When setting up an Instrumentl project, you’ll be prompted to select 2-5 keywords that align with your project and organization's mission. We sometimes refer to these keywords as fields of work. They exist to intelligently match your project with funders and funding opportunities that share the same fields of work.
How does the matching algorithm work?
Before jumping into selecting proper fields of work, it's important to understand how Instrumentl's matching algorithm works.
We match you to the "umbrella topic" your field of work falls under, in addition to the exact field of work itself.
For example, if you selected 'American Art' as a field of work, you would also automatically be matched to funders/opportunities labeled as 'Art & Culture' This way, you'll see funders who give narrowly to your project's focus, as well as funders who give broadly to categories that your project would also be eligible under (more to come on this in below!).
Fields of work are treated as "OR statements".
Instrumentl’s keywords are treated as “OR statements", meaning our algorithm matches you to fields of work individually, rather than matching you to only funding opportunities/funders with the exact set of keywords. For example, let’s say the following three keywords or fields of work are selected for a project:
This means that this project could match to a funder/opportunity that only shares the 'Wildlife Management' field of work.
The chosen keywords will still act as an “AND statement" as well, meaning an Opportunity/Funder Match will contain multiple, if not all, the project's fields of work.
We denote field of work or keyword matches using three colors: green, yellow, and grey.
Green represents an exact keyword match between your project and the funder or opportunity. Yellow represents an "umbrella match". Grey represents a field of work that did not match to your project.
We sort your results by Best Match for you:
The sorting option 'Best Match' will rank your matches based on field of work accuracy (shared fields of work between your project and the funder/opportunity) and precision (think: green or exact keywords),
How do I select the most relevant keywords?
There are two paths to choosing keywords for your project: generate keyword suggestions and adding keywords manually.
Generate keyword suggestions
When creating or editing a project, you'll be asked what you are fundraising for. Our system will analyze your response and suggest keywords (i.e., fields of work,) that align with your project description.
Tips to generating the best keyword suggestions
Don't "reinvent the wheel": use your org's program mission statement or description! This can be language from past proposals, your website or any internal descriptions of what your program does, whom it serves and the impact or outcome.
Program-level scope: rather than writing an overview of your entire organization, describe the particular program this project is for. This will ensure your matches are tailored for your specific funding needs. (The exception to this rule is if the project is solely for the funding use general operating expenses, i.e. unrestricted funds.)
Add keywords manually
In addition to (or in place of) the suggested keywords, you may wish to browse and select your fields of work from our exhaustive list.
Tips to choosing keywords manually
Be specific
Rather than looking at your project from a broad lens, try and pinpoint a few, specific keywords that closely align with your project.
Select fields of work from a variety of angles
What services are you offering? (STEM education, e.g.)
What audience are you targeting? (Women & girl services, e.g.)
What key outcomes are you hoping to achieve? ( Educational access & equity, e.g.)
Important considerations when adding fields of work
The number of keywords you select correlates to the number of matches you receive.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the number of matches you’re receiving, go back and edit your project to eliminate some fields of work that aren’t directly aligned with your project.
Conversely, if you’re feeling underwhelmed with your number of matches, try adding more fields of work that are relevant to your project.
Read how each field of work is defined in our database.
When generating keyword suggestions, hover over the actual keyword.
When adding keywords manually, hover over the ⓘ information icon.
Reading these keyword definitions is paramount to ensuring your matches actually align with the work your organization does.
Selecting strong keywords (or fields of work) is key to receiving excellent matches in Instrumentl. Need help with other criteria that goes into setting up a project? Read more about creating the perfect project here.
Contact Us 
Reach out to our friendly support team if you have any questions about selecting Fields of Work. Message us via the chat bubble when you're logged in, or email us at hello@instrumentl.com.