Using AI to Simplify NOFOs: From PDFs to Clear Requirements

How Grant Teams Turn Dense Documents Into Usable Guidance

For cities and counties, the Notice of Funding Opportunity often creates friction before drafting ever begins.

NOFOs are long, technical, and written to address many applicant types at once. Key information is spread across sections. Eligibility may appear early, while scoring criteria, required attachments, and formatting rules appear much later.

Before departments can scope projects or grant teams can plan timelines, someone has to translate the NOFO into something usable. That work takes time and attention, especially when multiple opportunities are under review at once.

As more local governments adopt AI at this stage, teams are finding they can move through NOFOs faster, surface key requirements earlier, and reduce the back-and-forth that often slows projects down before work even begins.

How Local Governments Use Free AI Tools to Read NOFOs

Most cities and counties start with tools they already have access to.

Grant staff commonly paste sections of a NOFO into a general-purpose AI tool and ask for summaries in plain language. Others focus on specific questions about eligibility, project types, or scoring.

Common uses include:

• Summarizing long sections into shorter explanations
• Translating formal or legal language into everyday terms
• Pulling out deadlines, page limits, and submission requirements
• Clarifying specific definitions or clauses

This helps teams get oriented more quickly and makes it easier to explain opportunities to departments that do not work with grants regularly.

Free tools are also useful for early screening. Teams often compare eligibility language against a proposed project to decide whether deeper review is worthwhile.

Where Free Tools Are Helpful and Where Work Still Falls on Staff

Free tools are helpful for speed and first-pass understanding.

They reduce the effort required to get through dense language and identify the basics of a program. For lean grant teams, that time savings matters.

At the same time, much of the work of organizing requirements still happens outside the tool.

Each question is handled separately. Answers live in chat threads, notes, or emails. Teams must track what they have already asked and decide how different parts of the NOFO fit together.

Staff still return to the original document to confirm details, especially when requirements are conditional or spread across sections. As planning moves forward, the NOFO is often reopened to answer follow-up questions.

Free tools make NOFOs easier to read, but they do not turn them into a shared reference that carries forward.

How Grant-Native Platforms Simplify NOFOs Differently

Grant-native platforms are designed around the fact that NOFO understanding is not a one-time task.

Instead of summarizing the document repeatedly, these tools treat the NOFO as a set of requirements that can be structured, searchable, and reused throughout the pre-award process.

This is where Avila fits.

Avila transforms a NOFO into a structured reference by identifying and organizing:

• Eligibility rules and conditions
• Timelines and submission deadlines
• Scoring criteria and weights
• Required sections and character limits
• Mandatory and optional attachments

Once uploaded, the NOFO becomes something teams can interact with directly, rather than a document they have to keep rereading.

Using Avila to Answer Questions Earlier

Because the NOFO is structured, teams can ask better questions earlier.

In Avila, grant staff can ask targeted questions as soon as a NOFO is uploaded, such as:

• Whether specific applicant types are eligible
• Whether construction or equipment costs are allowed
• If matching funds are required
• Whether partnerships or prior approvals are expected

This helps teams flag risks early and give departments clearer guidance before work begins.

Keeping NOFO Requirements Connected to Planning and Drafting

Another key difference is what happens after the NOFO is understood.

With free tools, summaries and notes often live separately from planning and drafting work. Requirements are manually copied into outlines, calendars, or task lists.

In Avila, NOFO requirements remain connected.

Required sections inform drafting from the start. Character limits shape responses as they are written. Deadlines populate timelines and task assignments. Attachment requirements surface early so departments can begin gathering materials. This continuity reduces repetition and helps teams stay aligned as projects move forward.

Reducing Risk Without Slowing Teams Down

For cities and counties, small NOFO mistakes can be costly.

Missing an attachment, misunderstanding eligibility, or exceeding character limits can derail an otherwise strong application. These issues usually stem from complexity, not inattention.

Free tools help teams move through dense documents more quickly. Grant-native platforms help teams carry that understanding forward into action.

When NOFOs are simplified into clear, accessible requirements that remain visible throughout planning and drafting, teams spend less time double-checking details and more time advancing competitive projects.

In the next post, we will look at how this structured foundation supports grant research, drafting, and project readiness as teams move from understanding requirements to building full applications.