Non-ProfitFree
Grant Proposal Writer for Foundations
Paste the foundation's guidelines and your program notes. Get a full proposal answering that funder's own questions, with every missing fact marked rather than invented.
River's foundation grant proposal writer turns two things you already have into a complete draft: the funder's guidelines and whatever you have written about the program. It reads the guidelines first, sets the sections in the funder's own order and headings, and keeps to their page or word limit. Each section is written from your facts. Where a fact the funder asks for is missing, the draft holds a marked gap with the exact question to answer, instead of a plausible number.
Most proposal generators write the same nine sections for every funder, then leave you to reshape them. Program officers notice. A family foundation asking three questions in two pages does not want an evaluation plan written for a federal reviewer. This draft is built backwards from one funder's priorities and questions, so the need statement uses their words for the problem. If they only accept a short inquiry first, the letter of inquiry writer is the better starting point.
It suits the executive director writing proposals at night, the development associate handed a deadline, and the consultant adapting one program for several funders. Use it once the funder is chosen; funder research and prospecting helps decide which foundation to approach. Bring last year's proposal, a program description, an outcome report or plain notes. The budget section summarises your figures, and the grant budget narrative writer justifies each line when the funder wants more detail.
What program officers look for in a foundation proposal
A foundation proposal succeeds on fit before it succeeds on prose. Program officers read dozens of requests against a short list of priorities their board set, and a strong program outside those priorities is declined quickly. So the first job is matching: which of the funder's stated goals does this program advance, in which place, for which people? The proposal should answer that in its first paragraph, in the funder's own vocabulary, before it describes a single activity.
The need statement is where most drafts go wrong. It should describe the problem in the community you serve, with local figures and their sources, not national statistics about a whole field. It should also stay about the people served, not about your organisation's need for money. Then the program section shows how each activity addresses that need, and the outcomes section says what will change for participants. Outputs count activity, such as sessions held. Outcomes describe change, such as reading levels gained.
Know what the funder actually gives before naming an amount. A private foundation's annual Form 990-PF lists the grants it paid, with each recipient, amount and purpose, so three years of filings show the usual grant size and whether first-time grantees ever receive large awards. Ask within that range. Then follow the guidelines exactly: page limits, font, attachments and the order of sections. Reviewers read a proposal that ignores the format as a preview of how the grant would be managed.
How it works
Add the guidelines
Paste or attach the foundation's guidelines, or name the funder and the program area you are applying to.
Add your program
Paste notes, attach last year's proposal, or describe the program, who it serves and what changed.
River writes the proposal
Each section is written to the funder's questions from your facts, with missing details marked as gaps.
Refine in chat
Fill the gaps, cut to the page limit, or adapt the same proposal for a second foundation.
What you get
- A complete proposal in the funder's own section order, headings and page or word limit
- A need statement built from your local facts, with each figure tied to its source
- SMART objectives that separate outputs from outcomes, using targets from your own data
- An alignment check matching each section to the foundation's stated priorities and questions
- Marked gaps with the exact question to answer wherever a required fact is missing
- A short list of attachments the guidelines require, with anything you have not mentioned flagged
Common questions
Will it make up statistics or outcomes?
No. Every figure in the draft comes from what you supplied or from a public source named beside it. Where the funder asks for something you did not give, such as last year's attendance or a baseline score, the draft shows a marked gap and the question to answer. A program officer who finds one invented number stops trusting the rest.
What if the foundation doesn't publish detailed guidelines?
Many small family foundations publish one paragraph or nothing at all. The draft then follows a common structure: summary, need, program, outcomes and evaluation, organisation, budget and sustainability. It keeps the total short, around three to five pages, and states that choice. If the foundation accepts only an initial letter, start with the letter of inquiry writer instead.
How do I know how much to ask for?
Ask within the range the foundation actually funds. Its Form 990-PF lists every grant paid, so three years of filings show the typical size and whether newcomers get large awards. If you name the amount, the draft checks it against anything the guidelines say. If not, it leaves the request as a marked gap rather than guessing.
Can I reuse it for another funder?
Yes, and that is a common use. Ask River in chat to adapt the proposal to a second foundation's guidelines. It reorders sections, changes vocabulary to match their priorities and cuts to their limit, while keeping your facts unchanged. Reusable blocks such as your history and staff bios belong in a grant boilerplate library so they stay current.
Does it handle federal or state grants too?
Not well, by design. Government applications are scored against published merit criteria and point values, with strict formatting rules. The government grant narrative writer organises the narrative around those criteria instead. This tool is tuned for private and community foundations, which read more like a conversation with one program officer.
What if the proposal is declined?
Ask the program officer for feedback, then decide whether to reapply rather than rewriting by reflex. The declined proposal review compares the feedback with the funder's criteria and its actual giving, and tells you whether a better draft could realistically win. Often the honest answer is a smaller ask or a better-fit funder.
Built by
Chandler Supple
Co-founder & CEO, River
Chandler has spent the last six years working in AI, building tools for millions of users and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, he co-founded River to build a new kind of operating system for AI agents.
Grant Proposal Writer for Foundations
Describe what you need, add any files you have, and your workspace opens with the work already underway.