Finding Grant Opportunities

How to find grants


A recent Google search for "grants" yielded a dizzying 111 million hits! Funding possibilities abound, but how do you find a grant opportunity that fits your needs


If you’re reading this article, you have already discovered that finding grant opportunities is easier said than done. First, you need to have a good idea of what your funding needs are. Only then is it time to look out and find grant opportunities that match your needs:

Think local. 
This is a good tactic if your funding needs are modest (ranging from a couple of hundred dollars to maybe $25,000) and your project focuses on a local issue. 
Google your city, county or parish, and state and the word foundation, such as “ foundation” and “ foundation”. Many locales have community foundations or the like that provide grants for organizations geared toward improving life in their community. 
Make a list of businesses and stores in your area, then see if they give grants or donations. Many national corporations give money at the local level. You can usually find out by googling the company name and “grants”, “foundation” or “community service”. Local businesses are usually also keen on supporting community organizations, though they may not have a formal grant program. They may, however, be able to give you several hundred dollars worth of cash, gift certificates, or merchandise. It never hurts to ask.

Think topical.
This can be a good tactic for any organization, whether new or well-established, small or huge. 
Search for grants that address your organization’s specific area of concern, such as “childhood literacy grants” or “arts grants” or “animal welfare grants”. If you come up with too many grant possibilities, you can narrow it down by combining this type of search with a geographic search, such as “literacy grants Colorado”.
Browse professional associations and passionate member sites. Many professional associations provide grants themselves, but they will also often list grant opportunities from other organizations. If you see mention of a relevant list-serv or e-newsletter, join it, so you can get information as it hits the pipeline. Even blogs can be a source of grant listings.

Think government.
This tactic is best for well-established organizations seeking more funding (around $10,000 to multimillion dollar) and/or multi-year grants. 
Both state and federal governments give millions of dollars in grants to non-profit organizations each year. The downside is that the grant application is usually longer, more detailed, and more tedious than for other grant opportunities. 
Go to Grants.gov and search for current grant opportunities from the federal government.
Go the website of the state or federal department most relevant to your topic (such as the Department of Education for literacy or education or the National Endowment for the Arts for the arts) and see what grant opportunities they have.

File it away.

Finding the right grant opportunity can be a time-consuming process. More often than not, you will find many funding opportunities that aren’t quite right, either because a deadline just passed or is too far in the future, or the grant guidelines don’t quite match the project you are currently trying to fund. Still, these are not lost opportunities, just ways to shorten the amount of time you need to find the right grant next time around.

File the information for future grant possibilities somewhere – including the topic, website url, and grant deadline. You can even mark a computer task-list or calendar to remind you to re-evaluate a certain grant listing a couple of months before the application is due.

Grants Now is a great resource for first time grant seekers; 90% of applicants succesfully find grants through their program,

Grants For Business.

While there are no grants for small businesses per say, the government does offer, through its business developement division, several incentives to business owners. These programs are designed to help lower the costs of business developement and help put money back in your pocket.

The Business Development Division facilitates the retention of jobs and the creation of new employment opportunities, particularly for economically disadvantaged individuals, works to expand the city's tax base through commercial and industrial development, particularly in the city's neighborhood business districts, and strives to diversify the regional economy by providing assistance to small businesses. Here are some programs offered by The Business Developement Division:
Neighborhood Business District Improvement Program, which provides public improvements to complement private investment within a neighborhood business.
Industrial Redevelopment/SPUR Program, which works to return vacant, contaminated or underutilized land to productive use.
Tax credits, exemptions and abatements that provide incentives to businesses for creating jobs.
Serving as a liaison among developers, businesses and government.
Providing small business loans and capacity building service.
Programs for Business Owners

Commercial Tax Abatements-encourages the rehabilitation and new construction of structures through property tax incentives. Property tax is available for any increased value that results from the improvements to the property for both new construction and renovation.

Type of Assistance: Temporary elimination of increased real property taxes. Up to 75% for 8 years.

Enterprise Zone-real or personal property tax exemption of new facilities built and rehabbed in an enterprise zone.

Type of Assistance: Tax exemption of 36% for up to 10 years (remaining 64% must be paid to school districts.)

Job Creation Income Tax Credit-tax credit for businesses that create at least 25 jobs in the city, within 3 years of agreement. Jobs to be created must be on average at least 200% of minimum wage and have been retained for at least twice the period of agreement.

Type of Assistance:Tax credit up to 75% for up to 10 years.

