The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation standardizes grant evaluation with Claude

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a global philanthropy focused on AI and data for good, uses Claude to revolutionize how grant makers evaluate nonprofits. Their Grant Guardian tool transforms financial due diligence from inconsistent manual work into standardized analysis, delivering accurate results for hundreds of organizations while saving hours of document review.

Key results with Claude

• Processed hundreds of grants since launching Grant Guardian
• Eliminated hours of manual work transcribing and cross-checking financial documents
• Achieved consistent evaluation standards across all grant reviews
• Replaced inefficient spreadsheet processes prone to manual error

Grant evaluation becomes a guessing game without proper tools

The philanthropy sector faces a persistent challenge with financial due diligence—the process of reviewing nonprofit finances before awarding grants. This critical step lacks standardization across the industry, creating inefficiencies and inconsistencies that hurt funders and applicants. Many organizations rely on staff without specialized financial training to analyze complex documents that arrive in various formats, leading to time-consuming manual work and potential errors.

PJMF faced these problems firsthand in their own grant making process. Nick Cain, the Foundation’s Vice President of Strategy & Innovation, said, "Documents come in different formats, so you're left doing inefficient work hunting through them to find the right numbers. You might transcribe things incorrectly."

Recognizing that this broken process wastes time on both sides, and as one of only a few private foundations with an in-house team of engineers and data scientists, PJMF decided to build a solution for the whole philanthropic sector, and chose Claude to do it.

“Philanthropy has often worked at a disadvantage—navigating complex and important decisions with technology that's not fit for purpose,” says PJMF President Vilas Dhar. “Grant Guardian is an early example of how AI systems like Claude can support a different kind of practice that helps foundations engage more thoughtfully, understand more deeply, and better align their work with the needs of partners at the frontlines of social change.”

Nonprofits spend hours reformatting documents while grant makers struggle with inconsistent analysis. Their approach would standardize financial review while maintaining the human judgment essential to thoughtful philanthropy.

Selecting Claude for secure financial document processing

PJMF evaluated multiple AI models for their Grant Guardian tool, ultimately choosing Claude based on factors that aligned with their mission as a responsible AI-focused philanthropy.

One main driver of the foundation’s decision was the value alignment with Anthropic. They particularly valued Claude's commitment to data privacy—a crucial consideration when processing sensitive financial information from nonprofits.

Since Grant Guardian would handle confidential financial documents and grant applications, PJMF needed absolute confidence in their AI partner's data handling practices. Claude's approach to privacy made it the clear choice for processing sensitive information while maintaining the trust essential to philanthropic relationships.

How Claude powers smarter grant evaluation

Grant Guardian uses Claude to transform how financial documents get reviewed and analyzed. When nonprofits submit their financial materials—regardless of format—Claude extracts key metrics and organizes them into standardized profiles that match each funder's specific criteria and values.

The tool's flexibility allows organizations to configure their evaluation parameters based on their grant-making philosophy. For example, funders focused on supporting emerging organizations can adjust settings so that newer nonprofits with shorter financial histories aren't automatically flagged as high-risk. Claude processes these varying document formats and identifies relevant financial indicators without requiring nonprofits to reformat their materials.

Instead of producing a simple yes-or-no decision, Grant Guardian helps grant makers identify areas needing further conversation or clarification. "We do not position or expect the tool to be used as the deciding factor," said Cain. "We're not trying to spit out a single composite score that says yes or no. We're trying to standardize the process of identifying areas where you need to clarify or have deeper conversations with the nonprofit you're considering supporting."

This approach enables direct comparison across grant applications while keeping human judgment at the center of funding decisions.

Building confidence through consistency and accuracy

Grant Guardian, now used by over 100 philanthropies across the United States, has transformed PJMF’s internal processes while delivering measurable benefits to the broader philanthropic community. The tool eliminates the variability that previously characterized their evaluation process, where different staff members might interpret the same financial information differently.

Previously, PJMF used an Excel-based process where staff were trained to extract specific financial metrics. However, they frequently encountered edge cases that required individual judgment calls. Cain explained, "People would add comments saying they pulled in a number but noticed the date cutoff was different, so they did some back-of-the-envelope math to adjust it. That was reasonable, but the next person wouldn't necessarily make the same decision." Now the foundation achieves consistent analysis across all applications, with standardized logic applied to every financial review.

The impact extends beyond internal efficiency to the organizations they serve. For example, United Way affiliates and other grant makers using the tool report significant time savings and increased confidence in their processes. Compared to our previous manual financial due diligence process, Grant Guardian has made everything simpler, saving us significant time and money,” said Sabra Williams, IT Manager at the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. “In the past, we’d relied on volunteers and consultants because our internal team couldn’t manage the entire due diligence workload of our portfolio alone. With Grant Guardian, we were able to handle it quickly ourselves, freeing up time across our entire staff. You simply upload a nonprofit’s financial documents, and Grant Guardian automatically generates a financial report that’s easily interpretable to all, even those without an extensive finance background.”.

Expanding AI's role in democratizing philanthropy

PJMF envisions AI transforming philanthropy along two critical dimensions over the next several years. First, operational tools like Grant Guardian will enable greater transparency and strategic consistency across an industry that often lacks standardized processes, helping foundations scale their impact while maintaining rigorous evaluation standards.

Second, they're focused on helping grantees leverage AI for their mission-driven work. PJMF actively trains other funders to evaluate grant proposals incorporating AI, ensuring the philanthropic sector can confidently support innovative approaches to social challenges. Their Learning Hub provides workshops and other materials to help nonprofits move forward in their AI journey.

PJMF’s approach centers on keeping humans in the loop, developing AI tools that augment rather than replace human expertise. This philosophy ensures that sophisticated analytical capabilities become accessible to organizations of all sizes, not just those with large technical teams.

By positioning AI as an operational enabler and a programmatic lever, PJMF is creating a future where all philanthropic organizations—regardless of size or resources—can make more informed decisions and support innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges.