PDF for nonprofits — grant applications and donor letters

Grant application bundle — what funders ask for

Step by step — assemble a grant bundle

1. List the funder's required attachments in the order they specify. Save the list as a checklist alongside the application narrative.
2. Prepare each attachment from your source library. Compress oversized ones, OCR scanned ones, redact PII where required.
3. Number each PDF with a prefix matching the funder order (01_narrative.pdf, 02_budget.pdf, 03_990.pdf, ...).
4. Merge in numbered order using Merge PDF. Verify the page count and section breaks before downloading.
5. Add continuous page numbers and a hyperlinked table of contentsat the front. Submit the single bundled PDF via the funder's portal or email.

Related reading

• PDF redaction guide: true redaction for donor and board PII.
• Small-business PDF tools: applies to small nonprofits too.
• Searchable PDF: OCR archived 990s and grant records.
• PDF to PDF/A: long-term archival of grant files and 990s.
• Free NDA template: for volunteer and vendor confidentiality.
• Compress PDF: hit funder file-size caps.
• All ScoutMyTool PDF tools: the rest of the toolkit.

FAQ

How do I assemble a grant application bundle when the funder wants one combined PDF?

Workflow: list every attachment the funder requires, in the order they specify (usually narrative first, budget second, attachments after). Name source PDFs with a numbered prefix matching the funder's order (01_narrative.pdf, 02_budget.pdf, etc.). Merge with ScoutMyTool Merge PDF in numbered order. Add a hyperlinked table of contents at the front. Apply continuous page numbers across the bundle. Verify the final PDF page count matches the sum of attachment pages. Total time: 15–25 minutes per grant once your source library is organised. The single bundled PDF improves reviewer experience and reduces the chance of a "missing attachment" rejection.

Should I redact board members' home addresses from the Form 990 I include with grants?

Yes for any 990 not already redacted at filing. Schedule B (Schedule of Contributors) and certain board-listing sections of Form 990 list home addresses by default. Funders rarely need that PII; donors named in Schedule B may have explicitly required confidentiality. Best practice: maintain two versions of every year's 990 — the unredacted filed copy (in your locked board records) and a redacted public/grant version (board home addresses redacted, Schedule B contributor names redacted unless the funder specifically requires them). Use ScoutMyTool Redact PDF with true redaction. Most funders accept and even prefer the redacted public version because they understand the donor-privacy obligation.

How do I generate IRS-compliant donor acknowledgement letters at year-end?

IRS Publication 1771 requires contemporaneous written acknowledgement for donations of $250 or more. The letter must include the donor's name, the amount of the donation (or description of property), and a statement of any goods/services provided in return (or lack thereof). For high-volume nonprofits, automate via a mail-merge from your donor management system (Bloomerang, Salesforce NPSP, DonorPerfect) into a Word/Docs template, export each as PDF, archive in a per-donor folder. For lower-volume operations, a Google Docs template + per-donor manual generation + PDF export works fine. Always keep a copy of each acknowledgement; the IRS or a donor's tax preparer may request copies if the donor's return is examined.

How long should we retain grant applications, 990s, and donor records as PDFs?

Grant applications and grant reports: at least seven years from the close of the grant for IRS audit purposes, plus any funder-specific retention requirement (some federal grants require 10+ years post-closeout). Form 990 and supporting docs: indefinitely as a matter of practice; IRS minimum is "the longest of: 3 years from filing, 6 years for major omissions, or indefinitely for unfiled returns". Donor acknowledgement letters: at least seven years, ideally indefinitely. Archive all in PDF/A format for long-term reliability; PDF/A is the ISO 19005 archival sub-standard explicitly designed for multi-decade preservation.

Our nonprofit has volunteers — what is the safest way to share documents with them via PDF?

Three rules. First, never share unredacted documents containing donor PII, beneficiary PII, or staff personnel data with volunteers — even trusted ones. Second, password-protect PDFs containing sensitive operational data (board minutes, fundraising strategy, donor lists) and share the password by a separate channel. Third, for routine volunteer-facing documents (volunteer handbook, event signup forms, training materials), the security bar is lower — standard email or shared Drive folder is fine. ScoutMyTool Protect PDF adds a password to any PDF and runs entirely in your browser, so the source file does not pass through a third-party server.

How do I create a fillable PDF for grant programme intake?

For routine programme intake (applicant name, address, programme requested, eligibility check), create a fillable PDF form using ScoutMyTool Create Fillable PDF. The form fields capture structured data that exports cleanly to CSV for downstream tracking. Submission flow: applicant downloads the PDF, fills the form fields in any PDF reader, emails the completed form back to a programme-specific intake address. For larger programmes consider a real form platform (Typeform, JotForm, Google Forms) — the PDF form is best for low-volume, high-PII-sensitivity workflows where you do not want intake data on a third-party server.

Many of our archived 990s are scanned image-only PDFs. How do I make them searchable for grant prep?

Run OCR (optical character recognition) on each scanned 990 using ScoutMyTool Make PDF Searchable. The tool uses Tesseract via WebAssembly in your browser — your 990 file does not upload anywhere. Process each year's 990 once; from then on, Cmd-F finds line items, grant funder names, program revenue figures, etc. Pair OCR with bates-style page numbering across multi-year 990 bundles so reviewers can cite "page 47 of the 2024 990" specifically. This saves substantial time on grant applications that ask for specific 990 line items.

Citations

1. IRS Publication 1771 — "Charitable Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements".
2. IRS Form 990 instructions — disclosure and Schedule B contributor-confidentiality rules.
3. OMB Uniform Guidance 2 CFR § 200.334 — federal grant record retention requirements.
4. ISO 19005 — "PDF/A" — long-term archival format standard.
5. Council on Foundations — best-practice guidance on grant application formatting and submission.