At FundSource26, we’ve got grantseeking down to a science. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of finding the perfect nonprofit grants, including where to look, what to look out for, and how to know if a grant is worth your effort.
How to Find Grants for Nonprofit Organizations
Finding grants for nonprofit organizations is a complex, time-consuming, resource-sapping process. Without a solid strategy, nonprofits find themselves struggling with:
Where to look
There are so many grant-finding databases, each offering different types of grants, user features, filters, and pricing tiers. How do you know which databases give you the best chance of finding the grants you need?
What to look for
How do you know what to search for? With thousands of grants available for nonprofits, how do you narrow down the search to show you the grants that best match your organization’s needs?
How to choose
So many grants seem relevant. How do you know which grants you have the best chance of winning?
Understanding grants for nonprofits is a complex task, but in this guide, FundSource26 will break down the process into strategic, easy-to-follow steps.
We’ve helped countless nonprofits throughout the US and Canada secure more than $40 million in funding – and we want to help your nonprofit find funding, too.
What Are Grants for Nonprofits?
Grants are financial donations from institutions, foundations, or government agencies. They’re usually offered in high amounts – five, six, or seven figures – and can be awarded for a one-year period or for multiple years.
How are nonprofit organizations funded? Besides grants, nonprofits may rely on individual donations, membership fees, corporate sponsorships, and loans.
Grants are not loans; they don’t require repayment. They’re entrusted to your nonprofit permanently so you can expand your reach, improve your programs, and help people more effectively.
Donation vs. Grant
Donations and grants are both important sources of funding for nonprofits. Here are the key differences between them:
Requirements:
📜Grants have stringent requirements on how funds are used, which limits flexibility in project execution. To maintain funder trust and legal compliance, everything must be reported back to the grantors.
🪙Donations give your nonprofit flexibility, with little or no restrictions on how the money can be used.
Application process:
📜Grants involve a competitive application process with high rejection rates. Nonprofits must submit a written request specifying how they will use the funds and presenting data to support their application.
🪙Donations require cultivating long-term relationships with individuals and developing community support.
Reliability:
📜Grants are more likely to be multi-year commitments offering the opportunity to plan ahead.
🪙Donations are unpredictable, making it difficult to plan ahead.
Size:
📜Grants can range in the five, six, or seven figures – enabling your nonprofit to make a greater impact.
🪙Donations in the 5, 6, and 7-figure range require having an affluent network to solicit from.
Why is Finding the Right Grants Important?
Grants are not a lottery. Applying to hundreds of less-than-relevant grants will end up hurting your cause, because:
- Grantors favor proposals that align with their funding priorities. Putting more effort into fewer applications means you can craft compelling proposals tailored to each grant’s requirements, giving you a higher chance of winning them.
- Grant applications are time-consuming. By focusing on only relevant nonprofit grant opportunities, you have more time and resources to spend on growing your nonprofit.
Grants can be overwhelming. Want to hand it over to the experts?
The Benefits of Grants for Nonprofits
If your organization relies on income from crowdfunding campaigns, or individual contributions and sponsorships, you may wonder why you need to apply for grants. Why are grants important to nonprofits? Are they worth the effort?
Here are eight reasons why your nonprofit should apply for grants:
- Grow Your Organization
Grant awards are significantly larger than individual donations, often hundreds of thousands of dollars. The amount given by foundations alone exceeded $105 billion in 2022. With six-digit or more funding, your nonprofit can massively amplify its impact.
- Invest in Long-Term Programs
Grantors often award funds over multiple years, so you’ll receive yearly support to maintain your programs until the grant ends. This helps you invest in your programs scalably, guaranteeing long-term success.
- Diversify Your Income Stream
Becoming too dependent on one source of funding is risky. If that source fails, your nonprofit will struggle to stay afloat. What happens if your main donor goes bankrupt? Nonprofit grants help you diversify your sources of revenue, ensuring financial stability.
