One of the biggest challenges we face as volunteer groups is raising money.
We need to know where to find funding, we need the skills to write a strong application (and understand what funders care about), and we need the time to pull it all together.
The good news: there’s now a tool designed specifically for charities and community groups. It’s called Fundsorter, and it launched about six months ago. Here’s how they describe what they do:
What does Fundsorter do?
Fundsorter helps New Zealand charities find and apply for contestable grant funding.
How does Fundsorter work?
It’s designed to make the grant process simple and efficient. They’ve built:
• A comprehensive database of funding opportunities
• A matching algorithm that connects community needs with grants
• A tool that generates high-quality draft funding applications based on both the funder and the fund-seeker
• Automated reminders for accountability reports, opening dates, and predictive funding suggestions
I tested Fundsorter using my reWild Wainui project, then had a chat with co-founder and CEO Lani Evans. I used to work in IT building these kinds of systems (pre-AI), and I have to say: this one’s impressive. Lani’s background in the charity and philanthropic sector shows — she was frustrated that no decent system existed, so she set about building one.
The system uses AI to help generate your funding profile — but as Lani emphasised, it’s still about people. You can’t just push a button and submit an application. You must review and edit the drafts. The AI is also continually learning: both improving its model and adapting to your writing style over time.
It’s not free (though you can trial it). The current entry-level plan is $35/month, and they’re exploring a lower-cost tier for fully volunteer-run projects. But even at the current price, it’s absolutely worth considering. It saves time, removes admin stress, and automates several follow-up tasks.
Let’s take a look at how it works.
The 6 Core Steps
The first thing to do is visit https://www.fundsorter.com and sign up. Pretty simple, email and a password and you’re away. And before you know it you’re into building your fundraising profile!
- Organisation Details
Provide as much detail as possible. The AI relies heavily on this to understand who you are.
- Upload Resources
Add previous funding applications, strategic plans, annual reports, media articles, and your website. The AI scans everything to build a picture of your organisation. Lani says that any uploaded documents are very important to the AI, they will help generate a better funding profile.
- Funding Profile
Like magic, the AI generates your funding profile across a set of best-practice headings. You can edit the content, but Lani suggests keeping the headings as these are what they deem best practice and are used in generating the application drafts.
- Add a Funding Request
This took a moment to figure out. You create specific funding requests for each project — these become the basis for applications. There’s no AI here; you manually answer questions such as:
• What is this funding for?
• What problem does it address?
• What impact will it create?
• Who benefits?
… and so on.
- Scan for Matches
This is the fun part. The system matches your funding request with potential funders and explains why you were matched.
- Apply for Funding
For each good match you can click “Draft my Application”, review it, and edit it. Fundsorter also aligns the draft headings to the funder’s actual application. There’s no “submit” button yet — many funders use systems like SmartyGrants, so you’ll still paste the content across.
Overall, Fundsorter looks like a fantastic tool that will save time and help you produce better funding applications. I highly recommend giving it a try. And if you’re a small volunteer-led group and interested, let me know — I may be able to get you a discount code to make it a bit more affordable!
Last week I started a funding information page on this site. Check it out and then give Fundsorter a try!
