For nonprofit and public sector teamsTemplates

Write a summary of a long document, for nonprofit and public sector teams

Turn a long report, policy or paper into a short, faithful summary for a named reader, with every number and name kept exactly as the document has it.

This is the version for nonprofit and public sector teams. The steps and checks are the same as in the general template; each prompt carries one added line about your setting, and the examples are from your kind of work.

Sample results: runs and scores on this page are illustrations while testing is set up. How we test

  • Who it is for: Program officers, analysts and coordinators in nonprofits and public agencies who brief a board, a committee or a council on a report they have not read.
  • Time: 15 minutes

Download it, in the format you use

  • Prompt chain

    Copy each step into ChatGPT or Claude, one after another.

  • Checklist

    Follow the steps and check off the checks by hand.

  • Claude skill

    A folder Claude loads, so it follows the steps by itself.

  • n8n file

    Import into n8n and connect your own AI account.

Using a download:How to use this in n8nHow to install a Claude skill

How it runs

Select a part to see its prompt, input, output and check.

  3. Runs on each piece

The same job, with and without the template

Sample

One plain prompt

Summarize this report for the budget committee. (The same report is pasted below.)

The library's evening hours pilot appears to have been a success. The Eastside and Harbor branches stayed open until 9 pm on weekdays for six months and logged about 4,400 evening visits, mostly from people who work during the day and from students. The pilot cost roughly 61,000 dollars and came in under budget.

There were some setbacks, including a heating failure at Harbor and the loss of three part-time staff. Staff recommend extending the pilot for a year, and the budget committee will vote in September.

Problem:It rounds 4,380 to 'about 4,400' and 61,200 to 'roughly 61,000', never gives the 124,000 dollar cost of the extension, and says the vote is in September without the September 18 date or the October 1 cutoff.

With this template

The same input, run through the steps.

In short

The evening hours pilot reached people the daytime schedule misses and finished under budget. Staff ask the committee to extend it for twelve months at 124,000 dollars, with a vote on September 18.

Key points

  • Reach: 4,380 evening visits over 26 weeks, an average of 34 per night.
  • Who came: 41 percent of the 612 people surveyed worked during the day, and 23 percent were students.
  • Cost: 61,200 dollars against a budget of 66,000 dollars, about 14 dollars per visit against 11 dollars in the daytime.
  • Staffing was 78 percent of the cost.
  • Problems: two evenings were canceled after a heating failure at Harbor, and three part-time staff left.

What it means for you

  • The extension would cost 124,000 dollars for twelve months.
  • The budget committee votes on September 18. If the vote is delayed past September 30, evening hours stop on October 1.
  • Check:Every number is in the document: The key points for all six parts use only numbers from the report.
  • Check:The summary is 300 words or fewer: About 155 words, under the limit of 300.
  • Check:Every number in the summary is in the document: Every figure in the summary appears in the report as written.
  • Check:Every name matches the document: Harbor is spelled as in the report, and no name is added.
  • For your read:The summary is fair to the document: Would the report's author say it gives a fair picture?

Runs and scores

Sample

Claude, Sonnet model

October 4, 2026, typical sample

  • Check:Every number is in the document

    The key points for all six parts use only numbers from the report.

  • Check:The summary is 300 words or fewer

    The summary is about 155 words.

  • Check:Every number in the summary is in the document

    Every figure in the summary appears in the report as written.

  • Check:Every name matches the document

    The branch names Eastside and Harbor are spelled as in the report.

  • For your read:The summary is fair to the document

    Would the report's author say it gives a fair picture?

Fixed: Nothing needed fixing: every check passed on the first pass.

Met 5 of 5

1 of these is for your read: the tool hands it to you.

ChatGPT, GPT model

October 5, 2026, tricky sample

  • First pass failed:Every number is in the document

    The key points gave the cost as 1.2 million dollars; the notice says 1,150,000 dollars.

  • Check:The summary is 300 words or fewer

    The summary is about 80 words.

  • Check:Every number in the summary is in the document

    Every figure in the summary appears in the notice as written, including December 4 and June 30.

  • Check:Every name matches the document

    Riverside Park and the north playground are spelled and used as in the notice.

  • For your read:The summary is fair to the document

    Would the notice's author say it gives a fair picture, with the exception for the north playground kept in?

Fixed: The step ran again with the rule to copy every number as written, and the cost then read 1,150,000 dollars. Nothing else changed.

Met 5 of 5

1 of these is for your read: the tool hands it to you.

n8n, import format 2.20

October 6, 2026, easy sample

  • Check:Every number is in the document

    The key points for both parts use only numbers from the memo.

  • Check:The summary is 300 words or fewer

    The summary is about 45 words.

  • Check:Every number in the summary is in the document

    Every figure in the summary appears in the memo as written.

  • Check:Every name matches the document

    Lena Brandt and the permits office are spelled and used as in the memo.

  • For your read:The summary is fair to the document

    Would the memo's author say it gives a fair picture?

Fixed: Nothing needed fixing: every check passed on the first pass.

Met 5 of 5

1 of these is for your read: the tool hands it to you.

The steps, and the check on each

  1. Step 1: Map the document into parts

    Split the document into its main parts and note what each part covers.

    Hands back: A numbered list of the document's parts, each with where it starts and what it covers.

    No separate check on this step.

  2. Step 2: Summarize each part

    Write the key points of each part, keeping numbers and names exactly as written.

    Hands back: Key points for every part of the document, with numbers and names copied exactly.

    Check:Every number is in the document

    A plain rule. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).

  3. Step 3: Merge into one summary

    Combine the part notes into one summary written for the reader.

    Hands back: A first full summary in three short sections, written for the reader.

    No separate check on this step.

  4. Step 4: Tighten the summary

    Cut the summary to 300 words or fewer without losing a key fact.

