GRANTS FOR NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

The competition is intense, the requirements strict, the paperwork sometimes laborious, but there are many grants for non profit organizations available today. The key is being able to find and identify the entities that provide grants and then have the right “pitch” to get noticed positively in order to be considered for the grants.

Think of grants as a big homework assignment or final exam, where you must follow instructions exactly, or your exam or paper won’t count. With the number of applications for grants, it is vital to give the grant organization what they are looking for.

Make sure your non profit has programs, capabilities and/or plans that are in line with the grant-giving entity. If someone were to hand you an algebra exam instead of your English test, you’d skip algebra and go where you get your English test. It’s the same with grants for non profits. If you are an animal welfare organization, there is no point going to someone who funds aspiring nurses wanting to practice in Alaska.

So many resources for finding grant-giving organizations are available through many means. Many grants for non-profits organizations come from other non-profits. Increasing numbers of non profits today are grant givers instead of taking on projects themselves. The reasoning is, why re-invent the wheel (and pay for research and development, materials, labor and marketing) when there are some very competent wheel builders. Thus, many organizations that fund other non-profits involved with cancer research do not do the research themselves. They realize others can do it better, and they can raise money to provide to those involved in the research.

Lists of potential donors are widely available. Magazines like “Forbes” run annual lists of the largest American donors. The “Wall Street Journal” has special sections devoted to giving and philanthropy that give tips for grants and show who is giving grants. So do the trade publications that cover non-profits, such as “The Chronicle of Philanthropy.” That trade publishes annual lists of everyone from those who received grants (and sometimes how they did it), to who is giving grants and for what.

Of course, online resources are also invaluable. Sites like Guidestar.com have vast amounts of information about all things non-profit, from ranking non-profits to tips for grants. Guidestar, The Better Business Bureau and others are also important because your non-profit will be ranked (and often the tax returns and government reports are published). When applying for grants, check your organization’s profile to make sure someone considering a grant will find useful and accurate information about your non profit.

Once you’ve defined the program or programs that need grants and researched the other non-profits, individuals, companies, government agencies and foundations that are potential donors, it’s important to make a good pitch for your organization. Go beyond what is required on the application. Tell the organization how well you manage money, how successful you’ve been in the past, which organizations have given you grants (and, if possible, show documentation from them that they were pleased with your work). Don’t forget obvious outlets such as Yahoo, Google and Bing to search for grant-giving organizations. Do news searches to see who in your community received recently grants and what they are used for. Go the sites of companies you think are logical donors and see what they are giving and what the requirements are.

The answers on available, and so are the grants. Be persistent, vigilant and do your homework to find the donor waiting for you to call.