Grants

Resources for Grant-Seekers

“If you are an organization or an individual looking for sources of funding or information on how to run your nonprofit organization, Phoenixville Public Library's Foundation Center and AFP Affiliate Library Reference Collections are good places to begin.

· Pennsylvania Foundations – Updated, online version of Directory of Pennsylvania Foundations. You can search by foundation name, region, interest codes, contact person, application deadlines, and additional criteria. Search results include summary of recently-awarded grants, contact information, application guidelines, financial information, and more.

· The Foundation Directory Online –National in scope.Includes detailed profiles of all active U.S. foundations, as well as an extensive file of recent grants awarded by the nation's top funders.

· Foundation Grants to Individuals Online - “…search through detailed descriptions of more than 6,000 foundation programs that fund students, artists, researchers, and other individual grantseekers. This unique online database [is] the only one devoted exclusively to the needs of individuals...” - From http://gtionline.foundationcenter.org/learnmore/index.html

III. Web Sites – Funding Opportunities

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
http://www.cfda.gov/

“…database of all Federal programs available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally -recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi-public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals. After you find the program you want, contact the office that administers the programand find out how to apply.”

Faith-Based Funding Resources
http://libwww.freelibrary.org/rfc/rfc_downloads.cfm

A compendium compiled by the Regional Foundation Center. Visit the above link and select “Faith-Based Funding Resources” to view the 21-page PDF document dated December 2007.

Federal Grants
http://www.grants.gov

Allows you to search and apply for federal grants. According to the web site, “Grants.gov is a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs and provides access to approximately $500 billion in annual awards.” Also provides a wealth of information related to federal funding.

Grants for Individuals
http://staff.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3subject.htm

This compilation of resources focuses primarily on funding opportunities for individuals, such as financial aid or scholarships for students, rather than funding for nonprofit organizations. From the Michigan State University Libraries.

Grants for Nonprofits
http://staff.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/2sgalpha.htm

This compilation of resources focuses primarily on grants or funding sources for nonprofit organizations. A few categories (marked with an asterisk) are also of interest to individuals. From the Michigan State University Libraries.

Grantsmanship Center – Funding Opportunities by State
http://www.tgci.com/funding.shtml

Provides basic information on top grantmaking foundations in each state, and other state-specific information.

NewPA.com
http://www.newpa.com/

Includes a Funding and Program Finder, which allows you to search for grants, loans, and initiatives offered through the Department of Community and Economic Development. Useful for seeking funding for business ventures, community projects, or site revitalizations in Pennsylvania.

IV. Web Sites – Grantwriting Information and Tips

The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing, 5^th Edition
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/learnabout/audiobook.html

The new audio version of this popular title is available free of charge via this url.

Grantwriting Glossary of Terms

http://www.dvg.org/?page=glossary

Includes types of grantmakers and grants, general grantmaking terms, and financial terms.

Grant Proposal Writing Tips
http://www.cpb.org/grants/grantwriting.html

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting evaluates hundreds of proposals each year for a variety of funding purposes. This publication is an easy guide to the basic elements of grant proposal writing and is offered to assist applicants to CPB and to other funding sources. It offers guideposts to help you through each stage of the process.”

Guide to Funding Research
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/gfr/

Free online tutorial from the Foundation Center.

Non-Profit Guides
http://www.npguides.org

“Non-profit guides are free Web-based grant-writing tools for non-profit organizations, charitable, educational, public organizations, and other community-minded groups.”

Pennsylvania Department of State Bureau of Charitable Organizations
www.dos.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community

“Information for starting & registering charitable organizations in PA. Links to regulations/forms needed for all states.”

Philadelphia Nonprofit Capacity-Building Collaborative (PNCBC)
http://libwww.freelibrary.org/rfc/rfc_downloads.cfm

Proposal Writing Short Course
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/shortcourse/index.html

Online short course from the Foundation Center. Available in five different languages.

Writing a Successful Grant Proposal
http://www.npguides.org

Regional Foundation Center at the Philadelphia Free Library, 2nd Floor, 1901 Vine Street, Social Science and History Department

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/rfc/index.cfm

The RFC provides access to the following databases: GrantSelect, Grants to Individuals Online, Pennsylvania Foundations Online, Foundation Directory Online (Professional Edition), GuideStar (Premium Edition).