The problem
Small charities live on grants, and each application asks the same things in a different order: need, activities, outcomes, budget. A part-time coordinator spending about 8 hours on each of 2 applications a month gives 16 hours a month to bid writing, much of it rewording answers already written for another funder.
What the AI does
Use ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini as a drafting assistant. Paste in the funder's questions and word limits, your own project notes, last year's figures and a previous application, and ask for a first draft of each answer that uses only the facts given. Then rewrite it in your own voice, check every number against your records and cut to the word limits. Free plans are enough to start; paid plans (about $20£15€18A$29C$28 to $27£20€24A$38C$38 a month for one person) allow longer documents and more use.
A worked example
A two-staff community advice charity in Barnsley applies to 2 trusts or foundations a month for $6,650£5,000€5,950A$9,600C$9,400 to $26,600£20,000€23,800A$38,400C$37,600 each. The coordinator keeps a folder of past bids, monitoring figures and case studies with no personal details.
Before
About 8 hours per application, 16 hours a month
After
About 5 hours per application including checking and rewriting, 10 hours a month
What it's worth
About $144£108€129A$207C$203 a month in coordinator time saved, against $0£0€0A$0C$0 to $27£20€24A$38C$38 for the assistant. 6 hours a month saved (16 minus 10), valued at an assumed $24£18€21A$35C$34 an hour for a paid coordinator.
How to set it up
- Collect your source material: the funder's guidance and questions, current figures, budget and two anonymised case studies.
- Paste in the questions and word limits with your notes and ask for an answer to each that uses only the facts provided.
- Rewrite each answer in your own words and add the local detail only you know.
- Check every number, date and outcome against your records, and have a trustee read the final bid before it goes.
- Save the finished answers in your bid folder so the next application starts from checked text.
What goes wrong
- An assistant can invent outcomes, statistics or partners. Funders check, and a false claim can cost the grant and the relationship.
- Don't paste names, case notes or health details of the people you help into a free consumer account. Use anonymised examples.
- Some funders ask whether AI was used or want answers in the applicant's own voice. Read the guidance first.
- Drafts tend to run long and generic. Cut hard to the word limit and keep it specific to your area.