In January, the National Lottery Community Fund in the UK published guidance on using AI within funding applications. This follows similar guidance shared in 2024 by other funders including the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Lloyds Bank Foundation and others. Recognising that AI tools are becoming increasingly widespread in our everyday lives, funders and donors are for the first time establishing or considering grant-giving policies to ensure the proposals they receive remain authentic whilst enabling charities and fundraisers to utilise AI tools that save them time and money. 

But where exactly can AI meaningfully support fundraising work, and — perhaps more importantly — where should we exercise particular caution? Our team at Remedy has given consideration to how AI can be best utilised in the process of identifying and securing funding from trusts, foundations and other grant-makers within this blog. 

Research

Identifying Funding Opportunities

The often laborious process of identifying suitable funding opportunities is perhaps where AI tools show their most immediate value. Whereas prospecting can be a time-consuming effort of going back and forth, looking at annual accounts, cross-referencing, and checking eligibility, certain AI tools can do this on your behalf. This means that more time can be spent on grant writing, therefore increasing your level of output, while still maintaining an up-to-date database of funding opportunities. This is particularly beneficial for smaller fundraising teams, or organisations who have less time and funds to dedicate to grant writing. 

It is important to note that fundraisers should always double-check the opportunities suggested by AI tools prior to applying, either by accessing the funder’s website, emailing, or giving them a call. Although this might feel like an unnecessary step, AI is by no means perfect, and it will save time further down the line if it turns out that the funding opportunity identified is not the best fit for your organisation. Despite this, using AI to research funding opportunities for your organisation saves time and ensures you don’t miss potential opportunities, so where time and money might be stretched, particularly for less established organisations, it can be an effective way to use limited time more efficiently.

Evidencing the Need

In every grant application, you will need to demonstrate to your funder why your organisation and project are needed. To do this, statistics, data, and case studies are an integral addition to your grant proposal as they quantify the need and add tangible evidence to your storytelling. AI can quickly accumulate information that can support the ‘need’ section of your application by scanning and analysing various data sources and identifying the most relevant facts and figures for you to incorporate into your proposal. This reduces the time taken to visit various websites and gather information to support your application, which can help speed up your work rate. 

However, it is important to note that the data you present in your ‘need’ section should be specific and tailored to your application. Don’t try to mould the statistics given by AI to your application - the funder will see through this, especially if the data is generic and makes sweeping statements that don’t particularly correlate with what you are saying. It is worth being selective with the data you include; AI will most likely provide you with a long list of information, which might be tempting to incorporate into your application. Remember, it is much more effective to identify hard-hitting data that closely relates to your project/organisation, especially if your funder has a specific mission in grant-giving. Funders are well-practised and read countless applications; they frequently come across sweeping statistics that, rather than making your application stand out from the crowd, will only suggest a lack of intentional research. Again, always check that the data presented by AI is factually sound.

Collating Resources

Research is a big part of grant writing and this frequently includes researching articles, academic journals, and news reports to gain deeper insights. AI can help grant writers pull together a list of these resources, which can then be shortlisted by inputting additional details, including the date of publication, the author, and any accolades/commendations those resources may have received. Prompting AI to only search the most well-regarded resources is an effective way of accessing the best quality publications, which may not always be possible when trawling through copious pages of Google search results. 

AI Tools for Research:

• Chat GPT – Collates and summarises research and insights from various sources when users search for keywords, topics, or ask specific questions.

• Frase – Similar to Chat GPT, it streamlines research by analysing online sources in response to keywords and questions, providing data-driven insights.

• DeepDyve – Users can search data in academic journals, and read, annotate, and organise resources for easy reference. 

Drafting

Brainstorming Ideas

Writer’s block is a real thing! Sometimes grant writers benefit from a helping hand when it comes to formulating initial ideas and concepts for their proposals. AI can be a brilliant tool to support grant writers when they are brainstorming, by making suggestions that they may not otherwise have considered. Additionally, it can provide a boost of confidence, often reinforcing that the copy already developed by the grant writer is relevant and worthwhile. 

However, remember that any AI user who searches for a similar theme will most likely receive an identical set of results. To ensure your application is unique to your organisation and tailored to the mission and purpose of the funder, don’t rely too heavily on the ideas that AI generates. Yes, they might make a great springboard for further research, but they shouldn’t be extracted word for word into your proposal. Your fundraising proposition must be uniquely yours, authentically representing your organisation's mission and values. Funders are increasingly employing sophisticated software to identify AI-generated content, and proposals flagged as heavily AI-dependent are likely to face enhanced scrutiny, if not outright rejection.

