Finance, budgeting and compliance
Explain a financial report in plain language for your board
Helps non-financial board members understand where the organization stands.
Take care first — Use summary totals your board already sees, not account numbers, donor names or payroll details.
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
Fill [SUMMARY TOTALS FROM YOUR REPORT] with totals copied from the statements your board already receives. Use total revenue, expenses, cash and reserves. Leave out account numbers, donor names and payroll lines.
Starter prompt
Explain this summary financial information to board members who aren't finance experts. Do not infer trends or causes I did not give; if a figure is missing, write MISSING INFO instead of guessing. Summary: [SUMMARY TOTALS FROM YOUR REPORT]. Include revenue, expenses, cash and reserves if given. Write a one-page plain-English explanation, point out 3 things they should ask about, and define any finance terms you use.
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
Have your finance lead verify every statement, since AI may misread numbers or draw wrong conclusions.
What it might get wrong
A reserve or cash figure restated wrongly. A deficit softened into a healthy position without support. A trend or cause for the numbers that no one gave it.