Non-profit organizations receive the
vast majority of grant dollars available across the globe. But it's not as simple as
filling in a form and receiving a check. This video shows you who gives grants to nonprofits,
and why you need to understand that information, to save time and only apply for those grants that
are most likely to support your organization. I will also conduct a real online search and find
real grants. You'll learn how to do this yourself. One important note: grants for no
n-profits can
be quite different than grants for individuals or grants for small business. Videos
for those situations are linked below. Non-profits are a unique entity, organized for
a purpose other than generating profit. They can also go by different names across the globe,
including ngos, which means non-governmental organizations, or simply charities. There are
three main categories of grant funders, also known as grant makers. Pro tip: pay attention to
their different motivations for
awarding grants. Private foundations are often started by an
individual or a couple, who have a personal motivation to see a specific community need
met. Their foundations can range in size from those that award a few thousand
dollars each year to local charities, to multi-billion dollar funders that award
grants worldwide. Corporations also offer grants. Their motivation is to support particular
corporate goals. For example, banks often support financial literacy programs, which help peop
le
learn how to manage money, but also help to encourage a new generation of bank customers.
Public grant makers can be local, state, or federal government agencies. In each case they
utilize tax dollars for grants. Their motivation is to support their political priorities. I happen
to have a video dedicated to government grants, linked above and in the description below. Now
that we know who the grant makers are, we need to ask: what will their grant dollars pay for? Or
not? Pro tip: over
all, grant makers award grant dollars to organizations that can move the needle
on a community need, and sustain that movement. Grant makers most often choose to support programs
and services because that is where they see the biggest return for their grant dollars.
There are also grants for capital projects, like a new building or a renovation, but they are
specific, targeted, and very limited. A common non-starter for grant makers is basic operating
costs, such as utilities, staff, or bui
lding maintenance. So we know who gives grant dollars to
nonprofits, and what those dollars will pay for. Next question: how do i find grant opportunities
for my organization? You will need to conduct some online research, and your search parameters will
need to include three important components. I'm going to run a real online grant search right now,
with real search results as an example. First, I use the phrase in quotation marks
"grant for non-profit organizations", but the number of re
sults is too broad. You'll
never get to the end of that search result list. So you need to narrow that down to your
specific location, because grants are tied very closely to geography. For example, "grants
for non-profit organizations" plus "Uganda". Here's a list of results, and I've linked several
of them below. Third, your search parameters need to name the program type, because the list I just
generated includes a lot of grants that won't work, and will take too much time to sift throu
gh.
For example, "grants for non-profit organizations" plus "Uganda" plus "food distribution". You can
see that the list got shorter and more precise. Links to these opportunities also listed below.
We just found a lot of grant opportunities through a few clicks in a free search engine. If you want
to deeper dive into lists of grant opportunities, linked below are several free and paid
grant list services that span the globe. These are not promotions or sponsorships of Grant
Chatter - thou
gh maybe someday they could be. Here's the last crucial question you
need to answer in your grant search: when is the grant proposal due? The vast
majority of grants operate on an inflexible schedule. That's because the grant funder has
specific dates to post grant opportunities, to receive and review proposals, and to award
grant dollars. Then they start the process all over again for the next round. Simply put, a
late grant proposal is an unfunded grant proposal! We've covered a lot of gr
ound in a very short
time. We've learned who gives grants to nonprofit organizations, and why. We've looked at what
these grants will pay for - or not. And we saw how to find the right grant opportunity, for
your needs, in your location. One last pro tip: once you've selected a grant to apply for, how
do you fill it out? I have that covered for you, in an entire playlist, How to Write a Grant,
linked above and in the description below. I'm Tiffany, and thank you for watching
Grant Chatter.
See you in the next video.
Comments