For Grant Writers ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have a Claude Project that "knows" your organization — your mission, programs, key data, past proposals, and organizational voice. Instead of starting from scratch every time you open Claude, every conversation will begin with full organizational context, cutting your proposal drafting time in half.
What you'll need
Go to claude.ai and sign in or create an account. Click Upgrade and select Claude Pro ($20/month). Once subscribed, look for Projects in the left sidebar.
What you should see: A project page with a document icon where you can add files, and a text area for "Project Instructions."
Troubleshooting: If you don't see Projects, make sure you're on Claude Pro (not the free plan). Free accounts don't have Projects access.
Click Add content or the document icon in your Project. Upload the following files (PDF, Word, or plain text all work):
Essential documents to upload:
Upload files one at a time. Claude can handle up to 200,000 tokens in context — roughly 150,000 words, which is far more than any grant writing library.
What you should see: Each uploaded document appears as a file icon in the Project. Claude will confirm it can "see" the documents.
Troubleshooting: If a document is too large, split it into sections. If your annual report is in a format that doesn't upload cleanly (e.g., heavily designed PDFs), copy-paste the key text sections into a plain text file and upload that instead.
Click the Project Instructions area (sometimes called "Custom Instructions" or the pencil icon at the top). This is where you give Claude standing context for every conversation in this Project.
Paste this template and fill in your details:
You are an expert grant writer working for [Organization Name], a [type] nonprofit based in [city, state].
ORGANIZATION BASICS:
- Mission: [paste your mission statement]
- Founded: [year]
- Staff: [approximate number]
- Annual budget: [approximate]
- Primary programs: [list 3-5 program names with one-line descriptions]
- Geographic focus: [city/region/state/national]
- Population served: [describe]
VOICE AND STYLE:
- Tone: [e.g., "warm and evidence-based, community-centered, accessible"]
- Avoid: [e.g., "deficit language, jargon, overly clinical descriptions"]
- Always: [e.g., "use person-first language, lead with community strengths"]
WHEN WRITING GRANT CONTENT:
- Draw from the uploaded documents for all organizational facts, statistics, and descriptions
- Never invent statistics — flag when you need data I haven't provided
- Always stay within the word limits I specify
- Match our organizational voice as described above
- If I ask you to adapt existing content, preserve all specific numbers and program names
Click Save.
What you should see: The instructions are saved and will appear at the top of every new conversation in this Project.
Start a new conversation inside the Project. Don't re-explain who you are — just give the task:
"Draft a 400-word program description for our [program name] for a grant application to a community foundation focused on family stability. Use our actual program data from the uploaded documents."
What you should see: Claude produces a draft that uses your organization's real program name, real outcome data, and your organizational voice — without you having to explain any of it.
Troubleshooting: If Claude doesn't seem to be using your documents, try: "Please refer to the [specific document name] I uploaded when drafting this section." Sometimes explicitly naming the document helps.
Start a conversation and ask Claude to help you build standard prompts for your most common tasks. Save the best ones in a Notes document you add to the Project.
Common prompts to develop:
Add these to your saved prompts document:
1. Boilerplate adaptation:
"Rewrite our standard program description from [doc name] to answer this funder question in [X] words: [paste question]"
2. Needs statement:
"Draft a [X]-word needs statement for [program] using our community data from the uploaded documents. Funder focus: [their priority area]."
3. Progress report:
"Write a [X]-word progress report for [funder name] reporting on [program]. Goal from original proposal: [paste goal]. Our outcomes: [paste numbers]."
4. Full proposal section:
"Draft the [section name] section for a proposal to [funder type]. Word limit: [X]. Use our real program data and stay in our organizational voice."