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Answer a corporate giving form within its rules
Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're applying to a local company's community giving program. The request box needs under 80 words and must start with the line 'EIN: 47-1182930': name the program, request an amount within the company's limit, show what it pays for on one line, and give the number of people served from the current year. No emotional adjectives ('heartbreaking', 'desperate', 'life-changing'). Write a prompt that gets that request.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 80 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part: "3 sentences under 18 words plus one budget line."
- Asking for too much. Your notes show the full $7,500 need. The AI may request it, over the bank's cap. Try: Say it: "Start with EIN: 47-1182930. Request $5,000 for Fix-It Saturdays."
- Vague use of funds. The AI says "support our programs" without what the money buys. Try: Add: "Budget line: venue $3,300 + parts $1,700 = $5,000."
- Old numbers and emotion. The AI may use last year's 860 and add "life-changing". Try: Add: "Use 1,140 residents in 2026. No heartbreaking, desperate or life-changing."
What a strong prompt includes
- Sets a word limit
- Requests within the cap
- Shows the budget
- Uses current numbers
- Bans emotional words
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