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Guided Workflow

Build Your Own AI Grant Funding Scout

Create a portable, reusable system for finding and evaluating nonprofit funding opportunities. You keep the files and choose where the workflow runs.

20 to 30 minutesBeginnerNo coding

Step 1

Start with Civic IQ Funding Scout

Open the free Civic IQ Funding Scout and share your organization’s website. It will help you identify the few facts and constraints that matter most for funding research.

Open Funding Scout View tool details

Starter prompt

Help me create a portable funding intelligence kit for my nonprofit. Start with our website: [URL]. Ask only the most important questions needed to assess our funding eligibility and priorities. Mark anything you cannot verify as unknown. When ready, produce three complete Markdown documents: organization-profile.md, agent-instructions.md, and workflow-prompts.md. Do not invent organizational facts.

Verification rule: Treat anything the tool cannot confirm as unknown. Do not let AI fill gaps with plausible-sounding facts.

Step 2

Export your Portable Intelligence Kit

Ask for three plain Markdown files. Markdown is lightweight, readable, and portable across most AI workspaces and document systems.

Export prompt

Export my Portable Intelligence Kit as three separate, complete Markdown files, using the Civic IQ file structure: 1) organization-profile.md: facts, priorities, constraints, unknowns, and last-reviewed date; 2) agent-instructions.md: role, research standards, eligibility gates, ranking rules, and output format; 3) workflow-prompts.md: first scan, weekly scan, due diligence, opportunity comparison, and update routine. Use plain portable Markdown with no platform-specific syntax. If downloadable files aren't supported in this chat, put each file in a separate fenced Markdown block so I can save it manually.

Organization profileFacts, priorities, constraints, and unknownsDownload .md Agent instructionsResearch, screening, ranking, and reporting rulesDownload .md Workflow promptsFirst scan, weekly scan, due diligence, and updatesDownload .md

Step 3

Choose where the workflow will live

Use the AI workspace your team can operate consistently. Upload or add the three files to its shared project context, then confirm the workspace can reference them in a new conversation.

ChatGPT Projects

Create a Project, add the three files as project sources, and start the funding scan inside that Project.

Official ChatGPT Projects help

Claude Projects

Create a Project, add the files to its knowledge base, and use a Project chat for recurring scans.

Official Claude Projects help

Another AI workspace

Store the files together, attach them when needed, and tell the assistant to use the profile and instructions as its operating context.

Privacy: Do not place passwords, confidential funder information, unnecessary personal data, or sensitive participant data in these files.

Step 4

Run your first funding scan

Use the First funding scan prompt in the downloaded workflow file. Review each result against current official funder sources before acting.

  • Confirm geography, tax status, and program eligibility.
  • Verify that the opportunity is open and the deadline is current.
  • Identify audit, match, invitation, or partnership requirements.
  • Rank fit and feasibility ahead of award size.

Step 5

Build a weekly routine

Once a week, run the weekly scan prompt, compare the results with your prior tracker, and assign no more than three immediate actions. A strong routine favors decision quality over a long list of leads.

  1. Scan for new and changed opportunities.
  2. Verify the strongest leads on official sources.
  3. Update the opportunity tracker.
  4. Assign an owner and next action.
Automation note: Scheduled AI tasks may not automatically inherit your Project files or prior tracker. Test context access before relying on a recurring task.

Step 6

Keep the intelligence current

Review the organizational profile when programs, budgets, priorities, geography, or documentation change. Record the review date and keep uncertainty visible.

The kit belongs to your organization. Reuse it with different tools, staff, consultants, and future AI systems without rebuilding your context from scratch.

Keep going

Move from scouting to decision and proposal support

Grant EvaluatorTest one opportunity against fit and readiness. Grant Writing AssistantTurn verified facts and strategy into a grounded draft. Open IntelligenceLearn the human-centered approach behind the workflow.