Grant Connect connector for Claude

Research Canadian funders in Claude using your Grant Connect account.

Overview

The Grant Connect connector lets Claude search and read Grant Connect's Canadian funder data on your behalf, so you can do prospect research in a conversation. It works in claude.ai, the Claude desktop and mobile apps, and Claude Code.

The connector is read-only. Claude can look up funders, their programs, deadlines, contacts and gift history, and your organization's pipeline, but it can't create, change or delete anything in Grant Connect. It's built for fundraisers at Canadian nonprofits who have a Grant Connect subscription.

Requirements

You need an active Grant Connect account and a Claude account. Claude sees the same data you can see in Grant Connect, based on your plan.

Grant Connect access	Funder search and profiles	Gift history	Organization pipeline
Premium	Yes	All years	Yes
Essential	Yes	Most recent 5 years	Yes
License	Yes	Most recent 5 years	No

If your Grant Connect subscription lapses, the connector stops working until it's renewed.

Connect Grant Connect to Claude

The connector URL is https://api.grantconnect.ca/api/mcp.

In claude.ai, the desktop app or the mobile app

Open Customize → Connectors and find Grant Connect in the directory. If it isn't listed yet, choose Add custom connector, name it Grant Connect and paste the connector URL.
Select Connect.
Sign in with your usual Grant Connect login.
Approve Claude's access. You're returned to Claude, and Grant Connect shows as connected.

On a Claude Team or Enterprise plan, an organization Owner may need to enable the connector for your organization first.

In Claude Code

Run claude mcp add --transport http grant-connect https://api.grantconnect.ca/api/mcp.
In Claude Code, run /mcp, choose grant-connect, then Authenticate.
Sign in to Grant Connect in the browser window that opens.

What you can ask

Claude chooses the right tool for your request, so you can ask in plain language.

Tool	What it does	Example prompt
List taxonomies	Lists Grant Connect's cause, population and international categories and their definitions.	"What cause categories does Grant Connect use for health?"
Search funders	Finds active funders by cause, population, region, gift size, keywords and more. Funders your organization has hidden are left out.	"Find foundations funding youth mental health in Ontario with a median gift over $10,000."
Get funder details	Shows a funder's programs, deadlines, eligible costs, focus areas, contact information and named contacts, plus your organization's pipeline entry and notes for that funder.	"Show me the programs and deadlines for the first three funders."
Get gift history	Summarizes a funder's gifts (amounts, recipient count and focus), and optionally lists individual grants with named recipients by year.	"Show this funder's giving over the last five years, with individual grants."
List pipeline	Lists the funders your organization is tracking, by pipeline stage.	"Who's in solicitation right now, and who should we follow up with?"

Companion Skill

For a guided research method, add the Prospect Research for Canadian Nonprofits Skill (prospect-research-grant-connect) to Claude alongside the connector. It covers how to search, qualify and rank prospects and explains Grant Connect's data definitions. The connector works on its own without it.

Where funder and contact data comes from

Imagine Canada's research team compiles Grant Connect's funder profiles from:

public regulatory filings, chiefly the annual information returns (T3010) that registered charities file with the Canada Revenue Agency;
funders' own websites and published guidelines;
funders' public reports, such as annual reports.

Funder profiles include some information about people:

Directors, trustees, officers and staff: name, role and position only. The connector never returns a personal email address or phone number for them. People who have left a funder are marked as past.
Program contacts: the contact a funder publishes for a grant program, with the work email or phone number it lists for enquiries.
Organization contact details: the funder's general phone number, email, website and mailing address.

Legal basis. Under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), this is business contact information collected and used only to contact people in their professional role at a funder. Grant Connect is covered by the Imagine Canada privacy policy.

Correction or removal. If you are, or were, a director, trustee or staff member listed in Grant Connect, email grantconnect@imaginecanada.ca to have your record corrected or removed. The change applies in Grant Connect and through this connector.

Links back to Grant Connect

Claude links funders to Grant Connect so you can open the full record and keep working there. Results include links to each funder's profile, its Gift Analysis tab, and your pipeline board. Pages open in the language you've chosen in Grant Connect.

To update a pipeline stage, add notes or save a funder, open the link in Grant Connect. The connector itself can't make changes.

Staying connected and troubleshooting

Once connected, you stay signed in. Claude renews access in the background, so you don't need to sign in again each session.

Asked to sign in again: this happens if you haven't used the connector for 30 days, or if your Grant Connect access has changed. Select Connect and sign in.
The connector stops working: sign in to Grant Connect directly to check that your subscription is active. If it has lapsed, contact us to renew.
"Too many requests": each account can make a limited number of requests per minute, hour and day. Wait a minute and try again.
Missing data: some data depends on your plan. See Requirements above.
Disconnect: in Claude, open Customize → Connectors, select Grant Connect and choose Disconnect. In Claude Code, run claude mcp remove grant-connect.

Privacy and support

The connector gives Claude read-only access to the same Grant Connect data you can see in the web app. Claude never receives your Grant Connect password: you sign in on Grant Connect's own page, and Claude gets an access token that only works for the connector. Disconnecting revokes it.

Data: the connector returns funder data and your organization's own pipeline. It doesn't read your Claude conversations, memory or files.
Privacy policy: Imagine Canada privacy policy.
Support: email grantconnect@imaginecanada.ca or visit the Grant Connect help center.