Grant Writing Fundamentals (With AI Tips)

Lesson 2: AI Tool Integration: Demo: Using Perplexity AI to research funder types in your region To use Perplexity AI for researching funder types in your region, you begin by starting the conversation with your first prompt. When you go to Perplexity AI, ask it a clear and specific question. For example, instead of a general query, you might ask, “What are the major family foundations that fund K-12 education initiatives in [Your Region], including the [Your City/Region] area?” or more specifically, “Are there family foundations in [Your County], [Your State], that support literacy programs for elementary students?” Next, look at what the AI finds in its initial review. Perplexity AI will process your question and give you an answer in a narrative format, often listing potential foundations and providing a brief snippet about them. It usually also shows you the sources it used. For the [Your Region] example, it might list a few foundation names and perhaps mention if their focus is on education generally, or something more specific. Then comes the crucial step of digging deeper to extract and verify key information. The AI gives you clues, but you need to become a detective. Extract the names of foundations Perplexity AI provides. Then, verify this information by going to the source. For each foundation name, open a new browser tab and search for its official website. Once on the foundation’s website, check their funding priorities, confirm their geographic focus (do they fund in your specific area?), look for guidelines and deadlines, and review past grantees. This last step is vital as it shows the actual types of projects and organizations they support. After your initial review, you can ask more questions as follow-up prompts to deepen your research. Based on what you find, or if the initial search was too broad, you can ask Perplexity AI to narrow things down or explore related avenues. For instance, if Perplexity mentioned the “ABC Family Foundation,” you could ask, “Tell me more about the ABC Family Foundation’s specific grantmaking for K-12 education in [Your Region].” Or to broaden the focus, “What community foundations serve [Your City/Region], [Your State], and support youth development programs?” Remember to always take the new names or information from these follow-up questions and repeat the verification step by going directly to the potential funder’s website.

Grant Writing Fundamentals (With AI Tips)

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