Thanks for joining the first session of our How-To Webinar Series. You can watch the recording here.
This recap walks through the two tasks we covered, step by step, so you can do them on your own:
Find grants your organization can apply to, and get them ranked by fit.
Apply for a grant by using GovAI to plan the application before you start drafting.
Keep GovAI open in another tab and follow along.
Links you'll need
You need to be logged in to GovAI to open these support pages.
What it is | Link |
The grant-finding template prompt (scroll to the system instructions near the bottom) | |
Upcoming sessions and past recordings |
Part 1: Find grants your organization can apply to
By the end of these steps, you'll have a ranked list of grants that fit your organization's priorities. You'll use two prompts: a long template prompt that does the searching and scoring, and a short prompt that tailors the template to your organization.
The five steps:
Copy the template prompt
Ask GovAI to tailor it to your organization
Run your tailored prompt
Read your results
Keep asking questions
Step 1: Copy the template prompt
Open the template prompt and copy the full system instructions. It's long on purpose. It tells GovAI where to look for grants, what to leave out, how to score each grant, and how to lay out the results.
The example in the article is written for Grand Rapids, Michigan. You'll change that in the next step.
Step 2: Ask GovAI to tailor it to your organization
Open a new chat in GovAI. Copy the prompt below, swap in your organization's name and website, then paste the template prompt from Step 1 at the bottom.
Below I've included a System Instruction Prompt that is used to power a custom Assistant looking for and prioritizing available grant applications for my organization. Please re-write the prompt for my municipality - [your organization name, state or province]. Read our municipal website to understand our priorities, budget constraints, and initiatives, and incorporate them into our prioritization/scoring rubric. Here's the website: [your website] Here's the system instruction prompt: [paste the template prompt here]
GovAI reads your website and rewrites the template around your priorities. This takes a few minutes.
Treat what comes back as a first draft. GovAI is working from your public website, so read it through and fix anything that doesn't match your department's real priorities.
If you want cleaner formatting to copy, ask: "Write this with proper formatting so I can copy and paste."
Step 3: Run your tailored prompt
Pick the option that fits your access in GovAI.
Option A: Build a custom assistant (best if you'll do this often). Save your tailored prompt as the assistant's instructions. After that, you only need to type something short, like "Find grants available to [your organization]." You can bookmark the assistant and run it every week. Admins, Content Managers, and Content Creators can build assistants. If you don't have that access, ask your GovAI administrator.
Option B: Use the regular GovAI assistant (anyone can do this). Open a new chat, type "Use the prompt below to find grant opportunities," paste your tailored prompt, and send it. It takes about two minutes to search and score.
Step 4: Read your results
Your results follow the layout in the prompt. In the webinar, that included:
A short summary of what GovAI found
Grants to pursue now, grants to prepare with partners, and grants to monitor only
Deadlines coming up soon
A ranked shortlist with the reasons behind each pick
Detailed notes on each grant, with links to the sources
Step 5: Keep asking questions
Don't stop at the list. Ask follow-up questions about the grants you care about most, for example:
"I like #1 and #2, but I only have time for one. What are the pros and cons?"
"Create a presentation comparing the top 4 grant opportunities, with the key details together in a single table."
Part 2: Use GovAI to apply for a grant
Once you've picked a grant, use GovAI to plan the application before you write anything. You'll find out what the funder cares about, what's on your to-do list, what comes first, and who needs to be involved. You can do all of this in the regular GovAI assistant.
The five steps:
Ask GovAI to write the prompt for you
Trim the prompt to what you need
Run the prompt with the funder's application guide
Focus on one part at a time
Draft section by section
Step 1: Ask GovAI to write the prompt for you
You don't need to write a detailed prompt yourself. Describe what you need and let GovAI write it. The quickest way is to turn on dictation and talk it through. Here's what we used:
Write me a prompt to help me apply for a complex comprehensive grant opportunity. I will attach the application guidelines, and I would like a breakdown of how to get started, my biggest priorities, and an overview of what needs to be done to apply for the grant.
The prompt you get back will probably be longer than you expect. That's normal.
Step 2: Trim the prompt to what you need
Read the prompt and drop any sections you don't need. You can ask GovAI to do it, for example: "I don't need sections 3 and 4. Keep sections 5, 6, and 7." A shorter prompt gives you a shorter, more focused answer.
Step 3: Run the prompt with the funder's application guide
Open a new chat, paste your prompt, and attach the funder's application guide. GovAI reads the guide and builds a plan around its requirements. In the webinar, the plan included:
A summary of the grant, its value, and its risks
A go/no-go checklist to answer before you put in the work
A list of every requirement in the application
An action plan with a timeline
What to do in the next 48 hours and the next two weeks
A kickoff meeting agenda and a suggested team
Step 4: Focus on one part at a time
Pick one piece of the application and ask about only that. For example: "Let's focus on the pre-application form only. What do they require and what are they actually looking for?" GovAI breaks down each section, what you need to provide, and what the funder is likely assessing.
Step 5: Draft section by section
Now start drafting. Give GovAI your details and ask for help with a few sections at a time, for example: "Help me draft these first five sections." Asking for the whole application in one go gives you weaker drafts.
Four tips to take with you
Let GovAI write and tailor your prompts. Tell it what you're trying to do and share resources like your website. It won't get you all the way there, but it gets you close. Then check the result yourself.
Build an assistant for tasks you repeat. Then you can run the same search every week without pasting a long prompt.
Use GovAI to plan, not just to write. Ask it which grants to go after and how to go after them.
Break the application into pieces. Work through one section at a time.
Next session and where to get help
Our next session is How to Draft an RFx Document from a Template, Thursday, October 15 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Bring your RFP, RFQ, or RFI template. You can register for this and the rest of the series on the GovAI Webinar Hub.
If you have questions or have feedback on the session, please reach out to the GovAI support team.