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   Grant Writing found in Money & Business  :  Business Skills A   A   A
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How to Research Grants

If you have an idea of why your organization might merit a grant, the next step is to find institutions that offer grants, confirm your suitability, and obtain submission guidelines.

How to Find Corporate and Foundation Grants

  • Local business publications: Check your local business publication’s annual Book of Lists to find the largest companies and foundations in your area. Visit their websites for details on their philanthropy, which can typically be found under “Corporate Responsibility,” “News & Events,” or “Community.”
  • Specific foundation sites: Finding grant information on foundation sites is a bit easier. Look for “Grants” or “Grant Seekers” headings.
  • Foundation Center: At www.foundationcenter.org, you can subscribe to free newsletters, including Philanthropy News Digest, a weekly digest of grant-making news, and RFP Bulletin, a weekly summary of newly announced requests for proposals from various grantmakers. There are also regional newsletters that outline new resources and training opportunities at each of the center’s locations.
    • Study the “Find Funders” section of the Foundation Center website. The “Foundation Finder” tool lets you search funders by name, location, or employer identification number for free.
    • Buy the Foundation Center’s online, print, and CD-ROM funder directories (or use them for free at one of the Foundation Center offices or Cooperating Collection libraries nationwide). These directories provide detailed private and independent funder information. A corporate giving database reveals corporate foundation data; yet another database lists 6,200 funders who make grants to individual students, artists, researchers, and others.
  • Council on Foundations: The Community Foundation Locator at www.cof.org lists regional grantmakers.
  • Other sites: Try www.foundations.org, www.fundsnetservices.com, www.grantstation.com, and www.philanthropy.com for additional grantmakers.

How to Find Government Grants

  • Grants.gov: www.grants.gov is a one-stop site for information about the $400 billion in grants admin­istered annually by federal government agencies. The site, which emerged from a 2002 initiative to improve government services to the public, lets you apply for and manage federal grants in one place.
  • State agencies: State agencies administer grants as well, but there is no centralized site. Your best bet is to visit the state government’s website—typically the state name or abbreviation followed by “.gov” (e.g., www.ohio.gov or www.nh.gov)—and enter terms such as “grant,” “grants,” “grant resources,” or “grant opportunities” into the site’s search tool and scroll through the results. Another approach is to search for more specific terms related to your particular project, such as “conservation grant” or “small business grant.”
  • Local newspapers, business journals, and websites: These are another way to find grant sources in your area. Keep a list of grantmakers and grants noted in news stories to discover new funders who may not yet be included in other resources you’ve found.

How to Scan Funder Profiles

Once you’ve identified foundations and government agencies that might be likely to fund your request, it’s time to see whether your program happens to be a good match for a particular funder’s criteria.

What Is a Funder Profile?

The funder profile, often found on the funder’s website and in brochures and other marketing materials, tells you what kinds of projects the funder supports, who it wishes to administer them, and where. A funder profile might read as follows:
The ABC Foundation’s primary interest is in supporting Iowa nonprofit organizations that help rural residents in or at risk of long-term poverty to become more self-sufficient. The foundation is particularly committed to providing general operating funding to community-based efforts that provide programs and services to low-income adults in the state to help them support themselves and their families.
That one paragraph conveys enough information to let you know whether your program is a good fit. It tells you:
  • The geographic area the foundation supports (Iowa)
  • The grant seekers it helps (nonprofit organizations)
  • The demographic it wants to aid (rural residents in or at risk of long-term poverty)
  • The types of programs it funds (general operating expenses of community-based organizations)
Clearly, a small business in Ohio that seeks a grant to expand operations into an underserved urban area would miss the mark if it applied for this particular opportunity.

The Importance of the Funder Profile

Though it seems obvious, many grant seekers waste their time sending applications to organizations that they have little or no chance of receiving funding from—simply because they haven’t read the submission guidelines, or they think that their cause is so worthy that exceptions will be made. Funders will not change their giving parameters for a single applicant, so you’re better off changing your program to fit their criteria or applying elsewhere.

Descriptions of past grantees—and the amounts of their awards—also offer valuable insight into how closely your project fits with the organization’s historical preferences.

How to Get Additional Information

Throughout the grant-writing process, you want to be armed with as much information as possible. So once you’re reasonably sure that a funder might be a good fit for you, call or email the organization’s office and ask to be added to their mailing list (unless the website specifically prohibits such contact).

If you’re told that the funder doesn’t have a mailing list, ask for copies of recent annual reports, newsletters, research, or grant submission guidelines. Often you’ll be referred to a website, but it’s good to make personal contact with the office with a call or message—sometimes you’ll get helpful information that isn’t available online.
 
 
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Grant Writing Chart