GrantNav vs GrantAdvisor UK vs Funding Scotland: 2025 Directory Review
Choosing the right grant directory for prospecting saves hours. We stress-tested GrantNav, GrantAdvisor UK, and Funding Scotland— the three most-used directories by Crafty customers—and scored them on data coverage, insight quality, and workflow integrations.
Quick verdict
- GrantNav remains the best all-round directory with open data and exportable CSVs for Crafty.
- GrantAdvisor UK delivers unique qualitative intel on funder behaviour—ideal for relationship planning.
- Funding Scotland excels for place-based Scottish organisations needing small-grant leads.
Head-to-head scorecard
| Criteria | GrantNav | GrantAdvisor UK | Funding Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage (UK-wide) | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Funder insight depth | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Crafty integration readiness | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Cost/value | 5 (free) | 4 (free) | 3 (free with membership perks) |
GrantNav: best open-data directory
GrantNav, maintained by 360Giving, aggregates more than £220bn of grants from 250+ funders. It shines when you need comprehensive, exportable datasets: GrantNav. Use it to build prospect lists, feed your data mining workflow, and push CSVs into Crafty for personalised outreach.
GrantAdvisor UK: best qualitative insight
GrantAdvisor UK, powered by GlobalGiving, offers anonymous reviews from applicants and grantees. It helps you gauge how responsive funders are and what tweaks improve your narrative: GrantAdvisor UK. Capture insights in Crafty’s prompt playbook to tailor tone and risk mitigations.
Funding Scotland: best local coverage
Funding Scotland, run by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, lists 1,400+ funds with filters for region and theme: Funding Scotland. It’s invaluable for smaller, place-based grants that don’t appear in national datasets.
How we tested
Over two weeks in January 2025 we ran 12 search scenarios (e.g. “youth mental health North West”, “community retrofit Glasgow”) and evaluated:
- Search relevance and filters
- Data exports and API access
- Qualitative funder insights
- Integration effort with Crafty workflows
Recommendations by use case
- Data-first teams – Use GrantNav + Crafty evidence bank for bulk prospecting.
- Relationship-led fundraisers – Pair GrantAdvisor UK insights with the trust-based reporting toolkit.
- Scottish organisations – Start with Funding Scotland, then cross-check in GrantNav.
Next steps
Download our directory workflow checklist and Crafty import templates. Combine data exports with the AI prompt playbook for targeted outreach.