Grants are essential fuel for nonprofits, schools, and foundations across the country.
The problem is that it is hard to research the right ones. And in 2025 it is a process that has become even more competitive. The reality is that extensive federal funding cuts means that more organizations are applying for the same types of grants.
But a recently-launched startup out of Atlanta wants to help nonprofits find and win more perfect grants.
As its name suggests, MatchGrant is an AI-driven startup that connects groups with the right grant opportunities. After supplying a bit of information about their organization, the platform gets to work sharing grants that fit their needs.
A Look At MatchGrant
Just a few months after launch, MatchGrant is approaching 100 active users. The company is trending towards 250 in the next three months and a thousand within a year, according to CEO Luke Keller.
“Those organizations collectively represent millions of dollars in annual impact,” Keller told Hypepotamus.
“Through MatchGrant, we’ve surfaced thousands of grant opportunities, and our users are not only finding and applying for more grants but winning them faster. Many are also using our “search” feature to see who’s funding similar organizations, something that’s been a complete game-changer for their fundraising strategy.”
The platform also helps organizations manage deadlines and important documents needed to complete grant applications.
Organizations can access MatchGrant for $2,000 per year subscription fee.
Meet The Team
Keller is a nonprofit and technology professional who launched the startup after his own frustrations competing for grants.
Keller grew up in Lilburn, Georgia in the Metro Atlanta area. He later moved to Alabama to play football at Samford University. While in college, he started his first company, a pressure washing business in Birmingham. Through the company he worked with and hired many refugees in the area.
“I was welcomed into their families. They were from all around the world, and I was blown away at how hard working and reliable they were and their expertise,” he said, adding that it helped shape his career path moving forward. Before launching MatchGrant, he served as president for Amplio Recruiting and Diversity Insight Staffing.
On top of leading MatchGrant, Keller also serves as co-founder and Executive Director at the nonprofit Tekton Career Training.
Balancing the responsibilities of leading both a startup and a nonprofit is no small feat. But Keller told Hypepotamus that he has figured out more ways to juggle everything in his schedule.
“Someone once told me, “If you want something done, give it to someone with kids.” That’s become my reality, and my superpower,” he said. “Mornings are usually for deep work and product at MatchGrant, development, user calls, demos. Afternoons often shift to Tekton, where I focus on partnerships, training, and growth initiatives. Evenings are family time, and then after the kids are asleep, I’ll get back to strategy or creative work,” adding that he uses AI and automation wherever possible to “stay lean and focused.”
Building MatchGrant In Atlanta
MatchGrant has also turned into a family effort. Keller is building the startup alongside his wife and fractional COO Mallory Keller, and co-founder and CTO Blake McCool and his wife Caroline McCool (fractional CMO).
Keller said that Atlanta is an “incredible place to build MatchGrant because of its diversity and density” of nonprofits.
“You have everything here, global NGOs, grassroots community orgs, refugee-serving nonprofits, faith-based initiatives, and corporate foundations, all within a few miles of each other,” he told Hypepotamus. “The community here is collaborative and impact-driven, and that’s made it the perfect place to build a company like this from the ground up.”
Keller said he is excited by the opportunity to build technology that “actually multiplies impact for the organizations doing the hardest, most important work in the world.”
“Smaller nonprofits often spend so much time chasing funding instead of fulfilling their mission. With MatchGrant, we’re giving them a tool that finds “true-fit” funders, reveals who’s funding their peers, and streamlines the entire process of managing and winning grants,” he added. “Every time one of our users discovers or wins a grant they never would’ve found otherwise, it’s a reminder that technology can be a genuine force for good — not just another platform they have to learn, but a partner in their mission.”
As MatchGrant looks to grow as a bootstrapped startup, Keller said he is looking to connect with more nonprofits.
“If you’re on a board, if you’ve ever given to a nonprofit, if you’re affiliated with a new nonprofit…we would love the opportunity to show them the platform,” Keller added.