Searching for Grant Funds

Fortunately, the grant seeker will find a plethora of search resources.  This is due in part to the pervasive availability of electronic information.  We are in the enviable position of having to spend a significant amount of time weeding out grant search tools and potential funding agencies, rather than having to work hard to ferret out this information.  It is a matter of learning to work efficiently and utilizing those search tools which will give the most “bang for the buck”. This could also be expressed as “learning to work smarter, not harder”.  Of course, the beginning grant writer will need to take time to learn which search tools provide the most reliable and easy-to-access information.  Learning the art of discrimination in this area does take time.  Do not be discouraged if you feel at first as if your energy is being scattered in a dozen directions.  With patience and diligent work, the grant writer will learn how to make the most effective use of time when doing a grant search.”

Fortunately, the grant seeker has a number of free sources to choose from in searching for federal government grants.  In my opinion, Grants.gov and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) are two of the more useful search tools, although there are others which I utilize from time to time. One of the most effective methods for determining whether a particular federal program is a good fit is by taking note of the total amount of funding available and the number of awards which will be made. This will allow the grant seeker to determine how intense the competition will be.

All of the individual states offer a wide array of grant programs in such areas as water and sewer, transportation, parks and recreation, economic development, historic preservation, law enforcement, and fire fighting.  States award grants to municipalities and counties as well as nonprofit organizations.  Some states will also offer assistance to for-profit entities in support of economic development. If your organization is a non-profit, get to know your local elected officials. It is quite possible that they will be able to supplement your list of potential funding sources by making suggestions from among the state programs with which they are familiar. I always search for state sources of funding first.  The state programs are easier to access than federal programs due to the fact that the applicant is competing only on the state level and not against other applicants around the entire country.