- Gain Clarity on Your Goals
To create a solid grant request, you need to reflect on your program’s design and impact. Grants require you to think intentionally about every step of your process, including:
- Setting objectives and outcomes
- Developing a budget
- Listing project /program activities
By eliminating the guesswork and having clear goals, everyone involved – from staff to stakeholders – will have a clear picture of where your nonprofit is headed and how you’re going to get there.
- Measure Progress
Your grant request will include evaluation metrics (specific, measurable indicators you’ll use to demonstrate the results of the proposed project to your grantor.) Once your project launches, these metrics will be extremely valuable. They will:
- Help you gauge your progress and identify areas for improvement
- Provide clear, statistical proof of your impact to share with your funders and community.
- Fair Funding
Grants democratize giving. With donations or crowdfunding, a poorly connected nonprofit will struggle to obtain funding. They might be filling a crucial need in the community, but without cultivating donor relationships or throwing costly events, funding won’t come easily. Nonprofit grants are fairer: a compelling request will achieve results, regardless of how well-connected the nonprofit is.
- Increased Credibility
The importance of grants for nonprofits is obvious when discussing credibility. Securing a grant from a reputable foundation or government agency will enhance your nonprofit’s credibility and public image, which, in turn, will attract more funding.
- Potential for More Funding
Like bank lenders, grantors will give you more money when you have a credible track record. Grantors may start with smaller amounts, but once you show that you’ve met your goals, delivered the project on time, stayed within your budget, and reported back on time, you’re far more likely to be awarded larger sums in the future.
Are You Grant Ready?
What does a nonprofit need to apply for grants? Much groundwork needs to be in place before your nonprofit can qualify for any grant. How can you know when your organization is ready for grants? FundSource26 compiled this helpful grant readiness checklist:
- Are you legally registered? Your nonprofit must be legally registered and compliant with all relevant regulations. This may include obtaining tax-exempt status (501(c)(3) in the United States) and having the necessary documentation, such as articles of incorporation and bylaws. If you’re not legally registered yet, consult with an attorney who specializes in nonprofit law.
- Have you been around for at least three years? You’re competing with thousands of other NPOs to secure grants. If your nonprofit is less than three years old, it will be difficult to prove your credibility compared with more established NPOs.
- Do you have at least two years of financial statements behind you? Most grantors ask for financial statements, and they often ask for two years’ worth.
- Do you have an operating budget of at least 250k? If you are looking for sizable grants, you must show you can manage large amounts of money. If your organization operates on less than $100,000 annually, you can’t expect to win a grant for the same amount or more.
- Are you breaking even? It’s important that your nonprofit isn’t running at a deficit; grantors need to see that you are fiscally responsible. Grants are meant to help expand the reach of already-capable organizations, not bail out floundering ones.
- Do you have full-time paid staff? Grantors want to see an infrastructure of full-time staff in place, capable of managing your proposed projects. Grantors also want to check that you can successfully manage employees.
Determining your nonprofit’s grant readiness is an important first step that is often overlooked. Are you unsure if your nonprofit is grant-ready? Contact Fundsource26 for a grant readiness assessment.
How to Become Grant Ready
Once you determine that your nonprofit should head down the grantseeking route, it’s important to prepare and strategize. Become grant ready by establishing the following essentials:
- Claim and Update Your GuideStar and Charity Navigator Profiles: Many grantmakers (and individual donors) use GuideStar or Charity Navigator to evaluate grant applicants, so it’s worth updating both.
- Obtain a DUNS Number: A DUNS number is a (free) unique nine-digit identifier for businesses and organizations. A DUNS number is required when applying for federal grants.
- Register for SAM: The System for Award Management (SAM) is the Official U.S. Government system where businesses and the government connect for contracting purposes. Register here for free.
- Update Your Website – or create one. Having no website will lower your nonprofit’s credibility.
- Mission and Goals: Clearly define your nonprofit’s main mission and objectives, and how grant funding will support your goals.
