Honest comparison
Grant Connect vs Happy Grants
Grant Connect is Imagine Canada’s funder database, and for many Canadian charities it is the tool already on the shortlist. Happy Grants is a Canadian-first alternative that adds AI matching and application drafting to the funder research, at CA$19 a month for a verified charity. Which one fits depends on whether you want a research directory or the whole find-to-write workflow.
Grant Connect is built for
Canadian registered charities and qualified donees doing funder prospect research: development staff who want curated profiles of Canadian grantmakers, gift history, key decision makers, and a pipeline to track asks, on a monthly, one-year, or three-year term.
Happy Grants is built for
Canadian nonprofits, charities, and small businesses that want AI to score every live grant against their profile, explain the fit, and then draft the application from their own content, from CA$0, or CA$19 a month for a verified charity under $500K in revenue.
The honest take
- Grant Connect is the established Canadian funder directory and its profiles go deeper than ours: application preferences, financial summaries, key decision makers, a contact explorer that maps your network to each prospect, and gift history back 5 years on Essential or 35+ years on Premium. If deep foundation prospect research is the whole job, it is the stronger directory today.
- It is a database, not a matching or writing tool. You search, filter, and read; nothing on their site scores grants against your organization, explains why a funder fits, or drafts an application. Happy Grants does all three, and the grant directory plus your first AI match are free.
- The price is the claim a Canadian charity can actually verify. Grant Connect’s Essential plan for an organization under $500K in revenue is $36 a month only if you prepay three years ($1,300), $54 a month on a one-year term ($650), or $90 month to month. Happy Grants’ Charity Rate is CA$19 a month for a verified CRA charity under $500K, month to month, with no term. Above $500K their price climbs to $60 to $245 a month; ours stays CA$39 on NP Grow.
- Two things to say in their favour on billing: Imagine Canada charges no tax on Grant Connect because of its charitable status, and every plan has a monthly option. Refunds are not issued for unused time, so the three-year price is a real commitment.
Side by side
| Grant Connect | Happy Grants | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for a charity under $500K revenue | $36/mo (3-year prepay) · $54/mo (1-year) · $90/mo monthly | CA$0 free tier · CA$19/mo Charity Rate |
| Price above $500K revenue | $60 to $245/mo by revenue and term | CA$39/mo NP Grow |
| Pricing shown on website | ||
| Contract term | Monthly, 1-year, or 3-year; no refund on unused time | Month to month, cancel anytime |
| Canadian funder profiles | Thousands, curated by Imagine Canada | Built from CRA T3010 filings |
| Funder gift history | 5 years (Essential) · 35+ years (Premium) | CRA T3010 verified gifts |
| Canadian grant catalog | Thousands of grant opportunities | 2,300+ live, updated weekly |
| AI matching with reasons shown | ||
| AI drafting from your own content | ||
| Template reformatting (any funder form) | ||
| SR&ED analysis for CCPCs | ||
| For-profit small businesses | No opportunities specifically for for-profits | |
| Key decision makers and contact explorer | ||
| Pipeline and deadline tracking | ||
| Free public grant directory (no account) | ||
| Free trial / free tier | 48-hour trial on request, once per organization | Permanent free tier |
Grant Connect figures as listed on imaginecanada.ca, checked 17 September 2026: Essential plan, under $500K revenue: $36/mo on a 3-year term billed $1,300, $54/mo on a 1-year term billed $650, $90/mo monthly; $500K to $5M: $60, $90, or $150/mo; over $5M: $102, $153, or $245/mo; Premium, any size: $150, $225, or $360/mo. Their site shows prices without a currency label. Check their site for current pricing. Source
Try the difference free
Sign up with your CRA registration number and the Charity Rate is CA$19 a month. Happy Grants matches your organization against 2,300+ live Canadian grants in about a minute, reasons included. No credit card, no sales call.
Get matched freeGrant Connect is a trademark of its respective owner. Happy Grants is not affiliated with or endorsed by Grant Connect. Comparison reflects publicly available information as of September 2026; tell us at mocha@mochasmindlab.com if anything here is out of date.