How Omdena Uses AI to Cut NGO Grant Writing Time by 50%

Securing grant funding is essential for many NGOs, but the process is often slow and resource-intensive. Teams spend weeks searching for opportunities, writing proposals, and managing submissions, which takes time away from program delivery and community work.

Omdena helps solve this challenge by using AI to automate repetitive steps in the grant process. With AI-driven grant matching, first-draft proposal generation, and workflow management tools, NGOs can submit proposals much faster while improving quality and alignment with donor requirements.

Challenges in the Traditional Grant Process

For many NGOs, applying for grants is one of the most time-consuming parts of their work. Limited staff capacity and manual workflows make the process slow and often overwhelming. As a result, organizations may struggle to pursue funding consistently or effectively.

NGOs commonly face three core challenges:

1. Time-Consuming Research
Teams may spend weeks searching across multiple databases and websites to find relevant grants. This slows down the funding pipeline and delays program implementation.

2. Limited Resources
Many NGOs operate with small teams that balance fundraising tasks with core program work. The pressure to produce detailed proposals can pull attention away from direct impact.

3. Missed Opportunities
Because of time and capacity constraints, some funding opportunities go unnoticed. This can lead to lost partnerships and reduced sustainability in long-term projects.

These challenges make it harder for NGOs to secure funding, maintain momentum, and expand their impact.

AI-Powered Grant Management Solutions

Omdena’s customized AI tools tackle these challenges head-on, transforming how NGOs approach grant writing. Here’s how:

1. Faster Grant Matching

AI scans grant databases, philanthropic directories, and government funding portals within minutes. It filters opportunities based on your mission, focus areas, location, and eligibility criteria. This ensures that promising grants are identified quickly, reducing research time and preventing missed opportunities.

2. Streamlined Proposal Writing

With the right inputs, AI generates an initial draft of grant proposals, aligned with funder criteria and your objectives. It automates:

3. Effortless Submission and Tracking

AI-supported tools organize all deadlines, required documents, and multi-stage submission steps in one place. Automated reminders and workflow dashboards reduce errors and ensure timely submissions. This prevents bottlenecks and helps teams manage multiple proposals with greater ease.

Human Oversight and AI as an Assistant

While AI greatly speeds up grant research and drafting, human expertise remains essential. AI is most effective when used as a support tool, while people provide context, strategy, and refinement.

AI assists by handling repetitive, time-consuming tasks such as data lookup, initial proposal structuring, and formatting. However, the final proposal must reflect the organization’s unique voice, mission, and goals. Human staff review drafts, strengthen storytelling, and ensure alignment with community needs and ethical standards.

This human–AI collaboration allows organizations to produce proposals that are both polished and mission-driven. AI accelerates the process, while human insight ensures the proposal remains authentic, strategic, and compelling. This human-in-the-loop model is common among the NGOs most effectively leveraging AI for funding and program operations.”

Safeguarding Sensitive Data

Omdena places a strong emphasis on data protection and privacy when supporting grant workflows. All AI solutions are designed to ensure that sensitive organizational and beneficiary information remains secure and in the control of the NGO.

Key data protection measures include:

Data Anonymization
Personal and identifying information is removed or masked before processing to prevent unintended exposure.

Encrypted Communication
All data transfers use secure encryption protocols to protect information in transit and at rest.

Compliance with Privacy Standards
Omdena partners with service providers that follow global data privacy regulations. No client data is stored or retained without explicit permission.

Local and Open-Source Model Options
When needed, AI models such as GPT-NeoX or LLaMA can run locally. This provides full control over data flow and avoids reliance on external servers.

By following these standards, Omdena ensures that all AI-driven grant workflows remain safe, confidential, and aligned with the ethical expectations of the NGO sector.

Results That Matter

Omdena’s AI support delivers measurable improvements across the grant process. By reducing manual workload and automating key steps, NGOs can secure funding faster and redirect time toward mission-focused programs.

Key outcomes include:

50% Faster Proposal Turnaround
Proposals that previously took multiple weeks can now be prepared and submitted in under one week.

Higher Approval Rates
Proposals become more consistent, aligned with funder criteria, and supported by clear data, improving the likelihood of success.

More Time for Impact
Staff can focus on program delivery, stakeholder engagement, and strategic planning rather than administrative tasks.

These results demonstrate how AI is not just a tool for efficiency, but a catalyst for stronger, more sustainable organizational growth.

Success Story

A nonprofit organization partnered with Omdena to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its grant application process. Before working together, the organization struggled to identify funding opportunities and complete proposals on time due to limited staff capacity.

With Omdena’s AI-driven workflow in place:

• The organization identified more than 20 relevant grants in a single week.
• Proposal drafting time was reduced by 60%, saving over 100 working hours.
• Within six months, the organization secured $500,000 in new funding.

This partnership allowed the team to shift their focus back to program implementation and community engagement, while maintaining a steady and sustainable funding pipeline.

Example Client Case Studies

Case Study 1: Expanding RFP Access for Underrepresented Businesses

The Problem: Minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses faced challenges in accessing government and commercial contracting opportunities. The decentralized and inefficient RFP discovery process limited their ability to compete effectively and hindered their growth.

Omdena’s Solution
Omdena developed a centralized RFP platform that brings contracting opportunities together in one searchable system. Key features included:

• A web scraping engine to collect RFPs across multiple sources
• An ETL pipeline to organize and structure the data
• An interactive web application with advanced filtering and search tools
• Security and geo-fencing features to ensure safe and region-specific access

Impact

This platform reduced the time spent searching for opportunities, increased access to relevant contracts, and enabled underrepresented businesses to participate more effectively in federal and commercial markets. The solution supported business growth and helped promote broader economic inclusion.

Case Study 2: Streamlining NGO Grant Access with AI

The Challenge
Many NGOs struggled with time-intensive and costly approaches to identifying grant opportunities. Limited capacity often resulted in missed funding.

Omdena’s Solution
Working with the social enterprise Our Community, Omdena created AI-driven tools that automated grant sourcing and analysis. The project incorporated:

• Natural Language Processing (NLP) to extract insights from funding documents
• Automated web scraping to continuously update grant databases
• APIs for faster and structured data retrieval
• A visualization dashboard showing grant trends and eligibility insights across six countries

Impact
The system fully automated grant data collection and significantly reduced research time. NGOs gained clearer visibility into available funding and could apply more strategically. This allowed organizations to shift effort from administrative work to community impact.

Overcoming Barriers to AI Adoption

Some NGOs are hesitant to adopt AI because of budget limitations, limited technical capacity, or concerns about data privacy. Omdena’s approach is designed to address these barriers so that organizations can benefit from AI without needing large investments or specialized internal teams.

Budget-Friendly and Scalable
Omdena builds AI solutions that work with existing systems and require minimal infrastructure. This keeps costs manageable and allows organizations to scale at their own pace.

No Technical Expertise Required
NGOs do not need in-house data scientists or developers. Omdena provides access to a global network of AI professionals who collaborate directly with teams to build and maintain custom solutions.

Data Security and Ethical Practices
All solutions follow strict data protection standards, prioritizing privacy, fairness, and transparency. This ensures that AI adoption aligns with the values and mission of the organization.

By eliminating these barriers, Omdena makes AI practical, accessible, and sustainable for NGOs of all sizes.

Ready to transform your grant process?

Omdena’s AI solutions have redefined the grant process, cutting time in half and enabling NGOs to focus on their mission. By combining cutting-edge technology with a human-centered approach, Omdena helps organizations secure funding, save time, and drive greater impact.

Schedule a free discovery call

Need more resources? 

Download our free resources guide on GenAI and AI Agents for NGOs