A guide to AI-powered grant funding

Artificial intelligence (AI) could have many benefits for the charity sector, not least in the world of grant funding. AI can help charities with their applications, creating interesting reports from their data, inspiring their written content, and ensuring that all funder questions are addressed.  

More than a third of charities (36%) are currently using AI to support their grant fundraising, according to the 2025 Charity Digital Skills report, making it the second most common use of AI in the sector. However, that means that more than three in five charities are missing out on the advantages that AI can bring to grant funding.  

It’s not just about writing the applications – although it does help (when combined with human oversight, of course).  AI can also help charities locate and find relevant grant funds, saving them considerable research time and maximising their chances of success by targeting funds that specifically apply to their needs and criteria. 

IT service providers Qlic IT have hosted a webinar outlining how charities can build a custom AI-powered grant finding agent using Microsoft Copilot. The webinar also covers the pros and cons of free vs paid Copilot features, how to ensure data remains secure, and how charities can integrate AI into their existing work without added time and stress.  You can watch the webinar above.

Watch on YouTube

But before charities get started with building bespoke grant funding agents, we share some of the benefits of using AI for grants and how it can make applications easier as we approach the coming year.  

What is agentic AI? 

First of all, it is important to note the different types of AI and how they can impact grant funding applications.  

Generative AI 

Generative AI can be really helpful for writing content – it can generate answers to funders’ questions quickly and, with the right prompts, can include all the salient information needed to build trust and demonstrate impact.  

A note of caution, however: always apply human oversight. Generative AI has made grant funding only more competitive, as it has done for the job market. Applications that have obviously been written by AI may be more easily disqualified – it is the human element that makes an application meaningful and authentic. There are ways to help AI sound like you – with Copilot you can upload previous applications so it can replicate tone, for example – but ultimately, anything generated by AI should be your first draft, not the final version. 

Agentic AI 

Agentic AI refers to systems that act autonomously to achieve specific goals. As Charity Digital’s Head of Content Ioan Marc Jones explains: “It can make decisions for us, plan actions, and adapt to its environment without the need for constant human input.” 

For example, in Qlic IT’s webinar, Managing Director Adam Graham outlines how charities can use Microsoft Copilot Studio to create an agentic AI tool that searches for grant funds they can apply for. Agentic AI is the assistant that can make the process behind applying for grants far easier, going beyond content and doing the work for charity professionals, giving them time back to focus elsewhere.  

The benefits of using AI for grant funding 

Research 

There are many grant funds available to charities – but they are not always easy to find. Many have overlapping requirements and purposes, and so discovering the ones that are most relevant to a charity’s cause can be a laborious task.  

That’s where agentic AI comes in. Qlic’s AI-powered grant funding tool can streamline repetitive funding research, discover and filter grant opportunities effectively, and save hours of manual effort while maintaining accuracy and compliance. The tool runs in the background and Copilot can even set a reminder to tell charities to check it to see if any new funds have come up. 

You can find out more about how AI can power grant funding research in Qlic’s comprehensive webinar at the start of this article. 

Watch the webinar 

Reviewing 

When applying for grants, it is essential that charities meet the criteria set out by the funders, else they find themselves falling at the first hurdle. Funders read many, many applications so charities must make it as easy as possible for them to find the answers they need and that their questions are answered thoroughly to boost trust and transparency.  

AI tools can help simply by comparing the application with the criteria set. For example, users can ask Copilot “Does this document answer the questions on this form?” and it can tell you if anything is potentially missing or needs elaboration. This capability is very handy once applications are complete, giving charities more confidence they are putting their best foot forward and ensuring funders receive applications that give them all the information they need.  

Drafting 

While it may not be the finished product, AI tools can at least give charity professionals an initial structure to work from when starting their funding bid. It can lay out the information needed clearly and concisely, and help charities translate their impact in a way that they might not be so able to when close to their projects. 

As aforementioned, charities can use previous grant applications to train their AI tools to sound more like them and use their tone-of-voice. However, it is crucial charities only do this with an AI tool they trust. Microsoft Copilot is safest in this scenario since it protects your data within its ecosystem and doesn’t use data to train its tools generally – results are specific to the charity. If in doubt, charities should consult their AI policy to understand how to work with data and what is permissible to use with AI technology. 

Charities can find out more about how to create an AI policy and how to boost fundraising with AI on Qlic IT’s blog.