GRANTSEEKING BASICS FOR INDIVIDUALS

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GRANTSEEKING BASICS FOR INDIVIDUALS

• A guide to help you seek out and identify
  potential sources of funding for your projects.

All material for this presentation is credited to
the Foundation Centers Online Course on
Grantseeking www.foundationcenter.org This
should not be re-produced without proper
acknowledgements to the Foundation Center.
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PRESENTATION GOALS

• Designed to help you
• Understand how and why funders make grants to
  individuals
• Learn the best tools for searching for funders
• Learn how to identify potential funders

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Background Trivia

• True or False
• Most foundations award grants to individuals

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Answer

• False Only about 2 of all private foundations
  award grants directly to individuals

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• PART I The Grantmaking Universe
• Different funders may use varying terminology to
  describe the support they provide.
• A good Glossary of terms can be found here
• FDN Center Glossary
• PART II Your Search for Funds
• A Guide to begin your search for prospective
  funders

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PART ITHE GRANTMAKING UNIVERSE

• What is a Grant?
• Government Aid
• Foundation Funding
• Other Funding Sources
• Alternative Funding Possibilities
• Quick Quiz

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THE GRANTMAKING UNIVERSEFunding Sources

• Funding sources that are available to individual
  Grantseekers
• Government Aid
• Foundations
• nonprofit organizations
• Corporations
• Individual donors
• Alternative Funding Possibilities

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THE GRANTMAKING UNIVERSE What is a Grant?

• The term grant is often used in a general way to
  cover all institutional funding. This could be a
  cash award, a residency or other type of support.
• Types of support
• Direct
• Indirect

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THE GRANTMAKING UNIVERSE Types of Grant Support

• Direct
• Direct support refers to grants, awards, or other
  types of support given to the grantee without an
  intermediary, and is relatively scarce.
• Indirect
• Indirect support refers to funding awarded to a
  recipient through an intermediary source.
• a state or federal agency granting funds to a
  city agency, which then regrants those funds to a
  nonprofit or individual grantseeker in that
  community.
• Fiscal sponsorship

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GRANTMAKING UNIVERSE Government Aid

• Federal and state governments provide the
  greatest share of grants to individuals.
• Various federal agencies provide support for
  medical and other research, as well as for the
  arts, literature, humanities, and related fields.
  
• The vast majority of government agencies do not
  award money directly to individuals, however, but
  rather to nonprofit organizations, which then
  support individuals through fellowships, project
  funds, residencies, and/or services (e.g., food,
  shelter, or housing). This process is commonly
  known as regranting, and it is most prevalent in
  the arts.

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THE GRANTMAKING UNIVERSE Sources of Government
Aid

• Natl. Endowment for the Arts/Natl. Endowment
  for the Humanities
• Primarily indirect grant support
• Many states either pattern their own funding
  programs after them or regrant funds originating
  with the NEA and NEH to individuals and
  organizations.
• U.S. Dept. of Ed.
• Provides support to states and school districts,
  primarily through formula-based grant programs,
  to improve elementary and secondary schools and
  meet the special needs of students.
• Natl. Institutes of Health/Natl. Science
  Foundation
• NIH supports researchers in the field of
  biomedicine
• NSF provides grants, contracts and cooperative
  agreements to fund research and education in
  science and engineering.
• Fulbright
• Administered by DoS provides grants for graduate
  students, scholars, professionals, teachers and
  administrators from the US and other countries,
  giving them the opportunity to observe one
  anothers political, economic and cultural
  institutions.
• State and Local Governments
• Provide support for arts and other projects. Art
  councils, parks, transportation, or education
  departments
• Funding often awarded to non-profit
  organizations, which in turn regrant the funds to
  individuals

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THE GRANTMAKING UNIVERSE Foundation Funding

• Private foundations are established to support
  charitable, educational, religious, or other
  activities serving the public good.
• Typically supporting tax-exempt, nonprofit
  organizations, in order to ensure that their
  giving benefits a large number of people through
  the work of these organizations.
• Limitations on Support for Individuals
• A small number of foundations support individuals
  directly, but those that do must obtain advance
  approval from the IRS of their selection criteria
  and procedures, ensuring an objective selection
  process.

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THE GRANTMAKING UNIVERSE Foundation Funding

• While the vast majority of foundation funding is
  awarded only to nonprofits, more than 6,000
  private foundations provide direct support to
  individuals. The types of support that
  individuals receive are numerous, and the fields
  covered are quite diverse. You can explore
  several types below.
• Project Support for project-based work covers a
  wide array of fields and disciplines, including
  the following
• Fine arts, humanities and social sciences,
  preservation and curatorial efforts
• Research Also known as fellowships. Typically
  covering the costs of the following
• Investigations, clinical trials, demonstration
  and pilot projects
• Emergency Funds
• Professional Development
• Education

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THE GRANTMAKING UNIVERSE Other Funding Sources

• Non-profit Organizations
• Provide support to individuals by calling upon
  their own funds or collecting donations from
  constituencies. I.E. Rotary club, professional
  associations, and civic or religious groups.
• Individuals
• Usually happens through networking and
  serendipity
• Emergency Funds
• Corporations provide grants and loans, most often
  for educational purposes, to current or former
  employees and their families.

