Help write a funding proposal

Use an organisation’s own information to prepare a letter or small grant proposal. This course is in development.

Original course title & technical overview

Grant and Proposal Writing. Find the right funders, build a reusable proposal library from the organization’s real facts, and write applications that answer every question in the funder’s own words, with a budget that adds up.

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Illustration of a woman learning with a laptop at a kitchen table

2026 EDITION

What you can offer

Use an organisation’s own information to prepare a letter or small grant proposal. This course is in development.

Detailed deliverables

Grant writing for small nonprofits and community organizations (and proposal writing for small businesses answering RFPs): a funder prospect list with fit scores, a proposal library (mission, need statement, program descriptions, outcomes, budget, bios, boilerplate) built from the organization’s real documents, and complete applications written to the funder’s questions and limits, with a budget and the attachments checklist.

Example service prices

$300 for a foundation letter of inquiry, $600–$1,500 per full application depending on length, $400 for the proposal library setup, $500 a month for a prospecting-and-applications retainer (2–3 applications a month). Never a percentage of the award (it is against fundraising ethics codes and most funders prohibit it).

Planning estimate, not a promise

Finding clients takes time. There is no guaranteed timeline or income.

Tools (free plans have limits): Claude or ChatGPT (with a Project per organization), Funder databases: Candid Foundation Directory (library access is often free), Instrumentl trial, GrantStation, state and federal portals (Grants.gov, state arts/health councils), The organization’s documents: 990, audit or financials, program reports, board list, strategic plan, Google Sheets: prospects, deadlines, submissions, outcomes, Google Docs for the library and drafts; the funder’s portal for submission

You will make

A funder prospect list with fit scores and a deadline calendar
A proposal library from the organization’s documents (facts with sources)
A need statement and program narrative that answer a funder’s questions in their words
A budget with a budget narrative that reconciles to the request
A full application with the attachments checklist and the submission record

Inside this course

4 lessons · 5 AI instruction templates · 4 worked examples · 3 exam versions · final practice project

Lesson 1 is open as a free preview, ready-to-use AI instructions included. Sign up free to unlock the rest and try AI instructions in the practice area.

1
What you will learn · 2 min
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2
Set up your tools · 10 min
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3
Prospecting and fit · 40 min
Find funders whose giving actually matches the organization, score fit from their 990 and guidelines, and build a calendar of deadlines worth chasing.
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4
The proposal library · 45 min
Build the reusable library from the organization’s documents: mission and history, need statement with data, program descriptions, outcomes with evidence, bios, financials, boilerplate, every fact with a source.
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5
Narrative and budget · 55 min
Answer the funder’s questions in the funder’s words within their limits, structure the narrative as need → program → outcomes → capacity → sustainability, and build a budget that reconciles to the request with a narrative that explains every line.
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6
Attachments, submission, reporting and the retainer · 40 min
The attachments checklist, the review pass, the submission record, the decline follow-up, grant reports that keep funders giving, and the monthly retainer that makes this a steady income.
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7
Certification exam · 20 min
10 questions · 80% to pass · three versions, a retake is never the same test.
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8
Final project: A Hunger Relief Fund application for Harbor Light Food Pantry · 75 min
A Hunger Relief Fund application for Harbor Light Food Pantry: graded on 5 criteria, pass at 15/20.
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9
Check your work · 15 min
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10
Feedback and certificate · 5 min
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11
Publish your service · 20 min
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Final practice project: A Hunger Relief Fund application for Harbor Light Food Pantry

A practice assignment from a sample client. You will see the scoring guide (rubric) before you start.

What we check	What earns the full 4 points
Brief followed	The Fund’s questions, limits, attachments and deadline used; all deliverables present
Fit and prospecting	Scores justified from guidelines and giving history; realistic deadlines; inquiry email sendable
Fact discipline	Every number and partner traceable to the documents or a cited dataset; gaps as questions; nothing invented
Narrative and budget	Answers the questions in the funder’s words, within limits, specific; budget reconciles and narrative shows the arithmetic
Submission readiness	Reviewer pass finds and fixes real issues; checklist and log complete; ethics (flat fee, org submits) respected

Honest expectations. Grant writing is facts plus fit. The AI drafts beautifully and will invent statistics, outcomes and partnerships if you let it; every number, every claim and every partner in an application must come from the organization’s documents or a cited source. Win rates for well-matched applications are 10–30%; promising an award is dishonest. Fees are flat, paid by the organization, never contingent on the grant.