I enjoy writing grants that help fund youth projects. In fact, three of my recently funded proposals were for education technology upgrades, a music program and a fire cadet program – all related to youth development and education. Thousands of entities are interested in funding projects related to our children. So where should you begin your grant search? Continue reading!
Many online grant resources are paid subscriptions, and some of them can be pricey. Here, I’ll share some free resources that I regularly use for several grant sources, but especially for youth-related projects.
1. Sign up for email notifications at Grants.gov. Everyday, I get announcements about upcoming grants. It’s also wise to visit the site and put in your specific funding criteria, keywords or funding agency. If your nonprofit organization is interested in Federal Funding, you must first be sure you have an EIN, DUNS number and an active SAM Registration. My advice: don’t bother searching for Federal grants until the SAM registration is activated. This can take several weeks, and once again I would hate to see you waste time on an application that will be discarded.
2. E-civis is another valuable tool that allows users to search by Category and State. Keep in mind that E-civis is about to change their platform drastically. My advice: wait until late August to subscribe.
3. This one is a little time consuming, but it can be worth it. Corporate grants are everywhere! CitiGroup, Emerson, Bank of America – you name it. The key is to find and vet the opportunities online. Make sure you really research the funding criteria so you don’t waste time on an application that will be disregarded. Here’s a site to aid your search.
4. Foundations are an amazing resource for support of all kinds, and especially youth-focused grants. The best resource is the Foundation Center Online. To search for funding organizations, you will need to create a log in account. Click on search grants, and enter your State and County. For instance, at this moment there are 1,085 foundations available in my area. You can click on each foundation to gain more information about them. Also, avail yourself of the resources at GuideStar to assist in research.
5. Use this free resource for locating STEM Grants – in education, these are the hottest thing since the Allman Brothers. For those who don’t know, STEM represents Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – the present wave of tech and the future of tech. Today’s youth are exposed to tech-learning in pre-school, so STEM grants are invaluable.
6. Another organization with resources for Education and Youth Development is the National School Foundation Association
As a grant consultant, it is valuable for me to pay several subscriptions. It saves so much time. With these resources at my fingertips, I can help find funding sources you need, so you don’t have to pay thousands per year. Contact me for information regarding locating grant resources.
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