- Strategic Planning: Ensure that your nonprofit has a strategic plan that outlines your organization’s vision and objectives. This plan should provide a roadmap for meeting your goals, and clearly show how funding will be utilized to advance those goals.
- Program or Projects: What is the funding for? Outline the specific program or project you’re seeking funding for, including the need for the project, its objectives, target beneficiaries, activities, timeline, budget, and expected outcomes.
- Track Record and Impact: Highlight your organization’s impact and previous success. Gather evidence of past accomplishments, proof of achieving outcomes, and testimonials from beneficiaries or partners.
- Financials: Ensure that you have an annual budget and a defined nonprofit grant budget for each of the programs/projects you’re seeking to fund.
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Where to Find Grants for Nonprofits
Before you learn how to find grants for nonprofits, let’s examine different grant sources and types of grants for nonprofit organizations.
Grant Sources
Government Grants:
| Federal grants | State grants | County grants |
| Federal grants are awarded by U.S. or Canada government agencies to support programs aligned with national priorities (e.g. healthcare research or education initiatives.) Federal grants are usually substantial, but they’re also much more difficult to win as the competition is intense. | State grants are awarded by state government agencies to address state-specific issues (e.g. environmental protection or job training programs.) State grants tend to be smaller than federal ones, but there’s less competition. Canadian provincial grants are comparable to U.S. state grants. | County grants are awarded by county governments to fund local initiatives and programs (e.g. after-school programs, infrastructure improvements). Grant sizes are usually smaller but can be a good option for geographically focused projects. |
Non-government Grants:
| Corporate grants | Community Foundation grants | Foundation grants |
| Corporate grants are awarded by companies to nonprofits that support their business interests or social responsibility goals. For example, a tech company might award grants to NPOs focused on technology education programs. | Community Foundation grants are awarded by local organizations to fund projects that benefit the community, like neighborhood revitalization projects. Local grants for nonprofits tend to be smaller than the other types, but may be a good fit if your project has a strong local focus. | Foundation grants are awarded by private foundations to support specific charitable causes. Similarly, family foundation grants are awarded by family-founded foundations to support the family’s philanthropic interests. For example, a family may establish a foundation to fund cancer research in memory of a loved one. |
Grant Types
What types of grants are available for nonprofits? Understanding the difference between the different types of grants for nonprofits can help you better identify which grants align with your organization’s needs. Popular grants include:
- Wage Subsidies are a financial assistance program from the government, designed to encourage employers to hire and retain workers. While not technically a grant, wage subsidies are incredibly helpful for retaining staff for your nonprofit.
- Professional Development or Training Grants fund opportunities for individuals or organizations to acquire new skills or knowledge. They can cover training courses, certifications, or conference attendance.
- Capacity-building Grants aim to strengthen your organization’s overall ability to function. They fund strategic planning, staff development, or technology upgrades.
- Challenge Grants will match funding received from other sources, incentivizing donors to give more and give now.
- Capital Grants fund the purchase of physical assets, like buildings, equipment, or vehicles.
- Equipment Grants specifically fund specialized equipment or technology for a project or general operation.
- Research Grants support organizations seeking to solve problems and expand their knowledge of a current issue through research.
- Project-Based Grants are awarded for specific, well-defined projects with a clear start and end date. They typically have detailed reporting requirements.
- Operating Grants provide ongoing financial support for an organization’s general operating expenses, like rent, salaries, and utilities.
- Seed Grants are smaller awards to help launch a new project or initiative. They are ideal for early-stage ideas or for testing the feasibility of a larger project.
➡️ Do apply for more than one type of grant. Applying for several highly relevant grants will increase your chances of success. A FundSource26 study found that organizations who applied to just one grant had a 68% success rate, while organizations who applied for more than six grants had a success rate of 98% or more.
