GrantCue User Guide

1. Find and qualify

Saving keeps an opportunity for research. It does not apply or contact the funder. Open current official instructions and record the applicant category, project service area, round, deadline and submission method. How many staff you have doesn't decide which applicant category you're in. You can leave anything you don't know yet blank while you research.

2. Decide whether to apply (Go/No-Go)

Review mission, capacity, budget, matching funds and the value of the effort. Choose Pursue, Hold, Not this round or Do not pursue; an optional reason can help your team remember the decision. Hold needs a next action. A good mission fit cannot cancel an explicit eligibility conflict.

3. Draft answers and prepare the budget

Resume the existing application. In Requirements, record the actual funder question, source version, evidence needed and word or character limit. Answer the question, support facts and respect the limit. Keep unknown counts, costs and outcomes as placeholders. Link suitable current document versions and obtain an approved project budget; a file category alone is not a review.

4. Review the application

Check every answer against the actual funder questions, eligibility, budget, attachments and limits. A second reader can check that the need, proposed work, costs and expected results agree. Funders may consider mission alignment, evidence of need, a feasible project, team capacity and measurable outcomes; use their published criteria when available. An AI fit or readiness score is not a promise of funding.

5. Submit using the required method

Confirm the destination, deadline/timezone and authorized external submitter. Saving, uploading to GrantCue and downloading Word/PDF drafts do not submit anything. Use the funder’s required portal, email, paper or other method yourself. Then choose Record external submission and enter the actual method/date if known and optional confirmation. Historical dates can remain unknown.

6. Track and report

Check acknowledgment and correction requests, then the funding decision. Submitted, received and awarded are different facts. Only build a reporting schedule from the actual award obligations. Funds awarded are separate from funds received.

Documents depend on the applicant and funder

Use the current application checklist. A nonprofit may need its determination letter and financial statements; a business, individual, research institution or public agency may need different registrations, authority or evidence. Do not assume nonprofit documents apply to every applicant. Check required attachments, current versions, signatures and formats before submission.

Timelines and letters of intent or inquiry

Record only a deadline, review date or decision window the funder publishes or confirms. If none is stated, it is unknown; do not assume a fixed review period or rolling deadline. LOI may mean letter of intent or letter of inquiry. Check the funder’s terminology and whether it is required, optional or invitation-only. A letter or pre-application does not necessarily replace the full application.

Resume or hide the guide

In Guide me, the guide stays with you from choosing a grant to submitting the application: on the dashboard, the grant page and the writing page. It ends when the application is submitted or when you switch to Full view under View. Each page remembers whether you hid the guide, so hiding it on the dashboard doesn’t hide it on a grant. Keep working in your existing draft rather than starting another. People you invite start in Guide me unless they choose another view.

Federal setup

Confirm the application route before choosing a registration checklist. A UEI (Unique Entity ID) is not full active SAM (System for Award Management) registration, and a GrantCue admin is not automatically an authorized external submitter such as a Grants.gov AOR (Authorized Organization Representative). Agency accounts may add setup time. Check official Grants.gov, SAM.gov and agency guidance; do not enter passwords or tax identifiers in the guide.

Getting Started

Choose Start preparation draft on a saved opportunity, or open its existing draft. Nothing is sent to the funder. Start with its actual funder questions in Requirements. The seven default sections are an optional generic outline, not the funder’s form. Confirm any imported or AI-extracted requirements against current instructions.

The Writing Workspace

• Section Navigator: completion status and word counts per section; add custom sections
• Editor Area: auto-save, a word counter (a character counter, spaces included, when the linked funder question has a character limit) and an AI toolbar
• Funder question: link a section to a question recorded in Requirements so writing tools see its wording and limit
• Advanced tools: funding notice analysis, funder research, draft feedback, voice profile and content library
• Review this draft: lists what is missing first, with next actions. It is feedback, not a funding prediction

AI Writing Tools

• Generate — draft a section from your organization profile, content library and, when you link one, the funder question and its limit. Missing facts stay as [placeholders]
• Refine — improve clarity, flow, and persuasiveness without changing meaning
• Expand — add explanation using the facts supplied; missing facts become [placeholders], never invented numbers
• Condense — reduce word count 30-50% while preserving meaning
• Guided — answer a few fact questions first; your answers are sent with the request
• Every suggestion lists the material it was given. Check each fact before you accept it

Inline AI Assistance

Select text to show Simplify, Elaborate, Formal and Rewrite. Each shows a suggestion you accept or reject. Ask AI, under More writing tools, answers questions about a section.