Property Investment Reimbursement-direct payment on annual basis for companies that create jobs within city limits within 3 years of agreement. The company must also invest in furniture, equipment, fixtures, and/or real estate improvements in an agreed upon amount.

Type of Assistance:Reimbursement up to 54%.

Technical Assistance-professional consultant provides free technical assistance and advice for recipients and or potential applicants of city’s small business loan programs and neighborhood business district programs.

So while there are no small business grants, per say, there are a lot of government incentives designed to help you grow and invest in your business. Check with your local Business Developement Division (through the Department of Community Developement and Planning) regarding government programs and guidelines in your area.

How To Get a Grant For First Time Home Buyers

Before you begin looking for a grant, it is important that you have secured a lender and that you have a good idea of what kind of home you can afford. A first time homebuyer grant will not pay for your entire home and, for many of these programs, you will need to have your lender help you apply. Once you have completed these first initial steps of the home buying process, you can then begin to seek grant funding to help you purchase your new home.
The first step is to visit this page on the HUD website. It will link you to local funding programs within your state.
Once you are on this page, find and select your state.
Under "Buying a Home," choose the "Assistance Programs" link.
There will be two separate categories: Regional/Statewide programs and City/Town programs.
You will need to read through each available program to decide which is right for you. Each program will have different qualifications, so it is best to look at the qualifications first to see if you will meet the criteria.

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Once you have decided which of these programs you qualify for, you can then choose the program which will give you the most financial  
assistance. 
Note any stipulations on each program. For instance, one program in California, which gives out up to $10,000, requires the grant to be repaid if and when the buyer resells the home.
Once you have decided on a particular program that you want to apply for, find out when each round of funding begins. It is common for such programs to run out of funding months ahead of schedule. Therefore, it is important to get your application in early, preferably sending it so that it arrives on the first day. Remember, hundreds of others will also be sending in their applications at this time, so it is important not to delay.
You may be able to obtain a downloadable application on the program's website or you may be directed to visit a local office to get an application. It is important to fill out the entire application and send in any supporting documents. For example, if the program has income requirements, you may want to send in a copy of your most recent pay stub and/or a copy of your last W2. Additionally, some programs will have you apply directly through your lender. It is important to know these specific requirements so that you are not late with your application.

Most of these programs help with down payment and closing costs, however, some may also give money towards the purchase of the home or give a fixed amount that can be used as needed during the home buying process. This will depend on the type of program and where the funding is originating from.

And Are You Ready for Grants?

Are you ready for grants? The top 10 questions to ask yourself 

Now that you have a more realistic perspective about grants, it's time to see whether you are ready to apply for them. Ask yourself: 

Are you a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, or a public agency or public school? 

Do you have a mission statement that succinctly identifies an important community need and shows you want to address it? 

Do you have at least one program or project that makes sense as part of your mission, and has written goals for the coming year? 

Do you have an overall organizational budget for your upcoming year? 

Which parts of your budget do you want to raise grants for, and why those elements? How much do you expect to raise from grant seeking? 

Can you wait 3-12 months to start receiving this funding? 

Do you have records of your actual revenue and expenses for the past two years, including if possible an audited financial statement? 

Do you have an active board of directors, who meet regularly and help drive the organization's direction? 

Do you have at least one person who is willing and able to commit some time each week to grant seeking? 

Can you explain the specific reasons you want grant funding at this time? 

If you couldn't provide positive, confident answers to these questions, you or your organization may not be ready (or willing) to compete for grants. If you could, congratulations! You are already more prepared than many of your competitors. However, there is still more work to do before you start typing up grant proposals. For example, you will need to do some research on local funding sources and their proposal guidelines and deadlines. Then from those many opportunities, you will pick only the funders whose interests best match your group's specific needs. 

These tasks are the meat and potatoes work of grant seeking, and to do them you may want further help. Get it from sources like books geared toward beginners and local grants experts who may be willing to sit down with you and share advice. To find an expert, try contacting the local branch of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Talking to people who work in grant seeking will give you a good idea of what the process is really like. 

A professional will be impressed if you can clearly answer the ten questions above. That's because, though all your grant proposals should be different, they will all contain the kind of material suggested by the ten questions. Putting that material together for the first time can be laborious. In fact, it's usually more trouble than it's worth to apply for just one grant. However, if you make an up-front investment of time in organization and research, it will be just as easy to apply for ten grants as one. Efficient grant seeking - the kind that doesn't waste volunteer time - is an ongoing, repetitive process. It doesn't take a full-time effort to get results - even a few hours a week could be sufficient - but the work does have to be steady and conscientious. Good luck!

