A few quick grant resources

I’m getting my thoughts together for a Grantwriting class I’m helping with tomorrow and I thought I’d share a few resources I’ve collected.  Enjoy!

Step By Step Fundraising’s list of grant resources  http://stepbystepfundraising.com/20-free-grant-writing-resources-non-profits/

Guidestar  www.guidestar.org

Pamela Grow’s Grantwriting Blog  www.pamelasgrantwritingblog.com

Don Griesmann’s Grant Opportunities  A frequently updated list of grants http://www.charitychannel.com/special/don-griesmanns-grant-opportunities/last-7-days.aspx

Nonprofit guides  www.npguides.org

Federal grants  www.grants.gov

The Grantsmanship Center  www.tgci.com

Grant opportunity with a creative twist

Here’s a unique grant opportunity:

Made possible by the CTK Foundation Philanthropic Fund and Grammy award-winners, Los Lonely Boys, The Heart and Soul (H&S) grant is an innovative and creative way for nonprofits to apply for funding.

To apply for the grant, the organization must submit a 4-8 line poem (lyrics) that represents the “heart and soul” of their mission.  After the grant closes a jury panel of recognized independent music artists and producers from around the country will select a winner based on the quality and impact of the lyrics.  The selected nonprofit will be awarded $10,000 and have their poem put to song by Los Lonely Boys.

The grant, already open, will close on August 15, 2009 and any registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization can apply.  To learn more and apply for the grant, please visit www.ctkfoundation.org and click on the gold Foundation tab.

Win $500 for your nonprofit!

I heard about this tonight and wanted to share.  Thank you Jason at A Small Change for the tip. 

There’s money being given away this week by Jeff at My Super-Charged Life (the post is Giveaway: Nominate your Favorite Charity For Cash Donation.)

All you have to do is write a comment on his blog post about your favorite charity and from those who have commented he will make a random selection. In the very least is a great way to get the word out about what your charity is doing. Other rules and details can be seen on his post.

Hurry up the deadline is Tuesday, December 9, at 5:00 pm Central time.

Grant writing resources

My friend Sandra Sims at Step By Step Fundraising has a series of articles on grant writing this month.  One article features a long list of grant writing resources.  Read for yourself at http://stepbystepfundraising.com/20-free-grant-writing-resources-non-profits/.

Great way to dig up helpful information for grants!

If you write grants then you know that it can be hard deciding how much to ask for.

Here’s a great way to solve that problem!

Check out Guidestar (www.guidestar.org).  They keep a database of nonprofits, including foundations, along with a ton of information about each one.  One of the most helpful things that they have is the organization’s tax return or 990.

In a foundation’s 990, they report their assets (interesting to know), their Board of Directors (also interesting to know), who they gave to during the reporting year (very interesting!) and how much they gave to each (VERY interesting!!). If you haven’t looked at many 990s you’ll have to get used to wading through a lot of numbers that you won’t care about.  Typically, there are additional pages at the back that list who the foundation gave grants to and how much they gave.  This will give you a good idea of how much to ask for.

I like seeing who else they gave to.  If I work for a food pantry and I see that the foundation supported two other food pantries, I am definitely going to ask them for money, because it looks like feeding the hungry is one of their focus areas.

It takes a little bit of time, but it’s time well spent if it helps you focus your grant request.