Prompts
Translate a donor call without shifting a requirement
Gives you the published call in your colleagues' language, a line by line list of every figure and deadline, and every place the English could be read two ways.
What may go into it: Public or invented material only
The prompt
Answer in [ANSWER LANGUAGE], even if the material below is in another language. Below is a published call for proposals. Translate it into the language named above. Colleagues will decide what to apply for from your translation, so a requirement that shifts meaning is a lost application. Rules: 1. Translate the meaning in plain formal wording. Do not summarise, do not shorten, do not explain. 2. Copy every figure, date, time, time zone, percentage and currency exactly as written. Where the source mixes digits (١٢٣ alongside 123), keep each one in the form it appears. 3. Never make a requirement softer or firmer. "Must" stays "must", "may" stays "may", "encouraged" stays "encouraged". 4. The first time a requirement word appears (eligible, mandatory, co-financing, annex, deadline, audit, ceiling), put the English word in brackets after your wording. 5. Where the English can be read two ways, translate the more literal reading and mark it [CHECK]. Give me, in this order: A. The translation. B. Every [CHECK], one line each, saying what the two readings are. C. Every figure, date and deadline, one line each: the source wording first, then your translation of it, so I can compare them one by one. D. Every requirement word you chose a wording for, with the English in brackets. The call: [PASTE THE PUBLISHED CALL]
Opens a new chat in that tool with this prompt already typed in. Fill in every box first, and read the line at the top about what may go into it.
15 minutes · Gives you short sections · Works on a phone · How much to paste at once: Paste one part of the call at a time, about four pages, and if the translation ends in the middle of a sentence or section C lists fewer dates than you can count in the source, it was cut off, so paste less and ask again.
Read the answer against the checks below before you use it in anything that leaves your organisation.
What to fill in
- [ANSWER LANGUAGE]: the language your colleagues read, for example Arabic or Kurdish Sorani.
- [PASTE THE PUBLISHED CALL]: the call as the donor published it, with the annex list and any guidance note.
- Nothing else. This prompt needs no facts about your organisation, so do not add any.
Before you trust the answer
- Read section B before the translation. Every [CHECK] is a place where a requirement may have moved.
- Compare section C against the donor page yourself, figure by figure. A wrong deadline is the one error you cannot repair later.
- Before anyone acts on it, ask a colleague who reads both languages to read the eligibility paragraph and the deadline paragraph.
When it goes wrong
It softens an obligation into an invitation: "applicants must submit an audited statement" comes back as "applicants are asked to submit an audited statement", and nobody reading only the translation can see it.
Tools this is written for
Written 2026-09-01Nobody has run this prompt in this language yet, so read the answer twice.
- Never for sensitive materialHas a free versionWorks in Iraq
- Never for sensitive materialHas a free versionWorks in Iraq
- Never for sensitive materialHas a free versionWorks in Iraq
Where to go next
- The task this belongs toTranslation into and out of local languages
- Staying safeClassify the material first
Written forGrants and operationsDirector or leadership