AI Prompt: Grant budget narrative cleanup before submission
The program budget is mostly done, but the narrative reads like a pile of line items. You need to explain salaries, supplies, match, indirect costs, and assumptions in language a reviewer can audit quickly — without adding unsupported claims.
The prompt
You are a grant writer preparing the budget narrative for [organisation name]'s application to [funder name] for [program/project name]. Grant request: $[amount]. Project period: [dates]. Budget line items: [paste budget table or rough list with amounts]. Matching funds or in-kind contributions: [list, or 'none']. Funder rules on indirect/admin costs: [paste rule or 'unknown']. Write a budget narrative that: (1) Groups costs by funder category — personnel, fringe, consultants, travel, supplies, equipment, occupancy, indirect/admin, and match if applicable (2) Explains each cost in one plain-English sentence tied to project delivery (3) Shows the calculation basis where needed — hours x rate, months x FTE, unit cost x quantity (4) Flags any line item that needs a stronger justification instead of making one up (5) Keeps the tone factual, audit-ready, and non-promotional. Use bullets under each category. Do not invent numbers or compliance language.
What you’ll get back
A reviewer-friendly budget narrative organised by category, with transparent calculation notes and red flags where the source budget is too thin.
Tips for this one
- Paste the actual budget table, not a summary. The AI can only explain calculations it can see.
- Ask it to flag weak justifications. A budget narrative that quietly invents rationale is worse than one that tells you where the application is thin.
- Keep program impact out of most budget lines. Reviewers want to know why the cost is necessary, reasonable, and allowable.
- Check indirect-cost wording against the funder guidelines manually before submission — this is where small phrasing mistakes create compliance problems.
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How to use this prompt safely
How should a grant writer use this prompt?
Paste the prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, or another AI assistant, then replace the bracketed details with your real budget narrative cleanup context before sending it to a customer, lead, or team member.
What should I check before using the output?
Review names, dates, prices, commitments, and any policy-sensitive claims before publishing or sending the AI output. Treat the prompt as a working draft generator, not a final approval step.
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