The Top 21 Grant Databases
Wondering how to search for grants? Grant databases are one of the most effective ways to find grants for your nonprofit. But with so many grant databases out there, it’s hard to know which ones are worth your time. If you’re choosing between databases, evaluate:
- Pricing
- Types of grants available
- Number of grants available
- Accuracy (How up-to-date is the information?)
- Ease of use
- Reputation (Do other nonprofits recommend it?)
- Features (Can I do reverse lookup? See funders’ contact information? Save my previous searches? Be alerted when grants relevant to me are added?)
Below, we’ve compiled a list of the most helpful grant databases, including both U.S. and Canada-focused sites.
1. US government grants
Link: https://www.grants.gov
Grants.gov is the best place for finding federal grants. Setting up a free account gives you access to thousands of federal grants from various sectors, along with detailed information for each one. The database allows you to search by keyword, opportunity status, eligibility requirements, and more. Features include email notifications for new relevant grant opportunities.
2. Grant Watch
Link: https://www.grantwatch.com/
GrantWatch is a searchable database of grants from foundations, corporations, and government agencies. With funding opportunities in both the U.S. and Canada, the database has over 23,000 grants available, many of those for nonprofits. Users can search by category, location, funding source, and keyword. Paying members can see the details of each grant and application links. At $199/ year, Grant Watch is more affordable than other grant databases.
3. OpenGrants
Link: https://www.opengrants.io/
OpenGrants is a searchable database with thousands of federal, state, local, and private grants. At only $19/month, users can search for grants by category, keyword, or location. A sleek, modern interface makes the database easy to use. At OpenGrants, you receive access to:
- A database of active grants from hundreds of sources across the U.S. that is updated weekly.
- A database of 15,000+ funder profiles to help you discover all possible funding.
- AI-powered grant and funder recommendations.
- The Common App — one data-driven profile that connects you to funding through their partners.
- Grant Helper — an AI chatbot trained on grant programs and available 24/7 to help you navigate and understand grant funding.
4. GrantStation
Link: https://grantstation.com/
GrantStation’s database includes both national and international grant opportunities. Grant information includes contact details, the grantor’s funding priorities, and “insider” notes about specific funders. A significant advantage is the additional information GrantStation supplies about corporate funders compared to other databases. GrantStation lacks the advanced features that some other databases have, but users still report it as being “user-friendly.” A one-year GrantStation membership costs $179 U.S., but purchasing a one-year subscription ($110) to The Chronicle of Philanthropy gives you free access to GrantStation’s database.
5. Candid’s Foundation Center
Link: https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/
The Foundation Directory Online (FDO) is one of the most popular grant databases, providing unique information about foundations that can’t be found online. The FDO has over 100,000 profiles on grantors, including organizations they’ve previously funded. Features include detailed filtering capabilities, funding trend analyses, and keyword searching.
Note: Pricing starts at $50/month for the most basic package, but most public libraries are part of the Funding Information Network, offering free access to the Funding Directory Online. Click here to check if your library is included.
6. GrantAdvance
Link: https://grantadvance.com/
GrantAdvance is a subscription-based database that allows you to search for grants by keyword, funding amount, eligibility criteria, and specific education levels. You can also see other gifts awarded in the past, as well as the average grant size so you know the perfect ask amount. With both U.S. and Canadian versions, GrantAdvance starts at $2495 for a one-year membership, giving you access to useful key features, including:
- Charity Grant Secretary: This platform allows you to effortlessly create an unlimited number of campaigns and track your progress in the grant application process.
- Documents Generator: Offers built-in mail merge features that simplify creating letters of inquiry, grant proposals, and custom documents.
7. Catholic Funding Guide
Link: https://www.catholicfundingguide.com/
The Catholic Funding Guide database offers detailed funder profiles, including the giving history. Many of the grants available are faith-based, particularly Catholic. Subscription starts at $145/year.