Content Library

Store reusable organizational content by category (Mission, Bio, Outcomes, Program, DEI, Capacity, Sustainability, Budget, Partnership). Search, filter, and insert into the current section.

Budget Builder

The Budget section has a line-item editor (Personnel, Fringe, Travel, Equipment, Supplies, Contractual, Other Direct, Indirect). Prepare your budget here, then transfer it into the funder’s required format. Click "Generate narrative" to draft justification text from your line items; missing amounts stay as placeholders.

Export

Download draft — Word / PDF. Downloading does not submit it. The download is made after saves are confirmed. Transfer the reviewed answers and files into the funder’s required format. A download does not establish eligibility.

Search Methods

• Quick Search — press Cmd/Ctrl+K to find grants instantly by keyword, agency, or opportunity number
• Filters — deadline, amount, location, agency, status, applicant type and 18 funding categories
• Describe what you need — type a sentence and GrantCue turns it into filters you can check before applying them

Key Features

• Saved Searches — save filter combinations and reload them from Discover
• Recent Searches — quickly access previous searches
• Custom Grants — add grants from other sources manually
• Grant Details — eligibility, funding, deadlines, and AI-generated summaries
• Compare Grants — select multiple to compare side-by-side

Community & Local Grants

Visit /grants to browse community-curated grant pages by location. Opportunity suggestions are currently a staged pilot: when enabled for your organization, sign in, fill in the details, select locations, and submit for review. AI-assisted URL and PDF extraction requires an eligible plan and separate pilot access.

Kanban Board

A visual drag-and-drop board moves grants through stages: Researching → Go/No-Go → Drafting → Submitted → Awarded or Not funded. Moving a card to Submitted records a stage only; it does not submit anything. After you submit using the funder’s required method, choose Record external submission and add any confirmation receipt. Toggle to list view for a compact overview.

Features

• Customizable stages
• Bulk actions on multiple grants (stage changes, deletions)
• Progress tracking indicators
• Each card shows deadline, funding amount, priority, and owner

Working with Tasks

• Generate a task list from the funding notice with AI, then edit it
• Assign tasks to specific team members
• Set due dates and priorities
• Progress tracking and overdue indicators

Collaboration

• Invite team members via email (seat allowances vary by plan)
• Role-based access: Admin, Contributor and Client (view only), and a client does not use a seat
• @mention team members in comments
• Assign a grant owner for accountability
• Switch across multiple organizations
• Real-time activity feed

Sync Options

• A private calendar feed for Outlook, Google Calendar and Apple Calendar
• Google Calendar sync: GrantCue adds deadline events and updates them when dates change
• Changes go one way, from GrantCue to your calendar
• Feed links are private, and you can reset them at any time

Setup

Configure calendar sync from Settings → Integrations.

Capabilities

• Budget tracking with line items and categories
• Disbursement logging and payment schedules
• Compliance requirement tracking
• Financial reports on spending and remaining funds
• Interim and final report deadline tracking

Access

Post-award features appear on the grant detail page after moving a grant to the Awarded stage.

Metrics

• Submission count, win rate, and funding amounts
• Deadline success rate and time-to-submit
• Team performance by member
• ROI tracking (requested vs. awarded)
• CSV export and scheduled email reports

Available Integrations

• Google Calendar — sync deadlines
• Microsoft Outlook — calendar feed
• Slack — team notifications
• Microsoft Teams — team notifications
• Webhooks — custom integrations and automation

Channels

• Deadline reminder emails 30, 14, 7, 3 and 1 days before and on the day; an admin chooses which
• A daily task digest for the team, and weekly summary emails each person can turn off
• Email alerts when new grants match a saved search
• Real-time in-app notification center
• Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations

Setup

Manage notification preferences in Settings → Notifications.