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THE GRANTMAKING UNIVERSE Alternative Funding
Possibilities

• Strategies for finding Alternative Funding
  Sources
• Find a fiscal sponsor
• Refers to an agreement b/w NPO and an individual
  in which the NPO serves as the projects fiscal
  agent by receiving and administering grant funds.
• Form a non-profit organization
• Seek employment in your field

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QUICK QUIZ

• The word grant may refer to
• An actual cash award
• A fellowship or residency
• Both a and b
• Regranting refers to
• Unrestricted government subsidies
• Repeat funding awarded year after year
• Funding awarded to tax-exempt organizations that
  in turn provide support for other nonprofits and
  individuals
• The largest share of support for individuals is
  supplied by
• Federal and sate governments
• Corporations
• Private foundations
• The vast majority of foundation funding goes to
• Nonprofits
• Individuals
• For-profit enterprises
• Fiscal sponsorship may be a good idea because
• The grantseeker does not risk losing independence
• It can expand the grantseekers eligibility to
  receive funding

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ANSWERS

• The word grant may refer to
• An actual cash award
• A fellowship or residency
• Both a and b
• Regranting refers to
• Unrestricted government subsidies
• Repeat funding awarded year after year
• Funding awarded to tax-exempt organizations that
  in turn provide support for other nonprofits and
  individuals
• The largest share of support for individuals is
  supplied by
• Federal and sate governments
• Corporations
• Private foundations
• The vast majority of foundation funding goes to
• Nonprofits
• Individuals
• For-profit enterprises
• Fiscal sponsorship may be a good idea because
• The grantseeker does not risk losing independence
• It can expand the grantseekers eligibility to
  receive funding

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PART IIYOUR SEARCH FOR FUNDS

• Strategies for Finding Funding
• Search Tools and Other Resources
• Refining Your Prospect List
• Exercise

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YOUR SEARCH FOR FUNDS Strategies for Finding
Funding

• Your Goal
• The goal of your search is to find a match with
  potential funders.
• Be strategic and methodical
• Apply the unique attributes you've identified
  about yourself and your project in your funding
  profile.

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YOUR SEARCH FOR FUNDS Strategies for Finding
Funding

• Your Strategy
• Consider as many potential grantmakers as you
  can, as long as they appear to be a match for
  you, your project's needs, and your audience.
• Think again about your project's goals and
  audience.
• Be creative in uncovering connections between the
  stated missions of the funders and your own
  goals.
• What do you have in common with them?
• Thinking this way may lead you to make some
  unexpected connections.

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YOUR SEARCH FOR FUNDS Strategies for Finding
Funding

• General Tips
• Utilize print and online funder directories, as
  well as Web sites dedicated to your field.
• Peruse news items about your field, keeping an
  eye out for "success stories" from grantseekers
  like you.
• Refer back to your funding profile to generate
  key terms to look for in descriptions of
  potential funders
• Look for matches in area(s) of interest,
  geographic focus and types of support.
• Look at funders previous grants (especially the
  most recent)
• This will often tell you more about that funder
  than any general description or mission
  statement. Try to track their giving.
• Pay careful attention to any limitations listed
  by the funder.
• Make sure they accept applications
• RFPs make for an excellent resource
• http//foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/index.jhtml
• Prioritize your list based on all of these
  considerations.

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YOUR SEARCH FOR FUNDS Search Tools and Other
Resources

• There are several online and print resources that
  individual grantseekers can use to identify
  potential funding sources. Below are a handful of
  resources that you can use in your search for
  funding.
• Foundation Grants to Individuals Online Help -
  BibliographyThis is a selective bibliography of
  publications and electronic resources relevant to
  the individual grantseeker.
• New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)NYFA
  Interactive houses an extensive national database
  of awards, services, and publications for
  artists, and not just those in New York.
• Michigan State University Grants for Individuals
  ListMSU offers a "database of databases," with
  links to opportunities for individuals
  categorized by population group, subject, and
  academic level.

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YOUR SEARCH FOR FUNDS Search Tools and Other
Resources

• Additional Resources
• National Science FoundationThe NSF funds
  research and education in science and engineering
  through grants, contracts, and cooperative
  agreements. Its Web site contains a Grant
  Proposal Guide as well as other resources for
  grantseekers.
• The Foundation Center's RFP BulletinOne
  excellent way to find funders who share your
  interests is to read their requests for proposals
  (RFPs). The Foundation Center's RFP Bulletin is a
  continually updated list of programs that funders
  want to fund with lots of details about how and
  when to apply.
• For Individual GrantseekersThe For Individual
  Grantseekers area of the Foundation Center's Web
  site brings together a wealth of information on
  all aspects of grantseeking, including FAQs,
  tutorials, and search engines.

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YOUR SEARCH FOR FUNDS Refining Your Prospect
List

• Examine each funder you've identified more
  closely to try to determine how close a match it
  is with your needs.
• Complete a prospect worksheet (see attachment
  Prospect Worksheet for each prospective funder
  will help you prioritize them.
• Ask the following questions about each funder on
  your list
• Does the funder accept applications?
• Does the funder support your type of work or
  project?
• What types of projects has it funded in recent
  years?
• Does the funder give directly to individuals?
• Does the organization support individuals through
  fiscal sponsorship?
• Is the funder's program appropriate for someone
  at your level of professional development?
• Does the funder support a population group to
  which you belong?
• Are there geographic restrictions?
• Does the funder's deadline correspond to your
  timeline?
• What have been the amounts of past grants to
  individuals?
• Does the amount of the grant correspond to your
  needs?
• How many ways does this funder seem to match your
  profile?

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YOUR SEARCH FOR FUNDS Refining Your Prospect
List

• Completing the Prospect Worksheet
• Download the Prospect Worksheet located under
  session resources.
• You can use it to record essential information
  for each funding prospect that you identify as
  you continue your search. Compiling this
  information will help you determine which of your
  prospects are good matches for your project.

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SUMMARY

• This presentation provided a general overview of
• The Grantmaking Universe
• Your Search for Funds
• Future presentations will cover
• Defining your funding needs
• The application process

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Q A

• Please post any questions you have about this
  topic
• Andrea Grenadier will be available on Wednesday
  morning to facilitate a virtual discussion about
  this presentation and other topics related to
  grantseeking.