8. GrantScape
Link: https://www.thegrantscape.com/
GrantScape offers federal, state, local, and foundation grant sources. There are over 180,000 grantors and close to 10,000 available grants. Pricing starts at $30/month billed annually, or $60/month billed monthly. Attractive features include:
- Deadline alerts – never miss a deadline! GrantScape notifies you of approaching grant submission deadlines.
- Customized grant alerts – users can choose from numerous options to customize grant alerts delivered directly to their inbox. Choose what types of grants you see and how often you’re updated.
- Save & Share – save and download grant opportunities to share with your team.
9. Grant Forward
Link: https://www.grantforward.com/index
Built by academics for researchers, the GrantForward database includes over 190,000+ grants. The layout is user-friendly, and the database boasts advanced features, such as adaptive search filters, so users can efficiently narrow their search to applicable grant opportunities. Users can exclude particular types of grants from their search, view search history, keyword search for profiles, and receive an early notification when new grants are being prepared. Subscription costs range from $1,100-4,400/year (free trial available).
10. Grant Select
Link: https://www.grantselect.com/
Grant Select starts at $150 per month for the most basic package. Grant information is detailed, including contact information, sponsor name, and address, plus subject terms for related searches. GrantSelect offers a strong assortment of funding opportunities, both domestically and abroad. These include local, state, or federal grants, corporate grants, and grants from other nonprofit organizations. The database is frequently updated.
11. Grantmakers
Link: https://www.grantmakers.io/
Grantmakers is a searchable database of public IRS 990 data. Users can search through their grant database, or their grantor/ foundation database, using location or keywords. Grantmakers provides detailed information for each foundation, including staff members and historical giving trends. The site is user-friendly, and results can be filtered by grant amount, recipient, donors, and location. For nonprofits on a limited budget, this database is a great place to start as membership is free. While Grantmakers lacks a lot of the functionality and features of other paid databases, it does offer reverse lookups to find out how similar charities are funded.
12. Pivot
Link: https://pivot.proquest.com/
Pivot is a database for grants that fund academic research projects, available exclusively to its member institutions and their affiliated professionals. Features include searching by keyword, setting alerts for new relevant posts, creating groups for sharing funding opportunities, and tracking opportunities. Pivot also offers time-saving and customization tools.
13. Grant Gopher
Link: https://grantgopher.com/#/
Grant Gopher is a U.S.-focused grant database geared towards nonprofits, schools, and government municipalities. Users can search for grants based on location or keywords. Grant Gopher also offers a calendar where users can track and manage their deadlines. Functionality is basic, but with a free version and paid plans starting at only $9/month, Grant Gopher is a great starting point for nonprofit organizations.
14. Inside Philanthropy
Link: https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/find-a-grant
Inside Philanthropy’s database includes over 4,000 funder profiles, searchable by location or keyword. Written exclusively for Inside Philanthropy, the funder profiles include details on grantors’ funding priorities, staff contact details, and historical giving trends. The profiles also offer tips for developing the right approach. Pricing starts at $47/month, with the database constantly updated and funder profiles edited every few months.
15. Instrumentl
Link: https://www.instrumentl.com/
Instrumentl is one of the most popular grant databases. The easy-to-navigate database includes a plethora of useful features, including intelligent matching (AI-generated matches of foundations and grant opportunities), new match alerts every week, foundation profiles, deadline tracking, grantseeking progress reports, tasks, and a document library. The database has over 410,000 funders and 14,000+ active opportunities for nonprofits, including grants from corporate funders, federal governments, state governments, private foundations, and community foundations. Membership plans start at $179/month. You can use the code FUNDSOURCE26 for a $50 discount if you use this link.
16. Community Foundation Locator
Link: https://cof.org/page/community-foundation-locator
The Council on Foundations’ website helps organizations find accredited community foundations across the United States. While it doesn’t provide information on specific grants, the site directs users to websites of community foundations in their area, so they can find community grants they’re eligible for.
