The Ethics of AI in Grant Writing: Is it Cheating Non-Profits?

Grant writing is tedious. It involves restating the same mission statement in 50 different ways to fit 50 different word counts. AI seems like a savior. But there is a hidden cost.

The Generic Mission

When AI writes a grant, it uses the average language of "impact," "synergy," and "change." It fails to capture the specific grit of the work. Donors read 100 applications. 99 of them sound "smooth" (AI). One of them sounds "urgent" (Human). The human one gets the money.

The "AI vs. AI" Loop

We are seeing a disturbing trend: 1. Non-profit uses AI to write the proposal. 2. Foundation uses AI to summarize/score the proposal. No human actually read the text. The decision was made by two algorithms shaking hands.

Conclusion

Use AI for the "boilerplate"—the financial tables, the standard bios. But write the "Need Statement" yourself. Bleed on the page. Money follows passion, and AI has no passion.