    Hands back: The final summary, 300 words or fewer.

    Check:The summary is 300 words or fewer

    A plain rule. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).

After the last step

  • Check:Every number in the summary is in the document

    A plain rule. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).

  • Check:Every name matches the document

    A second look by the AI. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).

  • Check:The summary is fair to the document

    You check this one. If it fails, it is flagged for you.

What you need first

  • The document(needed)

    Paste the full text of the document. Copy it out of the PDF or Word file first.

  • Who the summary is for(needed)

    Name the reader and what they need it for, for example "Board members deciding next year's budget".

Ways to adapt it

  • To change the length, change 300 in the Tighten step's prompt, purpose and check, all three.
  • If the document is too long for your assistant to read at once, run the Summarize each part step once per part, pasting only that part, then paste all the notes into the Merge step.
  • For a summary in a set layout (a briefing note, a one-page memo), replace the shape at the end of the Merge step with your layout.
  • For several documents on one topic, run the first two steps on each document, then merge all the notes together.

Change any step or check in the Editor, then download it again.

Words that fit nonprofit and public sector teams

  • Use the document's own word, program or project, and its exact name.
  • A budget figure is an amount approved, asked for or spent; keep the three apart, and keep the year or period it covers.
  • A reader who votes needs the date of the vote and what happens if it is missed, so both belong in the summary.
Try it with a sampleSample

A structured report of about 340 words with six headed parts, several figures, one named person and a vote date; long enough that the summary must choose what to keep.

The document
Library Branch Evening Hours Pilot: Six-Month Report 1. Overview The pilot opened the Eastside and Harbor branches until 9 pm on weekdays from March 1 to August 31. The library board approved it in January, with the cost shared between the library budget and a county grant. Over 26 weeks the two branches logged 4,380 evening visits, an average of 34 per night. Staff wanted to know whether the extra hours reached people the daytime schedule misses. 2. Who came A visitor survey of 612 people found that 41 percent worked during the day and could not visit before 5 pm, and 23 percent were students. Computer use made up 52 percent of evening visits, and Tuesday and Wednesday were the busiest nights. Eastside drew 58 percent of all visits and Harbor 42 percent. The survey was handed out on paper in April and May, in English and Spanish. 3. Cost The pilot cost 61,200 dollars against a budget of 66,000 dollars, and the county grant paid 40,000 dollars of the total. Staffing was 78 percent of the cost, and the rest covered lighting and security. Branch manager Teresa Ngo noted that the cost per visit was about 14 dollars, compared with 11 dollars in the daytime. 4. Problems Two evenings were canceled after a heating failure at Harbor. Three part-time staff left during the pilot, and recruiting replacements took six weeks. Visitors who arrived after 8 pm sometimes found the computer lab full. Several visitors asked for a quiet study room, which neither branch has. 5. What staff learned Evening visits rose steadily after the first month, once the hours were posted on the library website and in the local newsletter. Nights with a program, such as a job-search clinic, drew about twice as many visitors as nights without one. 6. Recommendation Staff recommend extending the pilot for twelve months at a cost of 124,000 dollars. The budget committee will vote on September 18. If the vote is delayed past September 30, evening hours stop on October 1.
Who the summary is for
The council's budget committee, deciding whether to extend the pilot

The scoring guide

Sample

One criterion for each check, marked met or not met. (The guides in Quality rate a whole piece of work on three levels.) Under each one is how the three sample runs scored.

Download the scoring guide (Markdown)

  • Every number is in the document

    A plain rule

    Meets:Every number in the key points appears in the document, written the same way.
    Does not meet:A key point has a number that is not in the document, or one that was rounded or changed.
    Claude:Met
    ChatGPT:Met
    n8n:Met

  • The summary is 300 words or fewer

    A plain rule

    Meets:The summary is 300 words or fewer when you count them.
    Does not meet:The summary runs past 300 words.
    Claude:Met
    ChatGPT:Met
    n8n:Met

  • Every number in the summary is in the document

    A plain rule

    Meets:Every number in the finished summary appears in the document, as it is written there.
    Does not meet:The summary has a number the document does not, or a figure that was rounded, added up or reworded.
    Claude:Met
    ChatGPT:Met
    n8n:Met

  • Every name matches the document

    A second look by the AI

    Meets:Every person, place, organization, program and document named in the summary is spelled and used as the document has it.
    Does not meet:A name is misspelled, swapped for a similar one, or does not appear in the document.
    Claude:Met
    ChatGPT:Met
    n8n:Met

  • The summary is fair to the document

    You check this one

    Meets:You read it and the author would agree it gives a fair picture, with nothing important left out and nothing made stronger or weaker.
    Does not meet:A main point is missing, or the summary says something more strongly or more weakly than the document does.
    Claude:For your read
    ChatGPT:For your read
    n8n:For your read

Claude: met 5 of 5 (including 1 for your read)

ChatGPT: met 5 of 5 (including 1 for your read)

n8n: met 5 of 5 (including 1 for your read)

Learn from this template

A document too long to read in one go is cut into parts. Each part is summarized on its own, then the notes are merged into one summary. Cutting first keeps the numbers and names from each part from getting lost.

Where to see it: step 1 (Map the document into parts); step 2 (Summarize each part); step 3 (Merge into one summary).

Read the guide: Split and merge

More to read:Worked example: long document summaryAdapting a template

Practice:Spot the mistake: research summaryTrace the numberScoring guides

Which one fits?

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Last run
October 6, 2026: n8n, import format 2.20 (sample run)
Tools and versions
Claude, Sonnet model; ChatGPT, GPT model; n8n, import format 2.20
What was checked
The files, against each tool’s import format, and 3 sample runs, each check’s finding recorded.
Version
1.0
What changed
First release.

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