Finding the Right Grant Is Only Half the Work

For years, grant technology has focused on one question: “Can we help nonprofits find more grants?”

That is important. But I believe the more consequential question is: “Can we help nonprofits make better decisions about the grants they find?” A funding opportunity can look like a strong match and still be the wrong opportunity to pursue.

The organization may qualify, but the proposed program may not align closely enough with the funder’s priorities. The timeline may be unrealistic. The required match may create financial pressure. Or the organization may have the beginnings of a strong idea that still needs human experience and judgment to become a viable program.

This is where I believe AI can become especially valuable for nonprofits.

Not by removing people from the process. By giving people better information to make better decisions.

Imagine saving a promising opportunity and asking: “Help me determine whether we should pursue this.”

AI can analyze the opportunity alongside what it knows about the organization. It can surface potential program ideas, partnership opportunities, gaps, risks, and questions that need to be resolved. But those are inputs to a decision. People still decide.

People determine whether a program reflects the needs of their community.

People build relationships with funders and partners. People decide whether the organization has the capacity to deliver. People design the program, establish the budget, evaluate the risks, approve the application, and ultimately deliver the work.

Those are not steps we intend to automate away in Grant-Ready™. They are human-in-the-loop responsibilities we want technology to strengthen. In fact, I believe systems like Grant-Ready™ can create demand for people who can do this work well: program managers, grant professionals, nonprofit leaders, subject-matter experts, partnership builders, evaluators, and others who can turn funding into measurable community impact.

And when those people develop a strong program concept, that knowledge should not disappear when the application is submitted. It should become part of the organization’s institutional knowledge and improve the next funding decision.

That is the direction we are taking with Grant-Ready™.

AI can help find the opportunity and inform the decision. People determine what should be done with it. #NonprofitLeadership #GrantStrategy #AIReadiness #OrganizationalCapacity #FundingStrategy