. Please share them in the comments.

By Paul Lamb, founder of Man on a Mission consulting that specializes in fundraising, strategic planning, program development, and project management.