By far the biggest hurdle facing those who want to apply for grant funding is FINDING grants to apply for. With the breadth of funding available, the trick is to strike a balance between narrowing your search to make it manageable and target funding sources available to your purpose, and casting a wide enough net to find a span of options.
Here are three tips to get you started:
1. Identify the needs and goals of your organization.
Where are budget shortfalls impacting your ability to meet your organization’s goals? How could a project or service be optimized with targeted additional funding? If you had more access to capital, what tangible steps would you take to enhance your organization’s performance? When applying for grant funding, you need to know what you are asking for funding for and have a system in place to ensure funds are used for their intended purpose. What populations do you serve? Identifying your needs and goals will also help you align with funding sources that share your goals.
2. Utilize grant search databases.
These databases are an excellent resource to narrow your search. You can filter for grants that your organization or entity is eligible for and work from there. Here are three of the grant databases I use to find what I’m looking for:
3. Learn from the past.
This is a great way to streamline your grant search process. Look at organizations similar to your own, see what grants they have been awarded in the past and apply for them. When you find a grant that you think would be a good fit, look at the projects that have been funded through this grant in the past and see if your organization has similar projects that need funding.
Your grant search is the first step to maximize your ability to get the funding you apply for. These three tips are a solid start. For more grant search coaching and resources, Boyd Grants is here to help! Get in touch!
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