Foundations provide funding in the form of grants to organizations or individuals for numerous reasons, including educational, scientific, religious, cultural or other charitable uses. These foundations provide most grants to tax-exempt nonprofit organizations for purposes that meet the grantor's interest. Obtaining a grant is a long process that begins with finding foundations with missions that match that of your organization. One of the best ways to start your search for grants is by using reputable foundation grant databases.
Step 1
Go to FoundationCenter.org, where you can search for grants by foundation name or specific locations using the "Foundation Finder." This website also contains valuable information for grant seekers, such as answers to frequently asked questions on grants, details about writing grant proposals and various online training courses.
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Step 2
Find information about foundations offering grants at COF.org, the website of the Council on Foundations. It breaks foundations into groups -- Community Foundations, Corporate Grantmakers, Family Philanthropy, Global Philanthropy and Independent Foundations.
Step 3
Stop by your local library and look for foundation grants in "The Foundation Directory" and "The Foundation Directory Part 2," which you will find in the reference section. Use the current year's edition for the latest foundation information.
Tip
Check out foundations at GuideStar.org. Search by keyword, organization name or location.
Research the various foundations, learn their requirements pertaining to grants and apply for more than one grant at a time.
Take advantage of the helpful tools offered on the foundation database websites to learn about finding grants, preparing grant proposals, filling out applications and applying for grants.
Visit the website of Central Pratt Library (prattlibrary.org), which has a database through which you can find more than 65,000 foundations offering grants. Search by subject, foundation name, geographic focus area or type of support. The foundation directory searches more than 1,700 grantmaker websites.
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