Finance, budgeting and compliance
Draft a budget narrative
Explains each budget line in words a grant reviewer can follow.
Lower risk: public info only — Use the budget categories and proposed amounts for the grant; leave out salary details of named staff.
Please note: This site is only a guide to help people understand. Consult your IT, security and/or privacy department for clarification.
Before you start, gather
Copy [BUDGET LINES WITH AMOUNTS AND PURPOSES] from the approved grant budget. Use category totals rather than named staff salaries. Take [FUNDER NAME] and [PROJECT NAME] from the funder's guidelines.
Starter prompt
Write a budget narrative for a grant to [FUNDER NAME] for [PROJECT NAME]. Do not add budget lines, amounts or unit costs I did not list; where a purpose is unclear, write MISSING INFO instead of guessing. Here are the budget lines and what they cover: [BUDGET LINES WITH AMOUNTS AND PURPOSES]. For each, explain what the money is for and why the amount is reasonable. Plain, factual language.
Paste the prompt into your AI tool first, then replace the placeholders with your own details. Don't use real names of clients or donors.
Open an AI tool
You are leaving this guide. Copy the prompt first, then open a tool. The link goes to the website of the company named on each link, in a new tab. That company's terms and privacy policy apply there. Paste the prompt in, then replace the placeholders with your own details. Don't enter real names or confidential details.
- Open Claude (Anthropic) (opens Anthropic's website in a new tab)
Anthropic documents pre-filled links only for the Claude Desktop app, not for the website, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Open ChatGPT (OpenAI) (opens OpenAI's website in a new tab)
OpenAI does not document a link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Open Gemini (Google) (opens Google's website in a new tab)
Google does not document a link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Open Grok (SpaceXAI) (opens SpaceXAI's website in a new tab)
SpaceXAI (the company behind Grok) does not document a link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Open Amazon Bedrock (hosts Llama; needs an AWS account) (opens Amazon Web Services' website in a new tab)
Llama has no chat website of its own, and Meta's own assistant (Meta AI) now runs on a different Meta model. One host is Amazon Bedrock: sign in to AWS, open a playground, and paste the prompt.
- Open Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft) (opens Microsoft's website in a new tab)
Microsoft documents no link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in. The Copilot page shows a Sign in button, and you may need to sign in.
- Open Perplexity (Perplexity AI) (opens Perplexity AI's website in a new tab)
Perplexity documents no link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Open Mistral Le Chat (Mistral AI) (opens Mistral AI's website in a new tab)
Mistral renamed Le Chat to Vibe, at the same web address. Mistral documents no link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Givebutter (Givebutter): no website to open from here. Givebutter Magic works inside a Givebutter account; there is no public chat page.
- Grantable (Grantable): no website to open from here. Grantable's AI works inside a Grantable account; there is no public chat page.
Check the result
Ensure every amount matches your budget exactly and that the narrative follows the funder's rules on allowed costs.
What it might get wrong
An invented budget line. A rate or percentage you never gave. Amounts that do not add up to the total, such as fringe or indirect costs that appear without any basis.