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FIND GRANT FUNDING, FOR FREE! ©2017, Ashley Pereira MS, Ed: Greater Good Consultants LLC

INTRODUCTION Millions of dollars in grant funding are awarded to educational organizations throughout the country each year. This e-book will demystify the process of grantseeking by equipping you with practical skills you need to find funding for your school or educational nonprofit organization. In this interactive e-book you will learn: ➢ What is a grant? ➢ Who gives grants? ➢ How do I identify appropriate donors? ➢ How do I find available grants? ➢ What are the next steps?

WHAT IS A GRANT? Before we get started, it is important to understand a few of the most common terms used in the world of grants: Grant = a monetary award that is does not require repayment Grantmaker = the organization giving a grant (also referred to as funder, donor, and/or sponsor) Grantseeker = the organization seeking a grant Nonprofit = an organization registered with 501(c)3 tax-exempt status from the US Internal Revenue Service

All set? Now let’s find you some funding!

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WHO GIVES GRANTS ? The first step in your grantseeking endeavor is to learn who you can get grants from. The government, corporations, small businesses, community foundations, and private foundations are the main types of grantmaking organizations.

Federal Government All grants offered through federal entities are available through one centralized database, grants.gov. Many different sectors of the government award grants for a wide variety of education-related causes, including the Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Education, and National Science Foundation. These grants are usually high in value, and typically go to larger, well established organizations.

Corporations A very positive trend over the past decade has been the interest of corporations to enhance sustainability, productivity, and wellness within their communities. To this end, many large companies have established grant programs (usually referred to as corporate giving programs or corporate sustainability programs). The majority of corporate grants are exclusive to the communities in which their employees live and work, but some do offer state, regional, and even national grantmaking opportunities. For example, 3M focuses exclusively within its communities, and Xerox Corporation supports organizations throughout the nation.

Small and Local Businesses While most small businesses do not have formalized grant programs such as those found in larger corporations, this is often the best place to start when beginning your fundraising campaign. Local businesses such as grocery stores, doctors’ offices, even the dry cleaner down the street are often eager to help support local causes. The amounts that can be obtained from local small businesses are typically lower, but are much easier and faster to obtain.

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Community Foundations Community organizations are those which focus their grantmaking efforts and support networks within specific regions of their state. Even the smallest of states have several community foundations for each region. For example here in the tiny state of Connecticut, we have 17 community foundations! Community foundations can be statewide, county-specific, or even for single towns or districts, especially in the bigger cities.

Private Foundations Private foundations are very similar to community foundations, but are funded by private individuals. Like community foundations, they are often exclusive to a specific region, but some do have a broad scope. In addition to geographic preferences, most private foundations also focus on specific causes, such as education, health and wellness, poverty, etc. Examples of private foundations include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation.

HOW DO I FIND GRANTS? GRANT RESEARCH DATABASES While there are many fancy (and expensive!) grant research databases available, I have found that many free databases work just as well for almost all of my nonprofit clients in the fields of education. Here are my favorites:

1. GetEd Funding: http://getedfunding.com GetEdFunding is a free and continuously updated grant research database. It hosts hundreds of thousands of education-specific grants and opportunities that are expertly curated from federal, state, regional, and community sources. You can search by six criteria, including 45 areas of focus, eight content areas, and any of the twenty-first century themes and skills that support your curriculum. Once you are registered on the site, you can save the grants of greatest interest and return to read about them at any time. All for free! 2. The Grantsmanship Center: https://www.tgci.com/funding-sources

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The Grantsmanship Center offers many paid services, but their free Funding State-by-State resource is one of my go-to’s for grant research. Scroll down near the bottom of the page, and click on your state. From here you will see grantmaking information specific to your state including the state’s top grantmaking foundations, community foundations, corporate giving programs, and a link to the state website. These links are excellent starting points for the grantseeking novice. 3. Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/grants-and-resources As a leader in all things education, it is no surprise that Edutopia is an excellent source of useful grant information. This site features a regularly updated general roundup of educational grants, contests, awards, free toolkits, and classroom guides within the domains of education. While more generic in nature and not searchable, Edutopia gives you a good idea of what is out there in terms of education funding. 4. Grants.gov As mentioned earlier, Grants.gov is where all federal grant opportunities are posted. Opportunities can be searched and sorted according to keyword, agency, award type, eligibility, and category. The site itself is a bit overwhelming at first glance, and is likely not the best choice to begin your grantseeking initiatives. But with some practice and guidance, grants.gov is relatively easy to navigate once you learn the basics. For a brief overview, check out my video How to Search Using Grants.gov.

