Finding funding opportunities online

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Abstract

The internet is a great place to find funding opportunities from federal, state, and local agencies. Funding is also available from the Corporation for National and Community Service and from other private foundations. This effective practice is modified from the Senior Corps Technology Center 2004 training handbook.

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Issue

While the web should not be your only source for information, it can provide additional opportunities to draw from. The following strategies and resources will aid in locating grants and other funding on the web that are relevant to your program mission.

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Action

Federal Funding

When you find a website for a federal agency that is similar to, or in line with you organizations' services, BOOKMARK the web page. You will want to get in the habit of visiting that site on a regular basis to watch for funding announcements.

When you are visiting a federal department website, look to see if they have an automatic e-mail service (discussion list) and SUBSCRIBE to it. That way you will receive automatic e-mails whenever the department makes an announcement of the release of a new Request for Proposal (RFP). Not every federal department has this service yet, but they are making progress, almost on a weekly basis, to improve their communications.

If you are able to access the RFP from the website (usually in Adobe Acrobat format), the very first section you should read (which is in every announcement), is the "Eligibility" section. By reading this section first and determining whether the grant is intended for individual nonprofits, you will save yourself a lot of unnecessary reading and printing. Larger RFPs, like those from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), are often 50 pages or longer.

Look for a contact person's name, phone number, or e-mail address and write it down. (Generally, every announcement will include a name along with contact information in the likelihood that you have questions.)

Lastly, don't become overwhelmed! Finding, successfully applying for, and receiving a federal grant is a time consuming process. However, thousands of grassroots and community groups do it every year. Start slowly; devote an hour or two each week for a month to exploring and researching grant opportunities on federal websites. It is also a great volunteer opportunity for volunteers! Why not enlist them to be your "Federal Grant Researchers?"

Visit the following websites to explore the funding opportunities available. Use the tips outlined for federal funding to explore these resources.

  • Department of Education (www.ed.gov) — go to the "Funding" tab
  • Department of Health and Human Services (www.hhs.gov) — go to the "Grants/Funding" section
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) —visit the "Funding" section under "About CDC"
  • Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (www.samhsa.gov) — go to "Grants"
  • Health Resources and Services Administration (www.hrsa.gov) — go to "Grants"
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development (www.hud.gov) — visit the "Grants" section under the "Topic Areas" tab
  • National Endowment for the Arts (www.arts.gov) — visit the "Grants" section
  • Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) — go to "Loans & Grants"
  • U.S. Government Interdepartmental Website (www.usa.gov) — great all-in-one source for general information on federal agencies

State and Local Funding

State, county, and city websites are more "hit-or-miss" than federal websites. It boils down to how internet-savvy your state or local governments are and whether they have the financial resources to put up a website and manage it well. Once you get to a state, county, or city web page, you will have a significant amount of extraneous material to wade through. (For example, tourism information, press releases, or the mayor's "special announcement" page.) Just keep digging until you find information about "RFPs," "contracts," or "doing business with our government" sections.

Sometimes you will have to wade through "agency" or "department" pages — these agencies or departments vary greatly. Look for pages such as: "Department of the Chief Financial Officer," "Office of Procurement," "Department of Budget and Management," or "Grants and Contracts Management Office." These areas will often lead you to the Request for Proposals you are seeking. Don't get discouraged; give yourself some time, and KEEP DIGGING!

If the state or local government website you are visiting doesn't have obvious links to funding, try looking for a keyword search box. Type in words like "contracts," or "RFP," or "RFA" and see what a search produces.

When you find a web page for a state or local government's RFP announcements, BOOKMARK IT! You will want to get in the habit of visiting that site on a regular basis to watch for funding announcements.

Some state, county, and city websites are so sophisticated that you can immediately download the RFP, sign up online to have an RFP mailed to you, and even subscribe to receive an automatic e-mail whenever the department announces the release of a new RFP being released.

Not finding what you need on a state or local website? Look for a contact person's name (usually a webmaster), phone number, or e-mail address and write it down. E-mail or call them and ask, "Do you publish your agency's RFPs on your website? If so, where can I find them?" Remember, the internet is a dynamic communications tool. It is not a one-way media like television. If your state or local government is not posting their RFPs on the internet, politely complain. Besides, how will the government know you want this service if you do not tell them?

Foundations

What motivates a company or foundation to give? By giving back to society, individuals or groups create a positive public image as well as build relationships with the community they serve or live in. While many companies use direct corporate giving programs, other companies set up separate foundations that are created to deal with all philanthropic functions of the company. Their interests are usually in keeping with their company or individual's interests, as they exist mostly on endowments and contributions from the company or individual.

The best place to start searching for grants and corporate donations is with local businesses, as well as corporations with a local operation in your area. Below is a list of some web sources for you to begin your search for corporate funding below. You may also want to search locally with your Chamber of Commerce or your Better Business Bureau.

Recently, many foundations and companies have refined their giving programs with a more narrow focus. If you can find a way to leverage your involvement to one of their main causes you could have a better chance at getting a company's attention. Companies also support employee volunteering and favor non-cash gifts, which many nonprofit organizations often overlook as a fundraising source.

Foundations are required to fill out IRS Form 990s, which are often posted on the foundation's website, so you can use these when researching a company. There is far less government regulation on direct corporate giving so it may be more difficult to find information on these programs. Because of this, you will probably find much more information on foundations online. It is also a good idea to remember that the foundations will use their website as a marketing tool, and may not include a lot of details about their giving. You will have to dig deeper to find out if your program really would be eligible for a grant. You will want to keep this information in mind when looking for corporate and foundation funding on the web.

When searching the web yourself, try various search engines, as you will probably get different results with each. Once you have a search engine to use, start with broad search terms, such as:

  • foundations
  • corporate giving
  • in-kind gifts
  • nonprofit grants
  • funding for senior programs
  • RFP or request for proposals

Try the Resource Center grants listing for foundation grants.

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Context

Various amounts of funding are available for nearly every type of national and community service. Familiarity with online funding resources is beneficial to large and small service organizations alike.

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Citation

The content for this effective practice was derived from a presentation at the June 2002 National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service by Luigi Procopio of the Points of Light Foundation, in a session entitled "Finding Grant Opportunities on the Internet."

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Posted On

April 12, 2004

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Resources

Using Technology to Run Your Program

Source Documents

Related Practices

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Related sites

Foundation Center

TechSoup: Funding

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