Apply for Free Grants

If you want to secure grant funding to support the work of your nonprofit organization, you'll need to learn how to apply for free grants.

Learn More About Grant Funding

The first step in applying for grant funding for a nonprofit is to identify grant programs that may be a good fit for your organization. There are many places to look for funding programs, and the opportunities that are available to you will depend greatly on the type of work the nonprofit entity you are representing does and where it is located.

Places to look for grant funding include:

The Grants.gov website provides a searchable database of grant programs available through various federal government agencies. You can search by agency or by category, which makes it easy to quickly search for funding opportunities that are consistent with the mission of your organization. Once you become a registered user, you can apply for free grants online and track the status of the requests you submit via the site.

In addition to posting funding opportunities in the Grants.gov database, individual government agencies often post requests for proposals on their own websites. There may be some duplication between what you find on agency sites and what is published on Grants.gov, but you may also find programs published in one place that are not listed on the other.

A few examples are Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Environmental Protection Agency. To identify programs available through other agencies, do an internet search for the title of the agency you are interested in paired with the word "grants". This will likely lead you to a web page where current available opportunities are published.

It's likely that there is a community foundation in your area that oversees a number of grant making programs. Check local listings in your area or search the online locator on the Council on Foundations to look for foundations by region.

Additionally, if you feel that foundations are likely to provide an excellent resource for funding for your organization, you may want to consider subscribing to The Foundation Center's Foundation Directory Online. Access to the directory is fee based, with monthly plans starting as low as $19.95 per month. If you choose to subscribe, you'll have access to a database of 10,000 of the top United States-based foundations. The directory is an excellent resource for researching grant opportunities available from foundations. It includes indexed profiles with current information about the funders and allows users to run and export searches based on specific criteria, including geographic location and congressional district.

If the organization you work with has an arts-oriented mission, grant opportunities may be available from the statewide or regional arts agencies or associations in your local area. You can identify potential funding sources for arts programs in your region by searching National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the partner listing page on the National Endowment for the Arts website.

There are many additional opportunities to secure grant funding. Diligence is essential when searching for funding opportunities. Some corporations and professional associations offer grant programs, as well as many grass roots organizations. If you're responsible for securing funds for a nonprofit, you'll need to constantly be on the lookout for funding opportunities.

Once you have found one or more grant programs that you'd like to apply for, the next step will be to complete the grant application. The process of completing the paperwork necessary to apply for free grants is typically referred to as "grant writing."

When completing a grant application, it is essential to follow the instructions exactly. Before getting started, review the guidelines thoroughly so you can be certain that your organization and the project or program you are requesting funding for meet the criteria. If you determine that there is a match, the next step will be to begin drafting your application.

Review the program guidelines for content and format, and verify that your application follows them exactly. Take care to ensure that the grant application is well written and properly edited. Be certain that the document provides all of the information requested, but do not include data that is not asked for in the request for proposal outline.

Proofread every carefully prior to submission, keeping in mind that the application documentation is the only thing that will be considered in determining whether or not funds are awarded to your cause. Submit the application via the exact method requested prior to the stated deadline. If a grant application is late, it will not even be considered for funding.

Some organizations have staff members or volunteers handle the process of completing grant applications, while others utilize the services of professional consultants for this purpose. If you hire someone to research funding opportunities and write grant proposals, it's a good idea to verify that he or she has a successful track record in securing funding for similar programs.

Regardless of who handles the grant writing duties for your organization, it's a fact that the quality of work performed can have a significant impact on your ability to secure the funds needed to continue to provide services to the consumers that you serve.

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