From blank page to funder-ready proposal
Five steps take you from an empty workspace to a proposal that's been written with AI and checked against your funder's actual criteria. Here's the whole flow.
Templates for your funder
Pick NIH, NSF, nonprofit, government, or a corporate program like Walmart Spark Good, and the right sections are set up for you.
AI grounded in your project
A short Project Brief and the funder's requirements steer every draft, so Compass, GrantCopilot's AI, writes about your real work.
A real first draft in one click
Write with AI drafts any section in your funder's voice. Add with AI extends what you've written without rewriting it.
Feedback before reviewers see it
Section analysis and a Full Proposal Analysis surface gaps, inconsistencies, and misalignment while there's still time to fix them.
01
Create your first proposal
Pick your funding type and Compass sets up the right sections. An NIH R01 gets Specific Aims and Research Strategy, a nonprofit grant gets a Statement of Need and Budget Narrative, and a Walmart Spark Good application gets its single brief Grant Request field.
Templates for NIH, NSF, nonprofit, government, and corporate programs
Found a grant on the Find Grants search? Start a proposal straight from the opportunity page
Paste a grant link and the requirements are read for you
02
Add a Project Brief
A few sentences about your real project: the problem, who it serves, and your approach. Compass reads this before every draft and analysis, so the writing is about your work instead of generic boilerplate.
Takes two minutes and pays off in every AI draft afterward
Edit it anytime; every later draft picks up the changes
03
Add the funder's requirements
Paste the requirements, or paste a grant page or RFP link and the AI reads it for you, PDFs included. Deadlines, eligibility, and evaluation criteria then steer everything Compass writes and checks.
Fetch from URL reads grant pages and PDF announcements
Curated programs like Walmart Spark Good come with requirements already loaded
Your own notes layer on top for application-specific details
04
Write a section with AI
Open any section and let Compass draft it from your brief and requirements, written in your funder's voice and to the section's length limits. Prefer to write it yourself? Start Writing gives you a guided template instead.
Write with AI drafts a blank section end to end
Add with AI extends a started section with new content, never rewriting what you wrote
A Section Brief tells Compass what to emphasize in one specific section
05
Run a full analysis
Compass reviews your draft against the funder's criteria: section by section as you write, and across the whole proposal with a Full Proposal Analysis that catches gaps, inconsistencies, and misalignment before a reviewer does.
One-click Apply All implements the suggestions you approve
NIH proposals can run a Simulated Peer Review on the official 1-9 scale
Export to PDF or Word when you're ready to submit
Beyond the basics
The five steps get you to a strong draft. These tools sharpen it.
Section Briefs
A short note telling Compass what to emphasize in one specific section, layered on top of your Project Brief. Open it from the tune icon next to any section title.
Add with AI
On a section you've already started, Compass reads what's there and adds new complementary content. It won't rewrite or repeat what you wrote.
Simulated Peer Review
For NIH proposals, score a section or your full proposal the way a CSR study section reviewer would, on the official 1-9 scale with strengths and weaknesses.
Compass Research
Research a grant's competitive landscape, check eligibility, or ask any question with cited sources, all from the floating Compass button in your workspace.
Common questions
No. Every section has a Start Writing option with a guided template for drafting yourself. Write with AI is there when you want a first draft, and the analysis tools work on anything you write, whether the AI drafted it or you did.
Exactly what you give it: your Project Brief, the funder's requirements, any Section Briefs, and what you've already written in other sections. That's why the flow starts with the brief and requirements. They turn generic AI writing into writing about your real work.
NIH and NSF research mechanisms, nonprofit and foundation grants, state and local government grants, and corporate programs like Walmart Spark Good Local Grants. Each type gets its own section structure and funder-specific guidance.
A chatbot starts from zero every time. GrantCopilot keeps your Project Brief, requirements, sections, and research together, writes each section with the full picture, and analyzes your proposal against the funder's actual evaluation criteria.
Export it as a PDF or Word document for final review, then submit through the funder's official channel. GrantCopilot never submits on your behalf.