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Resource development· Medium risk

First draft of a funding bid narrative

Draft a compelling narrative for a grant application, grounded in your community and priorities.

When to use this prompt

Reach for this prompt when you need to draft a compelling narrative for a grant application, grounded in your community and priorities. It's designed for fundraising, ceo, operations. Typically used within Fundraising work.

Draft with AI, then have a colleague verify facts and tone before use.

How to use it

  1. 1

    Gather your inputs

    You'll need: funder_name, amount, programme, local_problem, track_record.
  2. 2

    Fill in the template

    Copy the template below and replace every bracketed placeholder with real, local context. Keep names and safeguarding details out.
  3. 3

    Run it in your AI tool

    Paste into your preferred AI assistant. Ask a follow-up if the output misses your association's tone or context.
  4. 4

    Review with the checklist

    Work through the human-review checklist below before you send, publish or act on the output.

Prefer a guided flow? Adapt with the guided builder — it fills placeholders from your association profile.

Prompt template

Draft a funding narrative for {{association_name}} applying to {{funder_name}} for {{amount}}.

Use this context:
- Communities we serve: {{communities_served}}
- Strategic priorities: {{strategic_priorities}}
- The programme we're funding: {{programme}}
- The problem in our community: {{local_problem}}
- Our track record: {{track_record}}

Write 600 words covering: (1) the need, in the community's own voice, (2) our approach and why we're trusted to deliver it, (3) outcomes and how we'll evidence them, (4) value for money. Tone: {{communication_tone}}.

Do not invent statistics. Where you would normally cite a number, write [insert local stat].

Replace bracketed placeholders with real context. Never paste identifying details about children, health or safeguarding cases.

Human review checklist

Tick each before you send or publish the output.

Why this prompt works

Explicitly forbids fabricated statistics — the most common AI failure in bids — and forces the community voice up front.

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    Never enter identifying information about children, health or safeguarding cases into any AI tool. AI drafts, humans decide.

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