Lesson 3 of 6
Grant writing
7 min read
There are hundreds of funders out there. Only a handful actually care about what you do. How do you find them without reading every guideline twice?
Find the honest overlap
A grant is won on fit: your program has to match what a funder actually funds. AI can help you see that overlap fast — describe your program's focus areas and it can surface which funders' priorities line up, so you spend your limited time on the applications you can genuinely win, not the long shots.
Fit is overlap you can see: the more a funder's priorities line up with what your program really does, the stronger the case — and the better your odds.
The draft is a starting point, not the truth
AI can also draft the proposal — the need statement, the objectives, the outcomes framing. That's a huge time-saver, but it comes with a hard line: every claim must be true. AI will happily invent an impressive-sounding statistic, a past result you never achieved, or an evaluation you never ran. A funder relationship is built on trust, and a single fabricated figure can end it. You verify every number and every claim before it's submitted.
A fit score is a lead, not an approval; a drafted proposal is a scaffold, not a fact. The claims are yours to make true.
Don't stretch your program to match a funder's words — chasing money outside your mission wastes the hours you were trying to save, and funders can tell. Match on real overlap, not wishful fit.
The shape of it
- —Use AI to spot funders whose priorities genuinely overlap your program.
- —Let it draft the proposal to save time — the fit score is a lead, not a grant.
- —Verify every statistic, outcome, and claim before you submit — truth is non-negotiable.
AI drafts your proposal and includes an impressive outcome statistic you don't recognize. You should…
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