Funding is one of the biggest issues non-profit groups face. Without sufficient public contributions, organizations need to seek loans and grants to fund their programs and general operation. Grants are a particularly attractive funding option because they lend prestige to an organization and never require repayment. But finding the right type of grants can be a challenge that requires creative thinking and hard work to achieve.
Start With the Obvious
When you begin searching for grants, start with the most likely sources where you can find a large number of possible grants before proceeding to more obscure searches. The federal government maintains a website, Grants.gov, which lists government agencies that offer grants. This list includes groups ranging from the Department of Homeland Security to the Department of Energy and the National Endowment for the Arts. If you've received grants in the past, contact the organizations that provided them and ask about upcoming or ongoing opportunities.
Visit the Library
The Internet is an excellent place to start searching for grants, and indeed many government organizations and private foundations post their grant opportunities online. But not every grant is available online. Taking your search to the local library can reveal grants that won't appear in any search engine. Reference publications such as The Foundation Directory and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance list contact information for grant-giving agencies, along with the specific grants they provide. Seeking out more obscure grants that are harder to find may also ensure you have less competition when you apply.
Go Beyond the Government
Government agencies provide a large portion of the total grants available, but to have the best chance at grant funding you should expand your search and consider private organizations as well. These organizations include arts councils, endowments, public trusts and the community outreach arms of major corporations. Many organizations give grants at the local level, so contact business and agencies in your region directly to find out about the grants they offer.
Hire a Grant Writer
Searching for grants is a time-consuming process, and filling out applications before they're due can add to the time commitment. If your organization can afford it, hire a professional grant writer. Anyone with a background in administrative tasks, academic admissions or non-profit fund-raising will bring useful skills to the process and free up you and your staff to continue working on the important operations of your organization. A grant writer will also be able to devote more time to searching for grants, helping you to identify as many opportunities as possible.
Tags: grants that, grants they, more obscure, your organization, your search