Top 10+ grant writing software picks and supplemental tools

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Grant writing involves much more than jotting down an explanation of your plans for a project. 

Research, background context, budgets, partnership plans, schedules, and more all must come together to create a persuasive and coherent whole that will compel funders to choose your proposal. 

To support all the separate tasks and sections that go into a proposal, you’ll need a robust grant writing toolkit on your side. Grant writing software and tools come in all shapes and sizes, and they can help with multiple or individual aspects of the process. 

With the rise of AI grant writing tools, nonprofits will be able to consolidate more of their grant resources into comprehensive platforms. However, it’s still important to understand what makes an effective grants toolkit so that you can best tailor yours to your organization’s needs and budget.

Here, we’ll review 10+ of the top grant writing tools and others that can support your grant writing efforts, covering all the essential categories.  

Grant Assistant - Best AI grant writing tool

Grant Assistant, part of the FreeWill suite of smart giving solutions, is the most advanced AI grant writing tool available today. It offers a complete range of expert-built, easy-to-use features that support the grant writing workflow. Specifically, Grant Assistant can help you:

• Summarize and prioritize grant opportunities as you find them.
• Analyze RFPs and other funder documents to quickly draft preliminary responses.
• Research and draft grant proposals in a third of the usual time.
• Infuse your grant proposals with your organization’s specific tone and rich contextual details.
• Adapt to various funder requirements, including complex federal and international development proposals.

Although several AI grant writing tools are on the market today, Grant Assistant stands out for its comprehensiveness and robust algorithmic training—the system is trained on over 7,000 winning grant proposals, meaning its responses and logic patterns are informed by deep, nonprofit-specific knowledge. 

Plus, each Grant Assistant instance is entirely secure and private, with no other AI models trained using user data.

Learn more about Grant Assistant and contact our team to take it for a test drive. Or, if you’re new to using AI for grant writing, keep exploring with these related resources:

• ‍Can you use AI for grant writing? What you need to know
• AI grant writing tools for nonprofits: The top 15 platforms

Coefficient - Best data analysis tool for grant writing

You're not alone if you find yourself battling with spreadsheets and feeling out of your depth when preparing financial information and other background data for grant proposals. This is an area where AI tech can be extremely impactful, and Coefficient is an excellent example.

Coefficient is an AI solution that connects your spreadsheets with your various data tools, like your CRM, to create automated dashboards and reports. It takes the guesswork out of navigating multiple platforms and generating real-time data insights for grant proposals and post-award reports.

Coefficient’s free package likely includes all the features you’ll need for smaller or less intensive grant writing initiatives. Extra capabilities and data capacity are available starting at $49/month.

Candid - Best legacy grant research tools

Candid has long been a go-to resource for grant-seeking nonprofits and grantmaking foundations. This platform includes several key tools that you’re likely already familiar with, including:

• GuideStar
• Foundation Directory Online
• Extensive nonprofit training resources
• Access to industry-leading datasets and reports 

For grant seekers, Foundation Directory Online is the most immediately valuable Candid offering. This leading grant opportunity database gives your organization the confidence that it’s seeing the best and largest range of available opportunities. It’s among the most well-regarded of paid grant databases.

An Essentials subscription to Foundation Directory Online costs $54.99/month or a one-time annual payment of $449.

GrantStation - Best grant seeking strategy tools

GrantStation is another grant database that offers more extensive planning and research tools.

The database includes both charitable and government grants from the U.S. and Canada, as well as international charitable grants. 

However, what stands out about GrantStation is the extensive strategic planning and research tools included with membership. The platform’s package of resources, templates, and training courses make it easy for newer grant seekers to establish coherent long-term grant and funding strategies rather than scattershot awards that become difficult to manage.

GrantStation memberships start at $219 quarterly or $699 annually.

Grants.gov - Essential federal grant writing platform

If you seek U.S. federal grants (or want to), acquaint your team with Grants.gov. This is the official location for all things federal grant seeking. 

Grants.gov centralizes all federal grant opportunities and offers a wide array of training and support materials to help nonprofits succeed in this more complex arena of funding. Grants.gov also offers a Workspace feature that makes it easier to track grant opportunities and collaborate with your team without losing progress or information along the way.

Grants.gov is entirely free to use, although you’ll need to formally apply and provide documentation about your organization.

Learn Grant Writing - Best online grant writing training tools

For organizations and nonprofit professionals (and even freelancers) just beginning to invest in their grant writing skills, training is a must. Grants can be complicated, and a baseline understanding of what they entail will ultimately save more headaches and time than jumping in unprepared.

‍Learn Grant Writing is the leading training resource and community for grant writers, offering a range of free resources, introductory courses, and intensive paid training.