What are grants?

Grants are potentially a meaningful source of funds for many kinds of projects and groups, and applying for them can be a source of great hope and excitement. At the same time, few subjects in nonprofit management are surrounded by such dread and mystery. 

To get a realistic perspective about grants, first understand what grants are not. Grants are not "free money" the government or foundations have "sitting around" to randomly "give away." And most grants awarded to small nonprofits are not million-dollar gifts courtesy of the fortunes of Bill Gates or Andrew Carnegie. 

Instead, grants are donations of money given to charitable (501c3) nonprofit organizations and public agencies in order to meet specific, agreed-upon goals. Grants may come from charitable foundations, corporations, service clubs, or government agencies. They take time to apply for and receive - often 3-12 months between application and, if approved, delivery of the money. They are most often given by small, local foundations that care about local citizen efforts; they can be as small as $500 and are frequently $2000-$15,000. They most often pay for specific projects or programs, rather than ongoing operating expenses. While this means that one grant will never pay for all your needs, it also means that grants are not as scary, mysterious, and remote as they may seem. 

It makes sense to see a grant as a fair deal between colleagues whose interests are similar, but whose resources are different. Foundations and other grant makers are organizations like your nonprofit or school. They have missions and goals just like you do. When a funder awards you a grant, they are doing so because what you plan to do with the money fits in with their own goals, initiatives, and dreams, and often with their founder's stated wishes. 

Grants may be able to help your group raise significant sums of money with less work than, say, conducting sales or raffles. However, events give you important contact with the community, and you should not abandon them! Individuals - their time, talent, and donations - are your group's bread and butter. Individuals give more than 70% of our country's donations to charity each year, while foundations give less than 10%. In addition, many foundation grants are not renewable year to year. So if you decide to approach grants, you should do so as part of a diverse mix of funding that will keep your group operating for the long-term.

Here are a few websites I recommend.

My recommendations are based on the quality of the product and the popularity of each program. Over 100 programs were purchased and evaluated. Most of the programs were poorly done and assembled in a haphazard fashion. 95% of the web sites we contacted never replied nor did they have a phone number to contact them. What remains are the programs listed below.


Government Grants

The only Search Engine in the world dedicated to searching out Free Government Grants.

 Government Grants

Government grants for 2009

1.5 trillion available to start a business, housing, education and more. free applications included.

Grant Doctor

Business Grants

Business Grants are free money from the government.



Grant Every Day

There are over 100 billion dollars available for the year 2009!
 

Grants for Starting New Business

Business grants are finances made available especially for businesses. They are given out by one party to a recipient (Grant Seeker) to financially help create a new business. A Government Department, Foundation, Trust
and other resources furnish these grants and are known as "Grant Makers". It is common practice for the recipient
of a business grant to be required to supply a proposal (Grant Writing) for it.

Importance of Business Grants -

A grant is not a loan and does not have to be paid back. It can be applied to cover a lot (if not all) of the initial cost experienced with new businesses. This is very important to help establish new companies into the business world. These grants can be used along with other finances or alone. Grants permit a large number of new companies to form.

Purpose of Business Grants -

Business grants are used to pay for things needed to open a new business. There could be detailed restrictions on what the grant money can be spent for. Any such limitations will be made known and must be strictly adhered to. Individuals who want to help new business owners supply grants. Many new businesses would not be able to start without the assistance of grants.

Types of New Business Grants -

Business grants can be found in a range of different types. This consists of business grants established specifically for small or medium sized businesses; woman or minority-owned businesses or it could be home-based or some particular kind of business and many other types as well. It is possible to qualify for more than one business grant at a time. Any business owner wanting to use grants should try to qualify for more than one.

Considerations About Business Grants -

New business owners can apply for grants on their own, but this can be a long drawn out process. It may require several steps to be taken in a specific sequence to be approved. Many individuals can accomplish this without problems. It is also possible to pay for this service. This way you would not have to fill out any paperwork or miss any details required.

New Business Grants Misunderstanding -

The SBA (Small Business Administration) does NOT provide grants typically for starting a new business. The SBA presents numerous loans, but does have a listing of several other sources of grants available. Any new business
can gain useful knowledge from the SBA's website concerning other details of starting a new business.

Resources

 

Top 4 Grant Programs