Grants for the Nonprofit Organization

Grants do not represent a loan or some form of “free money.” Instead, they are a certain amount of money that is given to an organization or an individual for a specific purpose. You may obtain a grant from a foundation, a business, and also from the government.

Larger sums of money are available which can be used for projects or for research. But first, consider the goals of your project and your overall mission, then you can begin to research groups that share a similar interest to your own.

You might think that huge foundations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will only be interested in supporting larger projects. And this is true – this foundation does fund larger grants such as the $9,950,000 grant which was made available to the International Crops Research Institute in 2009. However, in the very same month, they also awarded an organization known as Bike Works Seattle with a sum of $306 for “general operating support.” Thus, irrespective of what your needs might be, it’s likely there’s a grant that is suited to those needs.

There are also grants available from state governments. To apply for one of those, begin with your particular state’s official government website. There are some states that offer specialty websites in which a category or keyword search is appropriate. An example of this is TexasOnline eGrants.

And then, there are federal grants, which generally are representative of particularly sizable grants. The United States government offers a vast array of grants. You can search their website (Grants.gov) by agency, keyword, or category.

Do remember to read through the fine print when making an application for any grant so as to ensure that you or your company are in full compliance with the agreement.

Federal grants

If you’ve located some programs that are of interest, how should you progress to making an application?

Every federal grant must be announced publicly. The announcement, which may be termed as a “Request for Proposal,” a Program Announcement,” a “Solicitation for Grants Application,” or a “Notice of Funding Availability,” represents the government’s way of searching for charities as well as other nonprofit groups so as to provide their federally-funded service.

Every grant announcement comes with instructions with respect to the application process, and that includes the source of the application, the type of information that should be submitted, the due date for the application, and contact information with regards to the individual agency.

Announcements for grants are made year-round. Nevertheless, there is at present no single source that carries every federal grant announcement, nor is there a uniform format for which these announcements are made. All the same, both of these matters are being tackled to make life easier for those seeking a federal grant. In future, all grants will be published electronically, using the same format, and on a single website.

For now, the majority of federal grant announcements are listed within the Federal Register. This register can be accessed online at www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html and also at major public libraries.

Where do you get more help with a federal grant?

For the most part, federal agencies employ experts who can help organizations with their grant applications and with the management process. An applicant should get in touch with the contact that has been identified in the grant’s individual announcement or they can contact any agency’s regional offices.

The agency staff are available to handle any questions over the telephone. They also may refer an applicant to a local technical assistance workshop or perhaps to an organization that is under contract to the federal government and is able to afford this form of assistance.

Further assistance is also available, as a general rule, from organizations that are funded through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Compassion Capital Fund. In general, these organizations provide help to community-based and faith-based organizations and make it easier to find out more about the grant process.

They sometimes also provide help to small groups with a variety of alternative challenges, like expanding the reach of individual services they offer or training staff and volunteers. Furthermore, there is no cost to the organization to avail of such services.

If you have generalized questions about the writing of a grant proposal, many cities and state governments offer grant writing workshops, and similar workshops are also available through numerous nonprofit foundations and organizations.

Learn more about grants for nonprofits.