AI prompt for grant budget narratives

A copy-paste prompt and hand-check list that turn a line-item budget into clear budget notes with rules against inventing numbers.

What This Prompt Does

Paste in a line-item budget and this prompt returns budget notes as a table, one row per line. Each row says what the line covers, how the amount was calculated, why it is needed and which activity it supports. Anything it cannot explain is flagged for you to answer.

Reviewers rarely argue with arithmetic they can follow, but they argue with numbers that turn up unexplained. A budget narrative puts the line-item numbers in context by saying how they were calculated and how they relate to program implementation. Without enough detail and justification, the application may be reviewed less favorably.

Paste only what the assistant needs. Use job titles instead of names, and keep the salary figures, because the assistant needs them to do the calculation. Strip any details the funder marked confidential, and add names back yourself when you fill in the funder's form if it asks for them. Follow your organization's data policy. The notes are also a commitment, because charges are later compared with what you wrote.
Write budget notes for a grant application from the budget and project details below. Rules: 1. Keep the funder's category order. Never change, invent or round a number. 2. If a line (other than a sub-grant or subcontract line, see below) is a lump sum, a round number or has no clear basis, do not guess. Write "Missing information" in the last column and list it as a question for me at the end. 3. Flag any line where effort in the project summary differs from the effort used in the budget calculation. 4. If the funder's form asks for a different layout for any line type, follow the funder's form. Output: Markdown tables, each with exactly these columns: Budget line | What it covers | Calculation (unit cost x quantity x duration = amount) | Why it is needed and which activity it supports | Basis of the estimate (such as a quote or price comparison) | Missing information Line-type rules: - Personnel: base salary x effort x duration = amount. Give the job title (no names), project role, a brief summary of duties, and any other source of salary support. - Travel: tie each trip to a project activity and give purpose, destination, number of travelers and cost basis. Local trips: purpose, staff, number of trips or mileage, mileage rate. Other trips: event, location, airfare, lodging, per diem. - Supplies: unit cost x quantity = amount. For a high-value item, state unit cost and the capitalization level together. - Equipment: say why equipment we already own cannot be used, and give the basis of the estimate, such as a vendor quote. - Sub-grants and subcontracts: show as a lump sum unless the funder's form says otherwise, describe the partner's expertise, and note that a separate budget and narrative exist for the partner. - Indirect costs: in one paragraph give the rate, the base, the exclusions and the multiplication. If I write NONE, say that no indirect costs are recovered. - Empty category: write "None requested" or "Not applicable". Use two tables. The first covers requested funds. The second covers in-kind, matching and other-funding lines. After the tables, list the lines a reviewer might query: no clear tie to a project task, too large or too small for the scope, or a person with no described role. Input: - Line-item budget: [PASTE BUDGET] - Project summary or activity list: [PASTE SUMMARY] - Budget period: [PERIOD] - Other funding and in-kind support: [DETAILS] - Indirect cost rate and base: [RATE AND BASE, OR NONE] - Funder's category order: [ORDER]
Open it, with the prompt already in:ChatGPTClaudeGemini(opens empty)

How to Use It

  1. Have your line-item budget and activity list open.
  2. Fill in the brackets, following the privacy reminder below.
  3. Run it. Answer each "Missing information" question with real figures or documents, then ask the assistant to redo only those rows.
  4. Paste the finished notes into the funder's form in the funder's category order, and trim to any character or length limit. Private foundations often call this section budget notes or give a single box with a character limit, so format and length vary.

Check the Output

  • Every amount and calculation matches your spreadsheet. No row only restates a total.
  • Effort, roles and figures agree with the project narrative and workplan.
  • The notes follow the funder's category order and match the budget in amounts and language.
  • Each cost ties to a real task, and no rate, quote or justification was made up.
  • In-kind, matching and other-funding lines are stated correctly, and the indirect cost basis is explained. If the funder caps indirect costs, for example at 10%, the rate respects the cap.

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