When you create a project on Instrumentl, we begin matching your funding needs to relevant grant opportunities and funders across our database.
Instrumentl uses smart-matching to surface a tailored list of opportunities for each project as Matches. Your Matches tab is where new opportunities appear, giving you a focused place to review what’s new and decide what to pursue next.
Matches help you:
Surface relevant funders and opportunities for each project
Reduce time spent searching by starting with aligned options
Move strong opportunities into your Tracker to plan next steps
Your Matches list updates automatically as new opportunities are added to the database. Each week, you’ll receive an email summarizing new Matches for each project, so nothing gets missed.
Read more about setting up projects to get better matches here.
Types of Matches
Instrumentl shows two types of Matches for each project: Opportunity Matches and Funder Matches.
Opportunity Matches
Opportunity Matches are active, public grant opportunities (RFPs) that match your criteria. These are open funding opportunities that anyone can access.
Available on all Instrumentl plans
Designed to help you quickly identify grants you can apply to now
Include deadlines, application details, and eligibility information
You can review and filter Opportunity Matches to identify the strongest fits, then save them to your Tracker to track progress and next steps. Read more about filtering your Opportunity Matches here.
Funder Matches
Funder Matches connect you to individual foundations that align with your project based on past giving patterns and relevance—even when they don’t currently have an open, public grant opportunity.
These Matches are especially useful for long-term strategy and relationship building, helping you identify funders worth cultivating beyond open RFPs.
Available on the Standard Plan and above
May include invite-only funders or funders without public grant portals
Opportunity Matches and Funder Matches are mutually exclusive. If a funder has an active, public grant opportunity that matches your project criteria, it will appear in your Opportunity Matches. Read more about Funder Matches here.
Reviewing Matches: Saving vs. Hiding
As you review Matches, you can save opportunities you want to explore further and hide ones you don’t plan to pursue, helping you keep your funding pipeline organized and focused.
Save a Match
Save a Match when it feels like a good fit you want to continue researching or pursuing.
Saved Matches move directly to your project Tracker, where you can plan deadlines, assign tasks, and track progress
Use the three dots next to Save to save a Match to a different project if it’s a better fit elsewhere
Hide a Match
Hide a Match when you’ve decided it’s not a fit—either for this specific project or for your organization overall.
You can:
Hide from this project if it’s not a fit here but could be relevant for another project
Hide from all projects if it’s not a fit for your organization at all (click the three dots to expand this option)
Important: Hidden Matches are hidden indefinitely. This means they won’t reappear if a future application cycle opens. If you need to revisit them later, you can unhide Matches at any time. Learn how to uncover your hidden Matches here.
Using Opportunity Notes effectively
Opportunity Notes help you track important context as you review Matches.
Notes let you capture your thinking in the moment, so you (and your team) don’t have to re-evaluate the same opportunity again later. Use Opportunity Notes to:
Record why an opportunity is a good fit (or not)
Capture eligibility details or potential flags
Leave context for teammates or your future self
When you save a Match, any Opportunity Notes you’ve added automatically carry over to the Notes column in your Tracker—no extra work required.
Pro tip: Add notes even when you plan to hide a Match. That way, if someone asks later whether you’ve looked at a funder before, you’ll have clear documentation.
Matches on Instrumentl help you spend less time prospecting and more time moving forward. As you review Matches, be sure to either save or hide each one to keep your pipeline organized and actionable.
Contact Us 
Reach out to our friendly support team if you have any questions about Matches. Message us via the chat bubble when you're logged in, or email us at hello@instrumentl.com.