Automate AI Grants Discovery & Notifications with n8n

What This Workflow Does

This workflow finds new AI-related grant opportunities on grants.gov every day.

It removes grants already seen, gets extra details, checks if grants suit the company, and sends a daily email with the best matches.

This saves hours of manual work and helps grab the right grants faster.

Inputs, Processing, and Output

Inputs

• Grants.gov API: Sends keyword “ai” and date range to get recent grants.
• Company criteria: Details used by AI to check grant eligibility.
• Airtable: Stores data on processed grants and subscriber emails.
• OpenAI API Key: Summarizes grants and evaluates eligibility.
• Gmail account: Sends the daily newsletter.

Processing Steps

1. Fetch new grants from grants.gov using HTTP POST with keyword “ai” and date filter.
2. Split the grant list to work on each grant individually.
3. Remove duplicate grants based on grant ID, keeping track of past runs.
4. Request detailed info for each grant by sending its ID.
5. Use OpenAI based Information Extractor to simplify grant synopses.
6. Use OpenAI Information Extractor to check grant eligibility against company details.
7. Merge the AI outputs for each grant to combine summary and eligibility.
8. Save the enriched data in an Airtable base with relevant fields like title, agency, eligibility, and links.
9. Query Airtable for newly posted grants that the company is eligible for.
10. Create an HTML email listing these grants, with titles, summaries, dates, and links.
11. Fetch email subscribers from Airtable who want the newsletter.
12. Send personalized emails via Gmail with the formatted grant list.

Output

A daily email newsletter reaching the team with new AI grants they can apply for.

Airtable base updated with current grant info for easy searching and tracking.

Who Should Use This Workflow

This workflow fits teams or people managing grant research who want less manual work.

Good for users tracking AI funding opportunities and wanting fast eligibility checks.

No special coding needed; just basic n8n and API credential setup.

Beginner Step-by-Step: How to Use in n8n

Importing the Workflow

1. Download the workflow from this page using the Download button.
2. Open n8n editor where workflows are managed.
3. Use the menu to choose “Import from File” and upload the downloaded workflow.

Configuring Credentials and Variables

1. Add your API Keys for OpenAI and Gmail in n8n credentials settings.
2. Enter the grants.gov API if needed (usually public but check limits).
3. Update the Airtable nodes with your base ID, table names, and field IDs for grants and subscribers.
4. Make sure email addresses in the Subscribers table match who should get the newsletter.
5. Adjust prompt texts in the OpenAI Information Extractor nodes if you want to change eligibility criteria or summaries.

Testing and Activation

1. Run the workflow manually once to check for errors and confirm data flow.
2. Look at the Airtable base to verify grant entries are stored as expected.
3. Send a test email to yourself by running the send email nodes.
4. Activate the scheduled triggers for morning runs so workflow runs daily automatically.
5. If using self-hosted n8n, see self-host n8n for helpful hosting options.

Customization Ideas

• Change the grants.gov keyword from “ai” to any topic to track other grant types.
• Edit system prompts in OpenAI nodes to improve eligibility checks with more company detail.
• Switch Gmail node to other email providers supported by n8n, updating credentials.
• Add Slack node after email to notify team instantly.
• Add more fields to Airtable such as application status or deadlines for better tracking.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

• Remove Duplicates node not working: Make sure the workflow saves execution data and the node is set to remember previous runs.
• OpenAI API errors: Check API key, ensure prompts are complete, monitor OpenAI usage limits.
• Email sending fails: Verify Gmail OAuth credentials; check Gmail security settings or use app passwords.

Pre-Production Checklist

• Confirm both Schedule Trigger nodes enabled and set to run at 8:30 AM and 9:00 AM.
• Test grants.gov API returns recent AI grants.
• Ensure Remove Duplicates node filters out old grants correctly.
• Check OpenAI nodes provide good summaries and eligibility info.
• Validate Airtable saves complete data with correct fields.
• Test HTML email renders well across popular email clients.
• Send test emails to confirm delivery and formatting.

Summary of Results

✓ Save up to two hours every morning by automating AI grant research.

✓ Reduce mistakes by removing duplicates and automating eligibility checks.

✓ Keep all grant info organized with Airtable integration for easy management.

→ Deliver daily email digests with only the most relevant and eligible grants.

→ Empower teams with faster decisions and more funding opportunities identified.