28/05/2025
Welcome to the E Portal Essex Chatbot blog series! If you're part of a charity or community group in Essex, our brilliant website and friendly AI assistant are here to help you.
Our Chatbot Assistant can offer everything from writing documents, explaining regulation, navigating safeguarding, researching grants, writing killer applications and so much more. And it works for both registered charities and grassroots groups.
Today we’re diving into how to make the most of your new virtual teammate. It doesn’t sleep, drink tea or leave the top off the milk - but it can help you find funders, review a draft, plan your next project or recruit a volunteer.
It’s like having an expert on call 24/7. Actually, lots of experts on lots of different topics. But just like a real expert, it works better when you’re clear about what you want.
You can be as specific as you like. A Chatbot is not like a 6-word Google search. You can describe what you need in detail. Use many paragraphs, or even many pages if you'd like to paste in relevant information (eg. a project summary, job description, application form or your Impact Statement).
Need help with a draft? Mention what the document is for, who will read it and where you’re up to with it.
Need a list of funders? Say what you’re doing, where, and how much money you need.
Real world example: Let’s say you’re a community group supporting young carers in Chelmsford. Summarise who you are and try asking: “We’re looking for small local grants focused on wellbeing or education – what are the best opportunities?”
Then build on the response: “Can you show me ones that close in the next two months?” "Which funder has the best fit with our work?" “Do they accept applications from unregistered groups or CICs?”
If you use our Chatbot via your own OpenAI username (there’s a link on our website), you can attach documents and save the conversation in your Chat History. Via our website, you can paste in information and save the chat in a document but not yet upload attachments.
Call to action: Got a task in mind - maybe something you’ve got to do this week? Try putting it into words and see what the chatbot offers. Then keep chatting until you have the results you want.
Get started now (https://www.e-portal-essex.co.uk/help)
