AI Grantwriting Tricks- RFP Assessments
By: Sarah Pita
This is one of my favorite AI grantwriting tricks—and it isn’t about having AI write the grant for you.
AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini can do a quick assessment of long RFPs for you. It doesn’t mean you don’t have to read RFPs anymore—it just helps you decide whether you actually need to read them. There are two ways:
Upload the RFP to Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini.
Either drag and drop into the chat window, or click the + button and upload it that way. Your prompt is something simple like “I am sharing an RFP with you so that you can answer my questions about it. Please cite the page for any information you provide.”
Ask your questions. Examples: “when’s the deadline?” “what are the award amounts?” “What are the reporting requirements?” “What types of projects do they fund?”
Make a GPT. A GPT is a tool you can customize to do a specific type of task for you. In this case, that task is reviewing RFPs. It’s easy to set up, and this way it already knows who you are, what kind of organization you work for, and what information you are looking for.
Go to the “GPTs” tab in the left side bar, and click on “create GPT”.
Write the instructions in your own words. Describe the information you will want in your flash assessment, and anything about the formatting.
Upload some background information—for example, a published annual report, an organizational one-pager, and flyers about your programs.
If you don’t get it perfect the first time, you can always go back in and edit it later.
Confused? I made a Loom tutorial to show how to set it up.
Important: Always ask for the page number for any information it cites. This will allow you to verify before ruling out applying for something. I have seen genAI tools occasionally make mistakes at this task.
If you don’t write grants, you could still use either of these methods to assess the longest and most tedious documents you work with.
About the Author:
Sarah Pita is a fundraising professional with 25+ years of experience and a dynamic speaker who makes AI approachable and immediately useful for nonprofit teams. She leads practical, engaging trainings and workshops on using AI for fundraising and has presented at groups such as Women In Development NYC and at the AFP GPC Leading Philanthropy conference, among others. Sarah is currently Director of Development at the Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York.
Interested in an AI workshop or training? Contact Sarah here.