(Photo credit: Cubosh)
One of the services we periodically try to provide our readers is a timely compendium of resources about fundraising and the skills thereof. In this installment have some online resources to find and to apply for grants from the federal government and from private sources.
To start off your spring drive, get some tips and inspiration from a free webinar: this Wednesday, GrantSpace.org is sponsoring an online text/chat seminar entitled “Turning Your Volunteers Into Fundraisers.” It is free to register and the seminar runs 1:00pm to 2:00pm. The event is entirely text/chat based (no audio), so one could easily enjoy one’s lunch and participate as well!
Two guests will be online to answer our questions. The first is Amy Eisenstein, Principal and Owner of Tri Point Fundraising, a full-service consulting firm for nonprofit organizations and foundations. She has written a book on fundraising meant to sharpen focus and improve the outcomes for smaller and mid-sized nonprofits entitled Fifty Asks in Fifty Weeks.
The second is Val Porter, the director of Foundation Center Atlanta. As director, she served on the executive team of the City of Atlanta’s branding campaign and overseeing the largest public funding program for the arts in the State of Georgia as the agency’s Deputy Director.
Once your questions are answered and your ideas fleshed out, it is time to do some research on likely donors who give to the sorts of projects each of your organizations focus on. A phenomenal listing of corporate contacts and philanthropic organizations can be found at FundServices.com. The service offers links to such corporate resources as Adobe Systems and ZeroDivide, which is working to close the technology gap between rich and poor school districts.
But FundServices.com also offers long lists of educational resources, resources to battle hunger around the world, and links to over 2000 other foundations that can make your 50 ‘asks’ a pretty easy venture.
Though FundServices has a link to government agencies and funding sources, we find NonprofitExpert.com to be a richer resource with well-sorted categories to help you delimit your searches quickly. Categories include After-School Programs, raising money for political campaigns, and even links to international NGOs who can offer resources to your organization.
Both of these websites have information about how best to design your business plan and your proposal. That said, most of us learn better when we interact with other human beings who have taken on some of the challenges, and skills we face. So register first for the text/chat seminar this Wednesday at 1:pm, then build on that knowledge to enjoy some productive research in the relevant areas of the websites listed here.