The platform’s flagship offering, the Global Grant Writers Collective, is a membership program that offers comprehensive training, one-on-one coaching, and access to an active community of grant writers of all skill levels and backgrounds. It has many success stories of members who’ve transformed their organizations’ funding strategies and freelancers who’ve built thriving consultancies with the help of professional training and support.

Learn Grant Writing offers several free introductory resources, and membership to the complete training program and community costs $500/month. Although costlier than other training providers, Learn Grant Writing’s system is truly comprehensive and up-to-date. Completing the training program also provides professional certification and 90+ continuing education hours for CFRE members.

GrantHub - Best dedicated grant management software

GrantHub, part of the larger Foundant software ecosystem, is a trusted grant management platform used by over 900 organizations.

After receiving a grant, taking care of all the additional reporting and execution steps required can be complicated. It’s notoriously tricky for grant seekers whose organizations may be unprepared to handle the logistics of grant management.

GrantHub offers comprehensive tools to help you better manage your relationships with funders, track program revenue and expenses, create financial reports, set notifications and schedules, and create spend-down plans to finish funded projects strong. 

GrantHub offers two packages: The first includes basic features most helpful for the pre-award stage at $95/month, and the second includes the full suite of pre- and post-award management features at $349/month. Bolstering your organization’s grant management capabilities quickly pays off down the line, although brand-new grant seekers or very small organizations may want to grow their grant programs before investing.

Grammarly - Best drafting support tool for grant writing

If the writing part of grant writing isn’t your strong suit, remember that there are many tools that can help with this most fundamental part of the process—including AI grant writing tools like Grant Assistant that take all the guesswork out of crafting your proposal’s message.

If you want a smaller-scale solution, Grammarly can help. Grammarly is a well-known spellcheck and writing recommendation tool that can help you effortlessly improve your writing in grant proposals.

The platform has also developed innovative AI features in recent years. These tools can help you better adjust your tone and voice alignment, improve your drafts for clarity, and more. Grammarly is also easy to use in both Google Docs and Microsoft Word.

Grammarly’s basic version, including some simple AI features, is free to use. A Premium version costs $12/month and includes a more robust suite of helpful drafting and AI features.

Trello - Best project management tools for grant writing

Project management is a critical but often overlooked part of successful grant writing. Keeping all the moving pieces of a proposal organized is itself a challenge, and if you need to coordinate with multiple team members and departments, information and deadlines can easily fall through the cracks.

Trello is a Kanban-style project management tool that makes it easy to split complex projects into discrete steps, assign ownership and deadlines, and move tasks from one stage to the next as they’re completed.

Trello stands out for its ease of use and simplicity, which makes it ideal for smaller grant writing programs that need a quick way to keep projects organized. The basic plan for up to 10 collaborators is free to use, with Standard and Premium plans available for larger teams and organizations at $5 and $10/month.

Honorable mentions for other easy-to-use web-based project management platforms include Asana and Monday. Each platform is well-reviewed and brings its own unique style and set of features, so consider your organization’s preferences and needs when making your selection.

Google Workspace - Best productivity tools for grant writing

Finally, you can’t forget the essential productivity tools that serve as the foundation for your grant writing toolkit.

For many organizations, the most useful and easiest-to-use choice is the Google Workspace of products. Its apps include:

• Gmail
• Calendar
• Drive
• Docs
• Sheets
• Slides
• Chat

The Google ecosystem is the preferred choice for many organizations because its apps work seamlessly with one another, and many other platforms offer pre-built integrations with them. Google Drive is particularly helpful as an intuitive cloud-based storage system for teams to easily save and access files. Google’s tools also come infused with Gemini, the ecosystem’s generative AI assistant.

Between file storage, document creation, easy collaboration, spreadsheets for reports, slideshows for grant kickoff presentations, and more, this suite of tools can give you everything you need to keep the focus on grant writing and research rather than logistics.

Access to Google Workspace apps starts at $7/user per month for 30GB of storage or $14/user per month for 2TB of storage.

Building your grant writing software stack

With the right tools on your side, building a thriving grant writing program for your nonprofit becomes much easier. 

An effective grant writing software stack will help you find the perfect grant opportunities, stay organized, collaborate with team members, effectively manage your programs, create reports for funders, and more in less time.

Plus, AI promises to streamline the grant writing process further. Purpose-built platforms like Grant Assistant are revolutionizing the work it takes to research and draft complex proposals, while even simpler tools like Google Docs are quickly integrating AI features that can help grant writers produce better results faster.

To learn more about the future of grant writing, explore these recommended resources:

• Can you use AI for grant writing? What you need to know
• AI grant writing tools for nonprofits: The top 15 platforms
• Webinar: A deep dive on five practical AI uses for nonprofit fundraising