Budget templates

Many grant writers’ strengths lie in their ability to craft a compelling case for support to convince funders that their organisation is deserving of support. However, a crucial element of any funding application is the budget, which might not be where a grant writer’s natural aptitudes lie. Using AI to help with this process is a great remedy to this, particularly for those who are new to fundraising, as it can help grant writers choose a budget template that works for their organisation and proposed project. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to laying out the financial details of your project, but with the help of AI, grant writers can test a variety of templates to see which works best.  Again though, these should serve as templates to be thoughtfully adapted, not copied wholesale.

AI Tools for Drafting:

• Rytr – Can help draft grant proposals by providing content ideas, headlines, and full paragraphs when users input keywords and topics. 

• Plot Factory – Although designed for creative writing, it can help users to organise and structure proposals to ensure a cohesive flow of thoughts and ideas.

• Notion AI – Supports users by suggesting customisable budget templates and automating data entry and categorisation. 

Editing

Quality Assurance

When it comes to quality assessing grant applications, the most well-used writing platforms like Google Docs and Microsoft Word use AI to check grammar, spelling, and punctuation. In a matter of seconds, AI scans the document, saving the grant writer the hassle of going through their writing, word by word, to look for any errors. 

Many AI tools now also include features that assess the readability and accessibility of your writing. They can highlight overly complex sentences, identify jargon that might need explanation, and ensure your proposal is accessible to a broad range of readers. This is particularly valuable when writing for panels that might include both subject matter experts and lay readers.

Meeting Word/Character Limits

In addition to quality assessment, AI can simplify or condense your writing, which is particularly helpful when faced with tight word limits. The process of eliminating words from your writing can be pretty challenging, so getting a second opinion in the form of AI, which will take out any ‘fluffy’ or verbose explanations, can support this process. For smaller fundraising teams who may struggle to carry out internal assessments between colleagues, AI can fill this gap in provision by doing the job on their behalf. 

AI tools for Editing:

• Grammarly – Checks grammar, punctuation, and writing style, offering suggestions for clarity and tone improvement.

• QuillBot – A paraphrasing and rewriting tool that suggests ways to rephrase and refine written work to enhance clarity and impact

The irreplaceable human element

Perhaps the most crucial consideration in this emerging AI landscape is what these tools fundamentally cannot do: capture the authentic voice of your communities. Successful funding applications are built upon real stories, lived experiences, and genuine community consultation. No AI tool, however sophisticated, can replicate the profound impact of a young person describing how your programme transformed their life, or the powerful testimony of a community leader sharing how your work has strengthened local connections.

Community consultation and co-creation aren't just buzzwords — they're essential elements that bring funding applications to life. The most compelling proposals are those that weave together robust data with authentic community voices, creating narratives that resonate because they're real. When a funder reads about specific challenges, told through the words of those who've lived them, and specific solutions, shaped by those who'll benefit from them, it creates an emotional connection that no AI-generated content can match.

This human element extends beyond just the storytelling. Meaningful community engagement should inform every aspect of your funding proposition — from initial project design through to evaluation frameworks. This depth of authentic engagement is immediately apparent to funders, who can readily distinguish between proposals that have been genuinely co-created with communities and those that merely reference community need in abstract terms.

Conclusions

The integration of AI into fundraising processes presents genuine opportunities for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness. But these benefits must be weighed against the fundamental importance of authentic storytelling and genuine impact demonstration.

Funders are becoming increasingly attuned to AI-generated responses and they know what to look out for when considering whether or not a grant writer has relied heavily on technology when crafting their application. They understand that while AI can be a valuable tool, it should never replace the authentic voice and specific impact narrative that makes your organisation unique. Therefore, don’t let AI encourage you to neglect the authentic storytelling of your funding proposals or replace specific facts and figures that relate to your work and wider impact. It is these details that funders want to see rather than AI-formulated applications. The temptation to over-rely on AI tools for short-term efficiency gains must be balanced against the long-term imperative of building genuine, trust-based relationships with funders.

Success in fundraising has always been — and will continue to be — built upon authenticity, specificity, and genuine impact. AI tools should be viewed as exactly that: tools to augment and support your fundraising work, not replace the essential human elements that make compelling funding propositions truly stand out.

Written by Lucy Wilkes