How we judge fit
How matching works.The whole method, in order.
Every call we suggest goes through the same eligibility checks, then gets a score out of 100. Each suggestion shows the score, the parts it is made of and the reasons in plain words. Here is how that works, including the parts we haven’t built yet.
It starts with what you tell us.
Your persona is a short description of your organization that matching reads. You can change it any time, and matching runs again when you do.
- What kind of organization you are. Many are more than one, for example a non-profit that also runs a social enterprise.
- Where you’re based. The country you’re registered or work in.
- Your focus. The topics you work on, such as autism, clean energy or health research. These are your primary focus areas.
- Secondary areas. Topics you’d take on, but aren’t your main work.
- Areas you leave out. Topics you won’t take on. Section 04 explains how these work.
- The support you want and how much. Grants, R&D funding, CSR partnerships, fellowships, prizes or donations, and an amount range.
- Your stage. Proving an idea, solving a problem, scaling or going global. It changes which kinds of funding we lean towards.
First, can you apply at all?
Before any score, every call goes through five checks. Each one gives one of three results.
- 1Organization typeThe call is open to your kind of organization. If you’re more than one kind, one match is enough.
- 2CountryYou’re based where the call is open. A call open worldwide covers everyone. A call for South Asia covers India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
- 3RegistrationsYou hold the registrations the call asks for. In India: 12A, 80G, FCRA, CSR-1 and DPIIT startup recognition. In Nepal: Social Welfare Council affiliation and company registration. Other countries come later.
- 4DeadlineThe closing date hasn’t passed, or the call is rolling.
- 5Kind of fundingIt’s a kind of support you said you’d take.
Then, how well does it fit?
Calls that pass get a score out of 100, made of four parts. These are our starting weights. We’ll tune them with the organizations in our pilot, and this page will change when we do.
| Part | How it’s scored | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | How closely the call’s topics match your focus. A match with a primary area counts in full, a secondary area counts half. | 50 |
| Mission | How close your mission statement is to the call’s own description of what it funds. | 20 |
| Amount | Full points when the amount sits inside the range you want, fewer when it doesn’t. | 15 |
| Time | Full points with 30 days or more to go. Fewer as the deadline gets close, so a call closing in a week doesn’t push out one you can prepare for. | 15 |
| Areas you leave out | Taken off when a call also touches an area you leave out. See section 04. | −10 |
- Focus45 of 50
- Mission14 of 20
- Amount15 of 15
- Time15 of 15
- Matches primary: Inclusive AI, Autism
- Open to non-profits and tech-for-good teams in India
Saying no to a topic hides it, unless it overlaps your focus.
Plenty of calls cover several topics. A call that only touches areas you leave out is hidden. A call that touches one of them and one of your primary areas is still shown, because you might want it. It loses 10 points and says why it’s there.
Your dashboard also tells you how many calls were hidden this way, so nothing disappears without a trace.
- Focus29 of 50
- Mission16 of 20
- Amount7 of 15
- Time15 of 15
- Touches an area you leave out−10
- Shown because it overlaps your primary focus: Autism, although it touches General healthcare
- Open to non-profits and tech-for-good teams in India
- Needs check: FCRA registration requirement unclear
Strong fit or worth a look.
Scores are grouped so you can see at a glance where to spend your time. Every result shown has at least one reason line.
Strong fit
Worth reading this week. Strong fits that close within 14 days are the only ones we alert you about outside your weekly digest.
Worth a look
A real overlap, with something to weigh: a smaller amount, a tight deadline or an area you leave out.
Low fit
Hidden by default. You’ll be able to show them when you want to look wider.
What you can do with a result
Save it, open the funder’s page, or dismiss it with a reason: not relevant, too small, not eligible or other. Today a dismissal hides the call for you. Later, the reasons will tune your results. For example, several “too small” dismissals will raise your minimum amount.
Where the calls come from
Every night we read funder websites, research councils, grant portals, CSR pages and newsletters. Funders can also list a call with us. We keep the facts, a short summary and the link, never a copy of the funder’s page. Each fact keeps the sentence it came from, and a curator checks the facts we weren’t sure about before a call is published. Listing a call with us doesn’t change its score.
What the preview does today.
GoldenHelia is in its first pilot. The method above is what we’re building. The preview on our home page and the sample dashboard run a shorter version of it, on sample data.
- Three of the five checks run: organization type, country and kind of funding. Registration and deadline checks come with the full service.
- The score uses a simpler formula, shown below. It is then split into the four parts, so you can see the same breakdown as in the full method.
- Only primary focus areas are scored. Secondary areas show as a reason but don’t add points yet.
- Mission is estimated from your country, stage and organization types. Comparing your mission statement with the call’s description comes later.
- Every call that matches at least one focus area is shown, so you may see scores under 50 marked “worth a look”.
40 + 17 × focus areas matched
+ 8 amount in your range
+ 6 names your country
+ 4 suits your stage
− 10 touches an area you leave out
+ 0 to 4 tie-breaker
= kept between 30 and 96
“Suits your stage” means: grants, prizes and fellowships when you’re proving an idea; grants, fellowships and donations when you’re solving a problem; R&D funding, CSR partnerships and grants when you’re scaling; R&D funding, CSR partnerships and prizes when you’re going global. The example above scored 40 + 34 + 8 + 0 + 4 + 3 = 89.
A score is a starting point, not a promise.
Please check before you act. We update opportunity information as often as we can, but providers can change or close a call without notice. Always confirm the details, deadline and eligibility on the provider’s own portal or with their help desk. Any decision or application is at your own discretion.