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THIS SECTION ON GRANTS CONTAINS...
 The Answer to Your Question: How Can I Get A Grant to Start or Expand My Business? .
Important
Information About Grants and Funding.
Please Read This
If You Are Unfamiliar With The Grant-Seeking Process, or if This Is Your
First Visit to This Page.
Resources for Researching
and Identifying Grant-Making Organizations and Foundations .
Grantwriting
Resources
Selected New Grant Opportunities, including Government and non-Government Grants.
Information About the New U.S. Government Stimulus Grants, Also Known as Recovery Grants and Obama Grants.
Sample Grant Proposals
Grants by Subject Area or Region.
Other
Useful Information Related to Grants.
Frequently Asked Questions About Grants. This Page Will Open in a New Window.
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What You Should Know About "Free Grants" and "Free Money"
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This is an Article, NOT an advertisement
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After you've read the articles,
click here to learn how to search for Free Money.
HOW CAN I GET A GRANT TO START OR EXPAND MY BUSINESS?
Unless your business involves the development of new technology or is a non-profit organization, you will be wasting your time looking for a grant. Read what the Foundation Center has to say about this:
"Foundations typically fund nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. These are organizations whose purposes are charitable, educational, scientific, religious, literary, or cultural. By and large, foundations do not make grants to for-profit enterprises."
Generally, the same holds true for corporations and private organizations that give grants. Read on below to find out about the other options available to you for starting a business.
IMPORTANT
INFORMATION ABOUT GRANTS AND FUNDING
Finding and identifying foundations and other organizations that give grants for specific purposes or in specific subject areas requires considerable time, effort, and research. The resources on
this page provide a starting point to help you do your own research.
If you are looking for funding for an existing or new for-profit business, you may encounter difficulties
in finding and getting grant funding. Grants are generally (though not
always) given to non-profit organizations for programs and services
that benefit the community or the public at large.
To be successful in winning a grant, there are a number of important steps that you will need to take. First, you will need to do research in order to identify appropriate funding organizations. Once you have identified potential funders, you will then need to determine how to approach them. In many cases, it is best not to submit a grant application to a funding organization that knows nothing about your activities. So you may need to take the time to cultivate relationships with these organizations via phone calls, visits, and/or letters of inquiry. Finally, you will need to provide each funding organization with a well-written proposal which clearly states
your objectives and sets forth a plan and budget for your activities. And don't expect to receive money right away. Funding organizations often take many months to review and process grant applications.
If you're not sure how to begin looking for grants, my Frequently Asked Questions page can help you get started.
Grants to individuals are most often given for educational support (financial aid), the arts,
and various types of scientific or other research, although some agencies
award grants to individuals for other purposes. You can find some information on individual grants on my Frequently Asked Questions Page.
Getting a grant is hard work. Don't be fooled by advertisements and promotions that tell you that you can
get "free money" just by writing a letter. There is a lot of competition for
grant funds. Grants are "free" in that you do not have to pay back the money. However, if you
are awarded a grant you may be required to provide periodic program and/or financial reports to the funding organization.
For information on other sources of funding, please visit my Government Loans and Other Financial Resources page. There you'll find information on Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, State and Local Economic Development Programs, non-government business funding, and funding for rural businesses, housing, and farms. You can also take a look at my Government Grants pages.
RESEARCHING
AND IDENTIFYING GRANT-MAKING ORGANIZATIONS AND FOUNDATIONS
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Foundation
Center Online
The Foundation Center is an
independent nonprofit information clearinghouse that collects, organizes,
analyzes, and disseminates information on foundations, corporate giving,
and related subjects.
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Foundation Finder
Use the Foundation Finder to search by name for basic information about foundations within the universe of more than 50,000 private and community foundations in the U.S.
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Foundation Grants to Individuals
For a low monthly fee, you can search the Foundation Center's online database for grants to individuals. It's also a source for scholarships, fellowships and other types of financial support.
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Foundation/Grants
Reference Desk
This site is no longer updaed, but you may still find some useful info. There are links to private funding opportunities,
grants and sponsored research, non-profits, and fundraising news in the U.S. Also contains links to international private and government grants.
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Foundation
Grant-Seeking Strategies
A detailed outline/presentation
by Mark Jones. Major topics include: Elements of Success, Steps to Successful
Foundation Fundraising, and Special Issues in Foundation Grantseeking.
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FundsNet
Services Online
At the Fundsnet site, you can find funding organizations by category and subject area, including foundations, national grantmakers, regional funders, international funders, government funding, and more.
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Grant Deadlines
Deadlines for current and upcoming grants in many different categories. From the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
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Grant
Opportunity Resources - Locating Information
Grant search engines, online
grant resources, and print resources.
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Grants Research and Resources
On the right side of the page, there's a long list of grant research resources, grant proposal resources and nonprofit resources organized for you by the Pima County Public Library.
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Grant Seekers Toolbox
From the Donors Forum of Chicago, a step-by-step tutorial on how to find funding.
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Grant Spy
This is a commercial site for grant-seekers who are looking for federal, foundation and state grants. For a monthly fee, you can sign up to receive daily bulletins on new and updated grants.
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Grantsmanship
Center
The nonprofit sector's
leading source of training and funding information.
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Grants
and Related Resources Guide
Reference guides and information
sources, web resources, grant guides by subject, and education-related
grants for individuals.
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Orientation to the Grantseeking Process/Guide to Funding Research
From the Foundation Center.
An excellent overveiw including: approaches to funding research, who gets
foundation grants, what funders look for, types of support given, hints
on proposal writing, and lots more.
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Open Directory: Grant-Making Foundations
Listings and links, as well as foundations by category -- animal welfare, arts, business, children, community foundations, corporate grantmakers, development, education, environment, humanitarian, medical, music, peace, race, science, UK, US, and women.
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Philanthropic Capacity Building Resource (PCBR) Database
The Human Interaction Resource Institute has put together this database of more than 300 capacity building programs from U.S. foundations. You can get information about each program, search for programs by type, and obtain reports.
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proposalCENTRAL
At this site, you'll find numerous grant opportunities listed by the members of proposalCENTRAL, which is a collaborative effort among non-profit, government and private grant-making organizations, primarily in the health area.
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RFP
Bulletin
The RFP (Request for Proposals)
Bulletin is published weekly by the Philanthropy News Digest. Each RFP listing provides a brief overview
of a current funding opportunity offered by a foundation or other grantmaking
organization.
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State Foundation Directories
A listing of state-specific directories that support locally based projects and organizations. This is a pdf file, so you will need the free Acrobat Reader to view it.
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Where
Can I Find Grants? - Council on Foundations
This site directs you to the
Foundation Center, an independent national service organization established
by foundations to provide an authoritative source of information on foundation
and corporate giving.
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Researching Foundation and Other Grants
