Prompt: shortlist funders for a project

Finding funders is the one grants task where generic AI is genuinely risky: asked to name grant-makers, it invents programmes, deadlines and award sizes that look real and are not. This prompt uses AI only to sort and reason about funders you have already gathered from real sources — never to generate names from memory.

What to paste in

Gather a real shortlist first — from funder websites, the Grant Finder, GrantNav or your local infrastructure body — then paste it in with each funder’s details and source URL. The prompt rates fit, flags mismatches and orders them.

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What to check afterwards

Scan the output for any funder you did not paste in and delete it — assume it is invented. Then verify every remaining detail on the funder’s own live website this week, paying closest attention to exclusions.

Asking generic AI to name funders produces fabricated grant programmes and invented deadlines — always start from the funder’s own website or a real database, and use AI only to organise what you found.

Worked example

The illustrative example uses fictional funders to show the output shape only. It is deliberately unusable as a real shortlist — a reminder never to apply on the strength of an AI-generated list.

This is exactly the gap CharityIQ’s free Grant Finder fills: it matches you against real, verified UK funders and cites each source, so nothing on your shortlist is invented.