Types of Funders
There
are three primary types of funders: (a) Government, (b) Foundations, and (c)
Corporations. Additional funders such as universities, communities, and
charities exist also, but we will limit our discussion to the three primary
types.
Government
Government
agencies are grant funders. When funds are available, government agencies
usually issue funding announcements that provide a Request for Application
(RFA) or Request for Proposal (RFP; Note: other terminology may also be used).
The RFA or RFP is the application packet that contains all the information you
need to write and submit your proposal. Usually government funders require a letter of intent before the actual a
submission of an application. Additionally, some government grants require that
the applicant make the state government aware of the funding that they are
requesting (this is called an SPOC or single
point of contact request). Funding announcements are usually published on
government agency webpage or in publications such as the Federal Registrar.
The following are examples of Government
Agencies provide grants:
U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development Grant - http://www.hud.gov/grants/index.cfm
National
Institute of Health - http://www.nih.gov/
U.S.
Department of Health & Human Services - http://www.hhs.gov/grants/index.shtml
U.S.
Department of Education - http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
Foundations,
community, family, and private, are grant funders. Information about these
grants are obtained through contacting the foundation via a letter, phone, or
e-mail or visiting their web site. Online searchable data bases also provide
access to information about foundation grants. The Foundation Center (http://foundationcenter.org/) and Foundations.org (http://
foundations.org) are two online searchable databases. The foundations usually
accept grant proposals 1 to 4 times a year; some only accept grant proposals by
invitation. Foundations vary in the level and focus to which they extend their
grants. Some foundations provide grants on a community, state, or regional
level; other foundations extend their grants to a national or international
level. Some foundations accept grant proposals for a broad variety of purposes
while others limit the grant proposals they will accept to align with the
foundations mission.
The
following are examples of Foundations that provide grants:
Webber Family Foundation - http://www.webberfoundation.org/gg.htm
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Grants/
The Wallace Foundation- http://www.wallacefoundation.org/
The
Mellon Foundation- http://www.mellon.org
The
AT&T Foundation - http://www.att.com/gen/corporate-citizenship?pid=7736
The CocaCola
Foundation- http://www.cocacola.com/
National Endowment for the Humanities- http://www.neh.fed.us/html/what_we.html
The
Ben and Jerry's Foundation - http://www.benjerry.com/foundation
The
Charles A. Dana Foundation - http://www.dana.org/
The
J. Paul Getty Trust - http://www.ahip.getty.edu/
Corporations
including small businesses and large nation-wide organizations are funders of
grants. Information about corporation grants can be obtained through the
corporations website, public affairs office, newspaper or magazine
announcements, or company publications. The Corporate Giving Database (http://developmentdirector.com/corporate.php
)is a search engine that can also help you locate corporation grants. Corporations
usually supply applications and accept grant proposals quarterly.
The
following are examples of Corporations that provide grants:
Walmart
Corporation
Target
Corporation
CVS
Corporation
Walgreens
Corporation