Infinite Game OS

Definition

Grant Manager routes by phase. LOI phase produces a 1 to 2 page letter using standard sections (organization, need, project summary, ask, alignment) with boilerplate pulled where applicable. Proposal phase builds the section outline against the funder's required structure (cover sheet, executive summary, statement of need, project description, methods, logic model or theory of change, evaluation plan, organizational capacity, key personnel, budget and budget narrative, sustainability plan, letters of support, appendices), drafts section by section with surface-decision-points to the operator and runs a coherence pass across sections so logic models match evaluation plans and budgets match project descriptions. Submission phase builds a checklist as the gate, pre-flights every required upload and form field, then surfaces operator-only steps the skill can't perform (portal login, final submission button, e-signatures). Post-award phase pushes every reporting deadline into the capture system and runs report-drafting flows when deadlines approach. Stewardship phase tracks funder relationships across cycles. Federal compliance flows from 2 CFR 200; the skill surfaces the relevant subparts at proposal and post-award phases.

Phase routing as the discipline

The skill routes by phase. LOI, proposal, submission, post-award, stewardship. Each phase has its own flow with its own gates. The phase parameter is required at intake; the skill halts if it's missing. This structural separation is what allows the operator to resume work cleanly across sessions: the per-opportunity tracking file captures phase status, the boilerplate library persists across opportunities and the funder-relationship file persists across cycles.

Lead-time math is calibrated into each phase. Working backward from a proposal deadline: 1 to 2 weeks for final assembly, 4 to 6 weeks for writing, 2 to 4 weeks for internal review, plus 2 to 4 weeks for SAM.gov registration if federal and not active. A federal proposal needs 9 to 16 weeks of runway; a foundation proposal runs 6 to 12 weeks. The skill surfaces the math at LOI and proposal phases so the operator knows whether the deadline runway is structurally writable.

Boilerplate as leverage

The reusable boilerplate library is the operator's leverage point. Org background, mission statement, theory of change, evaluation framework, budget template, key personnel bios, IRS determination letter, audited financials summary, board list. Updated annually or on material change. The skill pulls boilerplate where applicable rather than re-inventing project-specific sections from scratch each cycle.

The most useful boilerplate is the operator's own past wins. Prior funded proposals carry the language patterns that already worked with funders in the operator's ecosystem; pulling from them at proposal phase compresses drafting time and preserves voice consistency across applications. The skill reads the prior-wins archive when configured and surfaces the most-applicable prior proposals as drafting reference.

Use Cases

LOI for an invited foundation opportunity

A program officer invites an LOI. The skill reads the funder's LOI guidelines (or applies a standard 1 to 2 page structure if guidelines are absent), pulls organizational background and mission language verbatim from boilerplate and drafts the five standard sections. The operator reviews, edits and submits. The per-opportunity tracking file captures the LOI submission timestamp.

Federal full proposal with SAM.gov check

A federal opportunity advances to full-proposal phase. The skill confirms SAM.gov registration is active and the UEI matches the operator profile before any drafting begins. If registration is inactive or the runway is tight, the skill flags the prerequisite as a hard halt. Proposal drafting then runs section by section with logic-model and evaluation plan coherence pass, surfaces decision points to the operator and saves drafts to the per-opportunity folder.

Submission package pre-flight

A proposal advances to submission. The skill builds the checklist from the funder's portal documentation (Grants.gov, Submittable, Foundant or bespoke), pre-flights every required upload, character-count limit and form field. Halts on any missing item. After operator confirms submission, captures the confirmation number and submission timestamp.

Post-award reporting deadline cascade

An award lands. The skill reads the grant agreement, surfaces every reporting deadline (interim, annual, financial) and pushes them into the operator's capture system. When a deadline approaches, the skill runs the report-drafting flow against the project's progress data structured to the funder's report format. For multi-year awards, year-over-year metrics get tracked so each annual report shows progression.

Stewardship between cycles

A grant cycle closes. The skill surfaces stewardship moves: thank-you note within 48 hours, mid-year impact updates unprompted, invitations to events the funder might value, congratulations on funder milestones. The funder-relationship file updates after every touchpoint. Stewardship is what makes warm-relationship pipelines convert at materially higher rates than cold discovery; the skill protects the cadence the operator might otherwise drop.

FAQ

Why route by phase instead of one continuous flow?

Phase routing matches how grant work actually happens. LOI happens months before proposal. Submission happens weeks after proposal. Post-award reporting happens months after submission. Stewardship runs continuously. Treating them as one continuous flow forces the operator to re-load context on every resumed session; phase routing lets the skill pick up exactly where the previous session left off.

How does the boilerplate library work?

The operator maintains a directory of reusable artifacts: organizational background, mission statement, theory of change, evaluation framework, budget template, key personnel bios, financial summaries, board list. The skill reads from it during LOI and proposal phases, pulls applicable sections verbatim and stops the operator from re-inventing the same sections cycle after cycle. Updated annually or on material change.

Does this skill auto-submit?

No. The submission phase prepares the package and pre-flights every required item; the operator confirms and submits. The skill captures the confirmation number after the operator confirms submission, never before. The boundary protects the operator from auto-submitting a proposal whose final review they didn't personally complete.

How does this handle federal compliance?

2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance) governs federal grant compliance. The skill surfaces the relevant subparts at proposal phase (indirect cost rates, allowable costs, evaluation requirements) and post-award phase (draws against approved budgets, time-and-effort reporting, closeout requirements). Compliance interpretation is the operator's call; the skill's job is to surface what to read and when.

What if the funder uses a portal the skill doesn't recognize?

The skill works from the funder's portal documentation rather than a hard-coded portal list. Grants.gov, Submittable, SurveyMonkey Apply (Fluid Review), Foundant and bespoke portals are all common; each has quirks. The pre-flight checklist is built from whatever the portal documentation surfaces. Email submission gets handled the same way: build the package, pre-flight, halt for operator review.