Funding Case Builder
Build a funder-ready case — for grants, investment, blended finance and commissioning.
The Funding Case Builder is MEM Academy's structured intelligence layer for raising money. It takes your project, your evidence and what we know about the funder, then drafts a credible case — without inventing numbers, deadlines or partnerships.
What it does
Four funding routes, one builder
Most AI grant tools only handle traditional grants. The Funding Case Builder handles the four routes UK social-impact organisations actually use — each with its own sections, rubric and draft outline.
Traditional Grant
Sport England, National Lottery, Comic Relief, trusts & foundations.
Social Impact Investment
Repayable finance from social investors with impact targets.
Blended Finance
Mix of grant, investment, contracts & sponsorship in one case.
Commissioning / Contract Readiness
Local authority, NHS, probation, YOT — outcomes-based contracts.
How it's different
Built for case-making, not prompt-writing
A side-by-side look at how the Funding Case Builder compares to generic AI grant tools.
| Generic AI grant tools | MEM Funding Case Builder |
|---|---|
| One mode (grants) | Four routes: grant, investment, blended, commissioning |
| Free-text prompt | Structured funder brief + history signals + ToC + SROI evidence bank |
| No readiness scoring | Weighted, mode-specific readiness rubric with banded verdict |
| Will hallucinate stats | Hard-coded refusal — flags “[Needs confirmation]” |
| No funder history | 360Giving-style history with confidence + source provenance |
| No outcomes framework | ACE/gap mappings + ToC + ONS4/WEMWBS + SROI built in |
| Disposable session | Persistent project, JSON export, research-agent handoff |
Inside the builder
Eight things working under the hood
Each of these is built in — you don't bolt them on or prompt for them.
Funder Intelligence Brief
12-field structured profile of the funder: name, type, fit score, programme, application route, matched MEM pillars, funder language to mirror, evidence to use, risks/exclusions and the recommended next action. Auto-loads from a research/sales handoff payload when present.
360Giving-style Funder History Signals
Themes funded, locations, recipient types, funded activities, typical and average grant size, recommended ask range, recent similar grants, data confidence (High/Medium/Low) and source provenance (label, URL, last-checked date). Toggle which signals feed the case.
Theory of Change builder
9-field ToC — problem → inputs → activities → outputs → short-term outcomes → long-term outcomes → impact → assumptions → evidence needed. Funders that score against logic models can see your reasoning, not just your activities.
SROI & evidence bank
Participants, sessions, ONS4 / WEMWBS wellbeing outcomes, qualifications, work placements, jobs created, self-employment progress, platform XP engagement and case studies — held in one place and pulled into every draft.
ACE & gap mappings
Pre-loaded Adverse Childhood Experience and social-prescribing gap mappings so your case ties to recognised policy frameworks without you re-typing the evidence base.
Weighted readiness score
Each funding route has its own rubric. Outcome logic, beneficiaries, budget clarity and safeguarding are weighted independently, with a banded verdict (Early / Shaping / Ready) and a checklist of what's still missing.
Draft-Ready Project Case + per-section drafting
Generate one synthesised project case across all your intelligence, plus per-section drafts (summary, need, activity, outcomes, safeguarding, budget, sustainability) with word-count targets matched to the funding route.
Anti-hallucination guardrails
The system prompt forbids inventing beneficiary numbers, deadlines, award sizes, partnerships, DBS or safeguarding status, SROI figures or repayment terms. Missing facts surface as “[Needs confirmation]” instead of being fabricated.
How to use it
Five steps from blank page to draft-ready case
01
Pick your funding route
Grant, investment, blended or commissioning — each loads its own sections and rubric.
02
Load or enter the Funder Intelligence Brief
Type it in, or arrive from the research/sales agent with a pre-loaded handoff payload.
03
Add funder history signals & evidence
360Giving-style signals, ToC, SROI/evidence bank and ACE/gap mappings.
04
Generate the case blueprint
One structured Draft-Ready Project Case, synthesised from everything above.
05
Draft each section & export
Per-section AI drafts with word targets, plus full project export as a JSON bundle.
Honest limitations
What it doesn't do (yet)
We'd rather tell you up front than have you discover it mid-application.
- Funder history signals are user-entered today — no live pull from the 360Giving API.
- It doesn't verify current eligibility, deadlines or award caps. Always check the funder's current guidance.
- The readiness score is a structured heuristic, not a machine-learning prediction.
- No multi-user collaboration or version history yet — work is held per device, with JSON export for sharing.
- It builds and drafts the case; it doesn't submit applications to the funder's portal.
FAQ
Questions we get asked
Is the Funding Case Builder free?
Yes — it's free for organisations, CICs, social enterprises and sole traders signed up to MEM Academy. There are no per-application fees, no seat limits and no paywall on the AI drafting.
Who is it for?
UK charities, CICs, community organisations, social enterprises and sole traders raising money through grants, social impact investment, blended finance or local-authority/NHS commissioning. It's tuned for sport, fitness, mentoring, youth prevention and lived-experience delivery, but the structure works for any social-impact project.
Does it write the whole bid for me?
It drafts every section of the case — summary, need, activity, outcomes, safeguarding, budget, sustainability — and a Draft-Ready Project Case that synthesises everything into one document. You still review, edit and submit. The point is to remove the blank-page problem, not to replace the applicant.
Will it invent statistics or make up funders?
No. The system prompt explicitly forbids inventing beneficiary numbers, deadlines, award amounts, partnerships, DBS status, safeguarding status, SROI figures or repayment terms. When a fact isn't in your inputs, it writes "[Needs confirmation]" inline so you can see exactly where evidence is missing.
How is it different from ChatGPT, Grantable or Instrumentl write assistants?
Generic AI grant tools take a prompt and write prose. The Funding Case Builder is a structured intelligence layer: 4 funding routes (not just grants), a Funder Intelligence Brief, 360Giving-style funder history signals with confidence and source provenance, a Theory of Change builder, an SROI/evidence bank, ACE/gap mappings, a weighted readiness score, and a hardened anti-hallucination prompt. The AI drafts from your structured case — it doesn't guess.
Can I use it for non-sport projects?
Yes. The funder briefs, history signals, Theory of Change, readiness rubric and draft sections are project-agnostic. The platform examples lean on sport/fitness because that's MEM's delivery model, but the case-building structure applies to any social outcome work.
Do I own the output?
Yes. Every draft, brief and exported bundle belongs to your organisation. You can export the full project as a JSON bundle at any time and re-import it on another device.
Where is my project stored?
Your working draft is held in your browser (local storage) on the device you're using, with an Export Project button that downloads the full bundle as JSON. AI drafting calls run server-side through the MEM advisor — prompts and responses follow MEM's standard data handling.
Does it submit applications for me?
No. It builds the case and drafts the sections; you copy or export them into the funder's portal or form. This keeps you in control of what's submitted and to whom.
What are its honest limitations?
Funder history is user-entered today (we don't yet auto-pull from the 360Giving API). It doesn't verify live eligibility, deadlines or award caps — always check the funder's current guidance. The readiness score is a structured heuristic, not a machine-learning prediction. There's no multi-user collaboration or version history yet.
Ready to build your funding case?
Open the builder, load your funder brief, and draft a credible case in a single sitting.
Free for MEM Academy organisations