Why You Should NOT Use ChatGPT for Grant Writing

While technologies like ChatGPT might seem like an attractive shortcut, using AI in the wrong ways for grant writing comes with significant risks that could jeopardise your chances of securing funding.

1. Data Privacy & Security Concerns

When it comes to grant writing, data privacy is a major concern, especially for charities and nonprofit organisations. Tools like ChatGPT, while powerful, are not always designed with stringent data security measures in mind. ChatGPT's web interface, for example, has the potential to use input data to train future models. This means that any sensitive organisational information uploaded during the grant writing process could inadvertently become part of ChatGPT's training data.

Grant applications inherently include confidential details, such as financial records, strategic goals, and organisational plans—information that must remain private. Many applications also contain personal data about service users, case studies, or beneficiary information that falls under GDPR protection.

Uploading this data to ChatGPT could constitute a serious breach of data protection regulations, potentially resulting in significant fines and reputational damage. Sharing this level of detail with an AI tool risks exposing your organisation's intellectual property, strategic direction, and the personal data of vulnerable individuals you serve. Funding bodies often expect organisations to demonstrate professional stewardship, which includes ensuring the security of their data. Using ChatGPT for grant applications could undermine this trust and raise concerns about your organisation's commitment to protecting sensitive information.

2. Lack of Personalised Understanding & Generic Responses

At the heart of grant writing is tailoring your proposal to align with the specific goals of the funder. Funds For NGOs puts it like this:

"Understanding the context in which the organisation operates will not only strengthen the proposal but also demonstrate to funders that the organisation is knowledgeable and prepared"

By default, ChatGPT lacks the deep understanding of your organisation's mission, vision, and unique needs, as well as the nuanced requirements outlined by funders.

ChatGPT doesn't know:

• Your organisation's specific achievements, metrics, or history
• Your unique programmes and their outcomes
• Your established relationships with funders
• Your organisation's authentic voice and messaging

Grant applications often require technical data, precise language, and detailed descriptions of project plans, budgets, and measurable outcomes. These sections are highly scrutinised, and vague or poorly written content can raise red flags for reviewers. As noted in GrantWatch Rejection Analysis:

"Another common error is submitting a proposal made of text copied and pasted from other proposals. While some text can be taken from former applications, each grant application has different requirements as funders have different interests. If you do not tailor each proposal, your proposals can sound generic and flat."

Nonprofits should emphasise their organisation's qualifications and past successes to build credibility, but generic, cookie-cutter content generated by AI often comes across as impersonal and may not resonate with reviewers. Without access to your organisational documents and context, ChatGPT tends to produce generalised responses that fail to reflect the true work and impact of your charity.

3. Detectability of ChatGPT Content

One of the challenges of using ChatGPT for grant proposals is how easily AI-generated content can be spotted by experienced professionals, and even by funders themselves. While AI-generated text may initially seem polished, it often follows predictable patterns or includes subtle indicators that reveal it wasn't written by a human. For instance, a professional grant writer we work with noted, "If you know what you're looking for, you can detect AI-generated stuff pretty quickly... extended hyphens and that kind of stuff which is a giveaway."

Beyond these technical tells, using AI-generated content risks damaging the trust between you and your funders. As one experienced grant writer explained, "We also have a relationship with those funders... They know me extremely well. They know my voice... I'd be a bit wary of it being radically different." Funders expect authentic, personalised communication, and proposals that feel overly generic or detached can undermine your credibility and your established relationships. If you choose to leverage AI in your grant-writing process, it's crucial to carefully review and adapt the content to ensure it aligns with your unique voice and maintains the trust funders have in your organisation.

Conclusion

Grant writing requires a blend of expertise, creativity, and precision that off the shelf AI simply cannot replicate. Avoid the temptation of shortcuts, and ensure your proposal reflects the depth, thoughtfulness, and professionalism needed to secure funding.

Hinchilla redefines grant writing by combining advanced AI with the authenticity and uniqueness your organisation needs. Designed with a privacy-first approach, Hinchilla ensures your data is secure while delivering high-quality, tailored grant proposals.