Good Grants is launching secure, privacy-first AI tools: Here’s what you need to know

At Good Grants, we have always prioritised substance over novelty. Our approach to artificial intelligence reflects that same philosophy. Rather than asking how AI could be added quickly, we asked how it could be added meaningfully: to power good grantmaking and increase impact.

Our objective was straightforward: to design AI tools that provide real value to grantmakers; tools to enhance decision-making, streamline operations and promote fairness, without compromising the security or privacy of your data.

The result is a new AI capability that is not only powerful, but purposeful and readily scalable.

Before general release, we wanted to share some context of these new tools, how they operate and how they can be activated within your Good Grants platform when available.

A Good Grants evolution

Good Grants AI tools represent a significant step forward in the evolution of our platform: responsible, privacy-first AI capabilities built to help grantmakers work more efficiently and more equitably, at scale.

The first feature in this new suite, AI fields, is just the beginning and will launch soon. The optional AI tools feature establishes a foundation for an expanding family of intelligent, secure and compliant AI features designed to support the good work of grantmaking.

AI fields are just the start

We have chosen to introduce AI tools as a defined toolset because it marks the start of an ongoing commitment. Each future AI tool or enhancement will be developed according to established principles of safety, fairness and practicality.

Good Grants does not pursue trends or adopt technology for its own sake. We are building a sustainable and responsible AI framework, one that grows alongside the needs of our grantmaking community.

Designed for privacy and security

Every element of Good Grants AI tools has been engineered with privacy and data protection as core priorities. While many providers rely on third-party processing, our AI tools operate entirely within Good Grants’ secure virtual private cloud (VPC).

All selected language models run inside our infrastructure, ensuring that your grantmaking data remains private, processed only in your region, and never leaves our environment. No information is transmitted to external model providers or sub-processors. 

Each AI interaction is handled with full compliance and confidentiality. Grant managers and other program admins retain control over what information the AI can access, who can configure its use and who can view its output. Security, privacy and governance are built into every layer of the system—because your trust is fundamental to what we do.

Optional by design

We recognise some organisations have legitimate concerns about AI technologies. Accordingly, Good Grants AI tools are entirely opt-in. Unless you explicitly activate the functionality, your data will remain fully isolated and inaccessible to any AI models.

The first tool: AI fields

The initial release of AI tools introduces AI fields, a new field type for your forms. The AI field enables grant managers and program admins to pose natural-language questions and receive immediate, context-specific insights about resources attached to applications—securely, privately and directly within the Good Grants platform.

Configuration is simple. Once you have opted in, add an AI field to your form, craft a suitable prompt and define when and how it can be used. While there are options for finer control, it really can be as easy as that.

While setup is simple, the power of AI is not. AI fields can be deployed to perform requests like:

• Summarise or analyse applications
• Generate applicant or grantee feedback
• Or something more sophisticated: Total the allocations this applicant has received to-date, advise any outstanding payments and check if there are any outstanding grant reports.
• And more!

You’ll have granular control to run prompts manually on applications or grant reports on a one-by-one basis, or for maximum benefits and insights at scale— deploy it across all entries automatically.

Grant managers and program admins may choose to keep AI-generated responses internal or share them with reviewers, applicants or grantees as appropriate. Control and transparency remain entirely in your hands.

What comes next

Our new AI fields feature marks only the beginning. Over time, AI tools will expand, introducing additional capabilities across Good Grants to promote insight, efficiency and fairness at every stage of your grantmaking lifecycle.