Write your foundation grant proposal
Describe your program and budget. Get a complete 12-page grant proposal ready to submit to foundations.
Write your foundation grant proposal
River's Foundation Grant Proposal Writer creates complete 12-page grant proposals for private foundations. You provide program details, budget information, and desired outcomes. The AI generates a comprehensive proposal including executive summary, statement of need, program description, goals and objectives, evaluation plan, budget narrative, organizational background, and sustainability plan. You get a professional grant proposal ready to customize and submit.
Unlike basic templates that leave you filling in blanks, this tool writes complete narrative sections explaining your program's value, demonstrating community need, articulating measurable outcomes, and justifying budget requests. The AI structures proposals following foundation best practices with clear logic connecting need to solution to impact. You get proposals that tell compelling stories about your mission while providing the data and detail funders require.
This tool is perfect for grant writers at nonprofits seeking foundation funding for programs and projects. Use it when starting new grant applications, adapting existing proposals for different funders, or creating your first foundation proposal. It works best when you provide specific program details, realistic budgets, and clear outcome metrics. The more concrete information you include, the stronger and more customized your generated proposal becomes.
What Makes Strong Grant Proposals
Strong grant proposals connect community need directly to your proposed solution and demonstrate measurable impact. Weak proposals focus on what your organization wants to do without clearly establishing why it matters or how you will know it worked. Effective proposals start with compelling data about the problem, show how your specific program addresses root causes, outline concrete activities with realistic timelines, and define success through measurable outcomes. Foundation officers fund solutions to problems, not organizations that need money.
Winning proposals balance emotion with evidence. Stories about individuals served make abstract issues concrete and urgent. Statistics demonstrate scale and validate the problem exists. Strong proposals weave both throughout, using data to establish need and stories to show human impact. Budget narratives explain why each expense is necessary for program success, not just listing costs. Evaluation plans specify exactly what data you will collect and when, proving you take accountability seriously.
To write excellent proposals, research the foundation thoroughly before writing. Understand their priorities, funding ranges, and application requirements. Tailor your proposal to align with their mission and interests. Use their language when describing your work. Be honest about challenges and realistic about what funding will accomplish. Foundation officers appreciate transparency and specific plans over inflated promises. Write clearly for educated generalists, not just experts in your field. Strong proposals are persuasive narratives backed by evidence that your program will create the change funders want to see.
What You Get
Complete 12-page foundation grant proposal
Executive summary highlighting key points
Statement of need with problem context
Detailed program description and activities
Goals, objectives, and measurable outcomes
Evaluation plan with data collection methods
Budget narrative justifying expenses
Organizational background and sustainability plan
How It Works
- 1Provide program detailsEnter program name, description, budget, goals, and organization background
- 2AI writes proposalGet complete 12-page grant proposal with all required sections in 5-10 minutes
- 3Customize and refineAdd foundation-specific details, update data, and ensure accuracy
- 4Submit to foundationsUse proposal for foundation applications or adapt for different funders
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this work for any foundation, or do I need to customize?
You must customize for each foundation. This generates a strong foundational proposal, but every foundation has specific priorities, application formats, and word limits. Use the generated content as your base, then tailor the language to match the foundation's mission, adjust length to meet their requirements, emphasize aspects they care about most, and add foundation-specific examples or connections. Generic proposals rarely win funding. Customization shows you understand and align with each funder's priorities.
Should I include actual budget numbers in my input?
Yes, provide your real budget request amount and major expense categories if you have them. The AI will generate a budget narrative explaining why you need the requested amount. However, you must create a detailed line-item budget separately and ensure the narrative accurately describes those expenses. This tool writes the narrative explanation of your budget, not the numerical budget spreadsheet itself. Most foundations require both the numbers and the narrative justification.
How should I handle the organizational background if we are new?
For new organizations, focus on founder expertise, community partnerships, pilot program results if any, and your unique approach to the problem. Established nonprofits emphasize track record and past impact. The AI adapts to what you provide. If you are brand new, explain why you founded the organization, what gap you fill, and what qualifies your team to do this work. Foundations fund strong leaders with good ideas, not just long histories.
What if I am applying for general operating support, not a specific program?
This tool works best for program-specific proposals. For general operating support, you would describe your overall mission and organizational activities as the program. Explain what funding organizational operations enables you to accomplish, define measurable outcomes for your work overall, and justify why unrestricted funding strengthens your impact. The structure still applies, but you frame your entire organization as the program being funded.
Does this include evaluation metrics, or do I add those myself?
The AI generates an evaluation section with general approaches based on your stated outcomes, but you must specify your exact metrics. The tool creates the framework showing you understand evaluation importance. You add specific data points you will track, measurement tools you will use, evaluation timeline, and how you will use results to improve programming. Foundations want to see you know exactly how you will measure and demonstrate success.
What is River?
River is an AI-powered document editor that helps you write better, faster. With intelligent writing assistance, real-time collaboration, and powerful AI tools, River transforms how professionals create content.
AI-Powered Writing
Get intelligent suggestions and assistance as you write.
Professional Tools
Access specialized tools for any writing task.
Privacy-First
Your documents stay private and secure.
Ready to try Write your foundation grant proposal?
Start using this tool in 60 seconds. No credit card required.
Write Proposal →