Have you had AI draft a grant report from your data and the original proposal?

You paste the funder's questions, what you promised and this period's numbers. AI drafts each answer for you to check and add a real story to.

How to automate it

How to automate “prepare board and committee reports”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today and, for AI fixes, a prompt to copy.

120 min

typically, once a month

55%

of the time can be automated

Some setup

to set up

Fix 1 of 2

AIBest fix

Turn your rough notes into the weekly update with AI

Jot bullet points through the week; AI turns them into a clean update in the format your manager expects.

Typically saves about 60% of the time5 min to set up

1Keep a running note of what you did and what is blocked.
2Paste the note and last week's update (for format) into the AI assistant.
3Use the prompt below and check every fact.
4Send it or post it.

Prompt to copy

Turn my rough notes into this week's status update. Match the format and length of last week's update. Group by project, lead with results, flag anything blocked and what I need. Do not add anything that is not in my notes.

Last week's update:
[PASTE]

My notes this week:
[PASTE]

Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot

Fix 2 of 2

Automation

Build the report once so it refreshes itself

Connect the spreadsheet or dashboard straight to the source so next week's report is already done.

Typically saves about 80% of the time4 h to set up

1List where each number comes from.
2Use Power Query (Excel), a connected sheet, or a Google Data Studio or Power BI dashboard pulling from the source.
3Schedule the refresh and send the link instead of an attachment.

Tools: Excel Power Query · Power BI · Google Data Studio (formerly Looker Studio) · Google Sheets connectors

Quick wins

Have you tried…

Have you had AI draft a grant report from your data and the original proposal?: You paste the funder's questions, what you promised and this period's numbers. AI drafts each answer for you to check and add a real story to.

Who does this task

Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

Program manager / coordinator Fundraiser / development officer

HourLeak · the 8-minute work audit

How many hours does this cost you?

The free 8-minute check works out where your week goes and gives you your top fixes. The team scan does the same for everyone and adds it up, so you know which leaks to fix first.

Take the free check Scan my team, $49

Answers are anonymous. Leaders only see team totals.