How to Use ChatGPT and Claude to Streamline Your Grant Writing Process: A Practical Guide

While there is a lot AI won't replace in nonprofit grant writing, it can dramatically speed up the routine work and even be a partner to work through more complex funding narratives. Here's some practical tips on how to use AI assistants effectively in your grant writing process.

Is it OK to use AI for Grant Writing?

Before we get into the how of using AI for grant writing, let's address an important question. Can you use AI for grant writing?

In short, yes, you absolutely can. The UK's National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes over £600 million annually, explicitly states: "You can use AI tools to help write your funding application. We will not reject an application just because AI was used". Recent research by Candid surveying major US foundations found that one in 10 already accept AI-generated applications, with two-thirds still developing their policies - indicating growing acceptance rather than prohibition.

The nonprofit sector has embraced AI rapidly, with 90% of organizations already using AI tools for various purposes. However, experts emphasize using AI as a collaborator, not a replacement - the key is maintaining authenticity, accuracy, and your organization's unique voice while leveraging AI to save time on drafting and editing. As the National Lottery Community Fund advises: "Use AI mindfully, only use AI where it will clearly help you apply or significantly improve the quality of your application".

At Hinchilla, we see AI as a tool that allows small teams to punch above their weight. You wouldn't submit a grant without spellcheck - soon, you won't submit one without AI assistance either.

Having said that, there are some good reasons to be cautious when using ChatGPT for grant writing. If you are interested in that, do check out our guide on why not to use ChatGPT for grant writing.

1: Checking Typos, Improving Readability and Shortening Responses

Most grant writers have already hit on the simple uses of ChatGPT for grant writing. You can very simply copy and paste your grant application into ChatGPT and ask it to check for typos or improve readability. For individual questions you can ask it to shorten responses to match word counts or even ask it to check if you've fully answered the question being asked.

Here's an example prompt:

Review this grant application question.
Let me know if I've answered it fully and complied with the guidance including any word count or formatting requirements:

[paste grant application question and guidance]
[paste answer]

Use our prompt template to make it easy for you and your team to generate these prompts.

2: Converting Boilerplate Content

If you have a content library of past grant applications, you can use those to generate tailored responses for new funding opportunities. Here's an example prompt:

Here is our previous response to a similar grant question:

[paste previous response]

Here is the new question from the grant application:
[paste new question]

Please create a new response that:
- Uses active voice
- Maintains specific program outcomes and organizational credentials
- Adapts the content to exactly match the new funder's requirements
- Uses a professional, mission-focused tone

If you don't have a content library already but do have some past grant applications, you should take a look at our guide to creating an intelligent grant writing library.

3: Making Generic Content Specific

A common complaint about AI-generated grant content is that it can sound generic and fail to highlight your nonprofit's unique value. Here's how to get more specific responses that will impress funders:

Please enhance this grant narrative by:
- Adding specific program methodologies we use: [list them]
- Including relevant impact metrics from our past programs: [add metrics]
- Referencing our actual community partnerships and resources: [list them]
- Using terminology specific to our mission area: [e.g., education, healthcare, environmental conservation]
- Incorporating our organization's core values: [list values]

This is also somewhere that I would recommend using certain specific AI models for their better writing performance. If you are using Claude, you should consider using their Opus model, which is specifically designed for writing. Or you could take a look at Google's Gemini 2.0 model which also excels at writing compared to ChatGPT's models.

4. Brainstorming Ideas for Challenging Grant Sections

One of the most valuable but overlooked uses of AI is as a brainstorming partner for difficult grant application sections. Modern AI models like Claude-3 and GPT-4 can help explore different angles and approaches, especially for questions where there's no clear "standard" response.

This is where I would typically reach for a reasoning model such as ChatGPT o1 or Gemini. The strength of these models is that they're able to think through complex problems systematically, often leading to more robust and creative narratives.

Setting Up the Brainstorming Session

The key is to give the AI enough context to think through the grant requirements systematically. Here's an effective prompt pattern:

I'm working on a grant application for [type of funder] and need help brainstorming approaches for this section:
[paste question]

Our nonprofit's relevant experience includes:
[list 2-3 key programs or initiatives]

Our main strengths and unique approaches are:
[list differentiators]

Please:
1. Break down the different aspects we should address in this section
2. Suggest 3-4 different approaches we could take to frame our response
3. For each approach, note potential strengths and weaknesses from the funder's perspective
4. Identify any evidence, outcomes, or testimonials we'd need to support each approach

Example: Program Sustainability Question

Let's say you're facing this common grant question: "Describe how your organization will sustain this program after the grant period ends."

Rather than jumping straight to an answer, use AI to explore different frameworks:

For this program sustainability question, please help me think through:
1. What are the key sustainability challenges we need to address?
2. What different funding and resource models could we present?
3. What concrete examples of past program sustainability would strengthen each approach?
4. What realistic challenges should we acknowledge and how might we address them?

Tips for Effective AI Brainstorming

If you use one of the reasoning models mentioned above you will get a lot of this behaviour for free. However, if you want to use a more standard model you can use these tips to get better results from your brainstorming session:

1. Start Broad, Then Narrow: Begin with wide-ranging exploration, then use follow-up prompts to focus on the most promising approaches.
2. Use "Chain of Thought" Prompting: Ask the AI to explain its reasoning step by step. This often surfaces interesting considerations you might have missed.
3. Challenge the AI's Assumptions: When it suggests an approach, ask it to identify potential weaknesses or counter-arguments. This can lead to more robust responses.
4. Connect to Past Successes: Have the AI help you identify relevant examples from your past work that could support each approach. This is where your intelligent grant library can be of assistance.

Example Dialogue

Here's how a brainstorming session might flow:

When to Use AI Brainstorming

This technique is particularly valuable for these grant writing challenges:

• Needs statements that must balance urgency with hope
• Program sustainability and funding diversification plans
• Areas where you need to differentiate your nonprofit from similar organizations
• Complex impact measurement and evaluation frameworks
• Collaborative partnership descriptions and community engagement strategies

Remember: AI brainstorming is about generating ideas and approaches, not creating final content. Use it to explore possibilities, then apply your nonprofit expertise to shape a compelling grant narrative.

Best Practices from the Field

Here are some final points to bear in mind when using AI for grant writing:

1. Always Double-Check Claims: AI can hallucinate or make incorrect assumptions. Never submit AI-generated content without careful review, especially when describing your organization's history, impact metrics, or community relationships.
2. Use AI as a colleague: Think of AI as a team member - good at some things but not perfect. It's particularly useful for drafting initial responses or quickly generating answers to common grant questions. But work collaboratively with it throughout the process.
3. Don't skip the human touch: Winning grants comes from understanding what really matters to the funder - information AI tools often won't have. Remember to pay attention to funder relationships, pre-application meetings, and research into the funder's priorities and values.

What is the best AI tool for grant writing?

You have likely already used ChatGPT in your professional or personal life. If you are unhappy with the writing style of ChatGPT you should give Claude a go. We find Claude has a more natural writing style already, and their Opus model speficially can really excel at writing tasks.

If you are ready to move on from the current batch of AI Chat tools you should take a look at Hinchilla. Hinchilla uses your past grant applications to generate responses to new grant applications. You can customise the tone of voice and it guarantees data privacy with none of your uploaded content being use to train AI models.