17. Canadian Government grants
Wondering how to find government grants in Canada? Every government ministry has its own website. You can find grants on federal government agency websites, including:
- Canadian Heritage
- Infrastructure Canada
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Public Safety Canada
- Environment Canada
- Veteran Affairs
- Women and Gender Equality Canada
- Canadian Space Agency
- Public Health Agency of Canada
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Indigenous Services Canada
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
- Health Canada
- Justice Canada
- Global Affairs Canada
You can also find nonprofit grants on provincial government websites, including:
British Columbia
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Ontario
Québec
- Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise
- Ministère de l’éducation
- Ministère de l’environnement
- Ministère des affaires municipales et de l’habitation
- Ministère de culture et communications
- Ministry of tourism and recreation
- Secrétariat à la jeunesse du Québec
- Ministère de la Famille
- Emploi Quebec
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
Newfoundland and Labrador
Yukon
Northwest Territories
Nunavut
Are you a Canadian nonprofit looking for federal, provincial, or municipal grants? With our vast experience and an extensive list of sources, FundSource26 is the expert when it comes to finding the right government grants for your nonprofit organization. Start growing your Canadian nonprofit today.
18. Foundation Search Canada
Link: https://www.foundationsearch.ca/
This Canadian-focused grant database comprises over 145,000 American and Canadian foundations, corporate donors, matching gift programs, and government grantmakers. Users can search grants by keyword and filter by grant type, amount, year awarded, recipient organization, and donor. Features include tracking historical giving trends and saving previous searches.
19. Grant Connect
Link: https://www.imaginecanada.ca/en/grantconnect
GrantConnect is a database of Canadian grantmakers searchable by gift size, deadline, type of support, and more. Users can see how grantors are connected to other organizations and view detailed funder profiles, including application preferences, financial summaries, gifting history, and key decision-makers. The basic plan costs $629/year, but many libraries in Canada offer free access
20. Canadian Community Foundations
Link: https://communityfoundations.ca/find-a-community-foundation-map/
This website helps organizations find accredited community foundations across Canada. There’s no information on specific grants, but the site directs you to websites of community foundations in particular areas, so you can find local grants for nonprofits. The database is searchable by location.
Beyond Databases: Other Ways to Find Nonprofit Grants
Databases are not the only way to find nonprofit grants. Here are some other ways you can look:
- Research companies in your region that have Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. Reach out and ask about their grant opportunities.
- Utilize social media. Join Facebook and LinkedIn groups related to grantseeking, nonprofits, or fundraising. Follow hashtags like #NonprofitGrants, #GrantOpportunity, #NonprofitFunding, and #GrantAlert to find new grant opportunities for your nonprofit.
- Set up Google Alerts for specific keywords related to nonprofit grants. Google will send you email notifications when new content matching your chosen keywords is published.
- Network with peers.
- Subscribe to blogs and websites of nonprofit news outlets and grant-related organizations. The FundSource26 team finds the following subscriptions helpful:
- Follow grant-related Twitter (X) accounts. Start with these accounts:
- @GrantWatch: GrantWatch is a platform that shares grant opportunities for nonprofits in the US and Canada.
- @TheNonProfitTimes: The NonProfit Times often tweets about grant opportunities, nonprofit news, and resources.
- @Funding_Guide: The Funding Guide tweets about various funding opportunities for nonprofits, including grants and scholarships.
- @FC_Conferences: The Foundation Center, now part of Candid, shares information on grants, webinars, and nonprofit resources.
- @GrantStation: GrantStation offers grant-related news, tips, and funding opportunities for nonprofits.
- Check the member list of your regional association of grantmakers. Membership lists published by these organizations often include links to foundation websites.
- Search on the internet for specific funders and/or their IRS Form 990s.
- Look up nonprofits in your area with a similar mandate (organization purpose) to see how they are funded. It’s an easy and effective way of learning where it’s worth directing your efforts.
- To see U.S. government funding received by U.S. organizations, search here.
- To see Canadian federal government funding received by Canadian organizations, search here.
- To see Canadian foundation information, search here.