OTHER RESOURCES In addition to these three free grant research databases, there are many other free ways to find funding. Additional sources of grant prospects include: Your State Homepage: Like the federal government, many state branches of government often have their own funding opportunities. For educational organizations, your best bets would be your state’s departments of education, policy and management, children and families, economic development, and administrative services, or those most similar. Many states have email lists that you can sign up for to be notified of new grants and Requests For Proposals (RFPs) as they are posted. University Grants Offices: Most colleges and universities have an office/department that handles their grant-related projects. Many of them, especially larger public universities, have pages that list grant opportunities for faculty. Oftentimes the grants and organizations on such lists are research-focused, but definitely worth a look. As an example, Michigan State University has an Need help? http://www.greatergoodconsultantsct.com/

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excellent grant resource database. Even some large school districts maintain grant databases! Check out this one from the Austin Independent School District. Professional Organizations: Are you a member of any professional organizations? Check their websites for potential funding opportunities. Whether discipline-specific (ex: National Science Teachers Association, National Council of Teachers of English) or more general (National High School Association, Association of American Educators), many professional organizations offer grants, awards, and scholarships that are only open to their members. Check the websites of all of your local, regional, and national organizations, and your union site if applicable. Get something out of all those dues you pay! Twitter: If you haven’t been using Twitter for professional development and networking, now is the time to start. With Twitter you can learn about grant announcements as they happen, directly from the people who give them. Even if you do not have an account, you can go to Twitter.com and type funding-related keywords into the toolbar, located on the top right of your screen. For example, a search for “education grant funding” immediately yielded more than 50 grant announcements and upcoming deadlines. Follow the organizations that make grants in your domain, check out related hashtags (#grants, #funding, and #nonprofit just to name a few), and start contributing to the conversations to establish your online presence. Banks: Wealthy people who wish to engage in philanthropy often establish trusts, which are usually not ‘advertised’ like private foundations are. Unless you subscribe to expensive research databases (like the one offered by the Foundation Center), these potential grantmakers are virtually impossible to find. But I will share one of my most valuable tricks ☺ Check out the websites of larger banks, searching with the terms ‘private foundations’, ‘philanthropic trusts’, and similar keywords. Here you will find searchable databases of all the private trusts that bank maintains. As examples, WellsFargo and Bank of America are two of my favorites.

HOW DO I IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE DONORS? The importance of finding an appropriate donor cannot be understated. Failure to do so will be a waste of both your time and your prospective donor’s time, and will not help in developing a favorable impression within the fundraising community. While the process can be burdensome and time consuming, there is no way around it; you MUST do your research! Here’s how to find the best fits:

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Step 1: Use a grant research database (such as those listed above) to find funders that seem to be a good fit at first glance. Step 2: Use the database search tools to sort by your desired criteria (ex: within the state of Alabama, elementary school, funds for technology) TIPS: a. Start local – those closest to you are those most likely to give to you. b. Appearing in the search results does NOT mean it is automatically a good funding fit! You still need to put in the legwork to research further (discussed in step 3). Step 3: Scrutinize the funder’s website to verify whether or not they are a good funding fit. Find the answer to these questions:  Is their mission well aligned with mine?  Do they focus on the same things I need funding for?  Am I within their geographical area served?  Do I meet all of their eligibility requirements and funding guidelines?  Have they awarded grants to organizations similar to mine in the past? (if not available on their website, use the free 990 Finder from Foundation Center)  Are their previous award amounts in line with what I intend to request? (if not available on their website, use the free 990 Finder from Foundation Center)  Is their grantmaking program active? Step 4: If you answered ‘no’ to any of the above questions, it is likely NOT a good funding fit. If all of your answers are ‘yes’, congratulations! You have found a good funding fit. Step 5: Create a spreadsheet to save all of your grant prospects (aka good funding fits) in one place. Save yourself some time and download the template I use here: http://bit.ly/2ikKb3X

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WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS? You have done your research and scrutinized the websites of potential funders. Now you have a handful of donors that are good funding fits. So where do you go from here? Most often you will submit a LOI or a proposal. Here are the key aspects of each:

LOI Also known as Letter of Intent and/or Letter of Inquiry Purpose: To introduce your organization to the funder, summarize your plans, and spark their interest in supporting you Length: One page (or as defined within funder guidelines)

Proposal Also known as narrative Purpose: To provide a comprehensive explanation of your organization, your program, and what you will do with the funders’ money Length: Between 2 pages and 60 pages; varies widely depending on funder requirements

Whether you submit a proposal or LOI, the core elements will focus on what your organization is about and how what you do is well aligned with what the funder does. All required information will be stated on the funder’s website, such as length (or word count), documents to upload, questions to answer, budget format, etc. If the requirements are not readily available, or if you do not 100% understand what they are asking of you, give them a call. Most funders are happy to answer questions, but beware to make a good impression and not waste their time! Once you know your approach and its related requirements, you are ready to sit down and write!

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For a comprehensive source of grant opportunities, insider tips, and tricks of the trade follow on Twitter and check out the blog!

THIS E-BOOK BROUGHT TO YOU BY

From guiding start up nonprofits through their first successful grant application to multimillion dollar federal proposals for large organizations, GGC has the experience and expertise you need to secure a winning funding request. GGC offers a variety of grant-related services to help your organization secure essential funds while freeing up your time so you can get back to doing what you love. Our grant and funding solutions include: •

grant prospect research

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Letters of Inquiry / Letters of Intent (LOIs)

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proposal writing

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grant proposal proofing and editing

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grant project reporting

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research and evaluation (including surveys, focus groups, and interviews)

WE ARE HERE TO HELP ! www.greatergoodconsultantsCT.com [email protected]

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