Every grant application asks some version of the same questions: who you are, what you do, for whom, with what results, with what people and money. Boilerplate is your approved, reusable answer to those questions. Done well, it saves time and keeps every application consistent. Done badly, it produces the same paragraph pasted into every form. Here is how to build it, keep it accurate and tailor it.
What boilerplate is, and what it is not
Boilerplate is standard wording about your organization, kept in one master document. Candid's guidance on grant proposals lists parts most applications share: an executive summary, a statement of need, a project description (including evaluation and information about your organization), a budget and supporting materials. Much of that draws on the same facts.
Candid also warns against sending one standard proposal to several funders. Boilerplate is not a finished answer. It gives you accurate building blocks; you still shape each answer to the exact question, word limit and priorities of the funder in front of you.
The blocks worth keeping
A useful library covers:
- Organization facts: legal name, EIN, IRS determination letter, year founded, address, contacts, annual budget, fiscal year, staff and volunteers, area served.
- Mission, vision and values: the mission in its exact board-adopted wording.
- Who we are, in three lengths (below).
- History and milestones, one factual line each.
- Programs: one block per program with purpose, participants, schedule, activities, results and cost.
- People and need: who you serve and the building blocks of a need statement, each fact with its source and year.
- Proof and capacity: results, a story used with consent, staff, board, partners, volunteers, finances.
- Housekeeping: policies in place and an attachments list with where each document is saved and when it expires.
Three lengths, with example forms
Funders ask "tell us about your organization" in a sentence, a paragraph or a page. Write three versions once and keep them consistent.
| Length | What it contains | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| About 50 words | What you do, for whom, where; one result with its source; what makes you distinct | Online forms, cover letters, emails, letters of inquiry |
| About 150 words | The 50 words plus main programs, people served, one or two results and key partners | Most application forms |
| About 300 words | The 150 words plus a short history, community voice, capacity and direction | Full proposals and background sections |
An example form for the short version, to fill with your own facts:
[Organization name] [does what] for [whom] in [where]. Since [year], we have [one concrete result] ([source], [period]). [One sentence on what makes your approach distinctive.]
Compare "We help many families" with "[Number] families completed [program] between [month and year] and [month and year] (our enrollment records)". Only the second is worth reusing.
Keep every fact sourced and current
The value of a library is in its facts, not its adjectives.
- Give each figure a source (your records, a survey, a partner, a public dataset) and a period.
- Note the year of public data and update it when a new release appears.
- Label results as outputs (what you delivered) or outcomes (what changed for people).
- Use stories only with written consent, or anonymize them fully.
Give each block an owner and a review date. Update the library first, then the applications, whenever you publish an annual report or audited statements, approve a budget, change staff or board, open or close a program, or start a partnership.
Tailor each block to the question
- Read the funder's question twice and underline its key words.
- Write a first sentence that answers it directly, using those words.
- Pick the blocks that support it and trim them to the limit.
- Add one detail that only this application has: the funder's priority, the project, the place.
- Check figures and names against the library one last time.
Keep a simple log of which blocks went to which funder, so you notice when the same wording is about to go to the same reader twice.
Using AI with your own facts
AI tools draft faster when they start from your library instead of from nothing. Paste the relevant blocks into the prompt and tell the tool to use only those facts, writing MISSING wherever information is absent rather than inventing it. Never paste personal data about the people you serve. Check every figure against the library, and rewrite the result in your own voice.
Then check the funder's own rules, because they differ. Some research funders are strict: NIH notice NOT-OD-25-132 (July 2025) says NIH will not consider applications substantially developed by AI, or containing sections substantially developed by AI, to be original ideas of applicants. Other funders say nothing or ask you to disclose AI use. Read each funder's current guidance before you start.
The Boilerplate Library & AI Prompt Kit gives you the library in Essentials_Boilerplate_Boilerplate_Library_TEMPLATE.docx, a review tracker in Essentials_Boilerplate_Content_Inventory_TRACKER.xlsx and AI prompts that draw on the library, your logic model and your budget.
General information: this guide is general information, not legal, tax or fundraising advice. No template can guarantee funding. Always follow each funder's own guidelines, including its rules on AI.
The Funder File is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Candid or the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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