Searching for grants

Two ways to search

Plain-language search (recommended)

Just type what you're looking for. Three or more words triggers the AI parser, which extracts geography, dollar amount, populations, funder type, and program area from your sentence and runs a matched search. Examples that work well:

• “federal grants for after-school STEM programs”
• “capacity-building grants for arts nonprofits in California under $50k”
• “workforce development for formerly incarcerated people”
• “rural broadband infrastructure funding”

After the parser runs, you'll see an “AI understood” chip row showing what it pulled from your query. If something is wrong (geography missing, dollar amount misread), edit the query and run it again or use the filter sidebar to correct.

Keyword + filter search

Single-word queries skip the AI parser and run as a straight keyword match. Use this when you know exactly what you want (e.g., a specific funder name, a CFDA number, an agency abbreviation).

Reading the result cards

Each result card surfaces the data that actually drives a yes/no decision:

• Match score: 0 to 100, computed against your org profile. Above 70 is usually worth a closer read; below 40 usually isn't.
• Competitiveness: Low / Medium / High / Unknown. “Low” means low competition, which is high winnability. Counterintuitive at first but consistent across the product.
• Deadline urgency chip: red for 7 days or fewer, amber for under 30 days, hidden otherwise.
• Why this matches: three reasons the matcher surfaced this grant for you. Skim these to decide whether to click in.
• Watch out: disqualifiers the matcher caught (eligibility mismatch, geography mismatch, budget-size mismatch). Read these before opening the full grant.

The filter sidebar

The left sidebar is sticky and scrolls independently. By default it applies a 60+ days out deadline floor, which hides grants closing inside the next 60 days so you only see opportunities you have realistic time to draft against.

Useful filters to know:

• Status: Open (default), Forecasted (announced but not yet open for applications), All, or Past.
• Deadline: 30+/60+/90+ days out. “Any” drops the floor entirely; use it when you're willing to consider quick-turn opportunities.
• Min match score: only appears when an org context is set. Sliding it to 70+ trims noise on broad searches.
• Competitiveness: hide High-competition grants if you're short on capacity, or hide Unknown if you only want graded opportunities.
• Funding use: General operating, program, project, capital, research, mixed. Particularly useful for orgs who only want unrestricted operating funds.

Sorting

The sort dropdown lives above the result list. Defaults to Best match. Other useful sorts:

• Easiest to win: ranks by competitiveness, low first.
• Deadline: soonest: combine with status=Open for time-sensitive lists.
• Amount: highest: useful for capital campaigns or large operating grants.
• Recently added: see new opportunities since your last visit.

Saving searches

Agency users can save the current filter set as a named search and opt in to email alerts when new grants match. The saved-search widget lives just above the results. Direct users can save individual grants to a pipeline (see Pipeline & deadlines); a saved recurring search is on the roadmap.

Tips that consistently improve results

• Be specific about geography. “In Pennsylvania” is better than “mid-Atlantic.”
• Include a dollar size. “Under $50k” or “over $100k” sharply narrows the result set.
• Name the population. “Underserved youth” is fine; “at-risk Black and Latino teens in North Philadelphia” is better.
• Use status=Forecasted to scout grants that haven't opened yet so you can prepare ahead of the deadline rush.