Many public, private and governmental organizations offer funding to individuals and groups for accomplishing specific projects these organizations are interested in. Known as "grants," these funds require no repayment as long as the funds are used to complete the project for which they were given. To receive a grant, however, individuals and organizations must submit a formal request to the organization offering the funds--a request known as a "grant proposal."
Use the following resources to locate grants as well as to familiarize yourself with the requirements and conventions of writing a successful grant proposal.
Foundation Directory Online Professional provides subscribers with access to timely, comprehensive information on grantmakers and their grants. Included is a database of the entire universe of over 140,000 foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities in the U.S.; a database of over 4,000 sponsoring companies, offering a quick pathway to corporate funders; a database of over 3.8 million recently awarded grants; and a keyword-searchable database of over 1 million recently filed IRS Forms 990 and 990-PF.