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Is This Grant Right For You?
| What you need to ask yourself: | How you know: |
| Am I eligible? | Does my organization/project meet the grant criteria? Will the grant fund the specific costs that we need covered? |
| Is there close alignment? | Have they funded similar organizations and projects in the past? |
| Will they give us a grant amount that makes it worth the effort? |
|
| Is the timeline a fit? | Can you secure funding by the time your project launches? Is the deadline for applications too soon? |
| Is this funder open to funding new organizations? | Do they tend to fund the same 20 organizations every year? |
| How competitive is the grant? | What percentage of applicants receive funding? |
Pro Tips From FundSource26
When You’re Looking For Grants:
- Consider all angles of what you do. Focusing only on your nonprofit sector means you’ll miss out on other relevant grant opportunities. For example, if a summer camp for underprivileged children searches exclusively for camp grants, they’ll miss grants offering food security – even though their free lunch program is one of their main expenses.➡️ At FundSource 26, we’ve honed this skill to perfection. We peel apart every aspect of what a nonprofit does to discover the highly relevant grants no one thought of looking for.
When You’re Evaluating a Grant For Suitability:
- Don’t lose sight of your goal. Check that the grant is closely aligned with your mission and strategic priorities and that you’re not creating new programs to chase money.
- Consider your team and resources. Applying for a grant takes effort. Check that your team is willing and able to pull it off.
- Find contact details and personal information about the people behind the funding organizations. You can do this by using iWave, a fundraising intelligence platform designed to help nonprofits cultivate and track their relationships with donors.
- Call the funder. Speak with them to find out many of the above points and run your project by them to see if they think you’re a good fit.
- Use GrantAdvisor to see unbiased reviews on potential grantors. GrantAdvisor is a website where grant applicants and recipients share their first-hand experiences working with funders. Foundations are encouraged to respond to comments, with the goal of improving grantmaker-grantee relationships.
In general:
- Invest effort. You need a solid strategy in place and be ready to invest at least a year to 18 months to implement it.
- Be prepared to wait. You might find an excellent grant opportunity that only opens up in 3 months from now. It’s worth waiting. You also need to be patient after applying for a grant: it can take between 3 months to 18 months (sometimes longer) to receive a response.
- Have the right mindset. Grants are not a “get rich quick scheme.” They’re a long-term investment that takes time, effort, and patience. Giving up after one unsuccessful grant application is like quitting fundraising after your first prospective donor says no.
- Be organized so you don’t end up rushing the process or missing deadlines. Leaving your grant application to the last minute puts you at risk of missing the deadline. There are always tasks that take longer than expected or last-minute difficulties.
- Apply for as many relevant opportunities as you can. We recommend at least 10. As mentioned, applying for more (of the right) grants increases your likelihood of success.
- Seek professional help. Consider seeking guidance from grant consultants or proposal writers if you need assistance with crafting compelling applications.
FundSource26 Knows How to Find Grants For Nonprofits
Knowing how to find grants for nonprofits and applying for the right grants can be the difference between securing hundreds of thousands of dollars for your organization – or ending up with nothing after a harrowing application process and a months-long wait.
You’ve learned how to find the right grants for nonprofits, including where you can find them, how to know which ones are most worthwhile, and which grant databases are most helpful.
You’ve also learned the process is a complex one. It takes skill, time, hard work, and sound judgment.
The good news: when done right, grantseeking efforts pay off. By following the proven grantseeking strategies we’ve shared, your chances of winning at least one grant are close to 100%.
If your nonprofit is relying on securing those grants, you may want to consider handing over the process to experts – an investment that guarantees your success.
At FundSource26, we don’t miss a grant. We scour every database and platform to find grants relevant to your nonprofit, and then evaluate each one so we’re left with only the most worthwhile. We know that your next seven-figure funding prize can be hiding anywhere – so we search in every possible direction.
Contact us today to get your grant application process rolling. Exponential growth awaits.
