Funding Solutionz/CILC Grant Series
Issue 1 – February/March 2010

Hunting Down the Best Funding
More grants are available now than ever before. Funders of all types; including private organizations, foundations, State and Federal agencies; are looking to invest their grant dollars in projects that align closely with their focus. They strive to attract applicants who match their goals and objectives. So how do you find the funding source that best fits your needs? Here are a few tips and places to look:

Be prepared with

• Key search terms: use words that characterize your demographics, needs, applications, and goals. A few examples might be: distance learning, English Language or ESL, American History, Pre-K, Career Development, Professional Development, Poverty, etc.
• Know your 5 Ws: outline the who, what, where, and why of your program. You will need all of those details to match up to the requirements and guidelines of your ideal funding sources. Funders want to solve problems. When you can clearly identify a problem you can solve with their grant money, you can begin to hone in on the best funding fit.
• Time to hunt: researching funding sources can be very time consuming. There are many resources online, at libraries, and in publications.

Where to hunt:

• https://www.cfda.gov Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) provides a full listing of all Federal programs available to State and local governments; domestic public, quasi-public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions, specialized groups, and individuals.
• www.grants.gov: For Federal funding only: this page provides a unified site for interaction between grant applicants and the US Federal agencies that manage grant funds.
• Vendors:  A new trend related to vendor driven grant support has emerged in recent years. Technology vendors and private organizations that sell to the education community are offering assistance in researching and applying for grants. Vendors like Cisco, TANDBERG, Polycom, Solutionz Conferencing Inc., IBM, Microsoft and more, offer grant services to help you find and secure all types of funding. Ask for their help.

Upcoming Grant Deadlines: just of a few of the major programs on the horizon…

Submitted by Kristin DeProspero
678.354.2445
Grant Program Director, Solutionz Conferencing, Inc.
www.solutionzinc.com

Owner, Funding Solutions Corp, funding consulting organization
www.fundingsolutionscorp.com