NEWS & VIEWS FEATURE - Jargon Files - To help improve the quality and clarity of speaking and writing in foundations and with grants, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation has published two of Tony Proscio's commentaries on examples of misused words and phrases. His efforts have yielded two thoughtful, often humorous, but always hard-hitting hitting essays: In Other Words and Bad Words for Good.
[More articles in the News & Views Index]

NEWS & VIEWS FEATURE - Competition for foundation money can be intense. To help nonprofits increase their chances of success, GuideStar asked grantmakers what they would most like to tell applicants. Here are their recommendations, 15 in all.
What Grantmakers Want Applicants to Know
[More articles in the News & Views Index]

Afterschool.Gov: How to Get Money - This database gives you one stop for information about more than 100 sources of federal funding for after-school and youth development programming. For eachof the programs listed in the database, you will find a brief description of the kinds of activities that can be funded, along with information about the application process, and contact information (web site addresses and telephone numbers).
http://www.afterschool.gov/cgi-bin/htgmsrch.pl

Arkansas Watershed Advisory Group
http://www.awag.org/Grant%20Seekers%20Tool%20Kit/granttraning.htm

Basic Elements of Grant Writing - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting evaluates hundreds of proposals each year for a variety of funding purposes. This publication is an easy guide to the basic elements of grant writing and is offered to assist applicants to CPB and to other funding sources. It offers guideposts to help you through each stage of the process. These guideposts are transferable to a variety of grant applications.
http://www.cpb.org/grants/grantwriting.html

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance - The bible of federal grant assistance, and also federal government projects, services, and activities. Maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration. Best Bet.
http://www.cfda.gov/default.htm

CFDA Developing and Writing Grant Proposals
http://www.cfda.gov/public/cat-writing.htm

Community Foundation Locater – Contact information for 400+ community foundations in the US. The Community Foundation Locator is sponsored and maintained by the Council on Foundations.
http://www.communityfoundationlocator.org/search/index.cfm

Council on Foundations - The Council on Foundations is a membership organization that serves the public good by promoting and enhancing responsible and effective philanthropy. The main page includes information of interest to those seeking to start of foundation, but also to understand how foundations work. Sections include: What is a Foundation?, Starting a Foundation, Resources for Foundations, Legal and Governmental Affairs, Links and Networking, and The Future of Foundations.
http://www.cof.org/

Grantmaking Basics - A Field Guide for Funders and an online Study Guide for grantmakers.
http://www.grantmakingbasicsonline.org/

Starting a Foundation - information on starting a foundation, with appropriate links.
http://www.cof.org/index.cfm?containerID=62&menuContainerID=0&crumb=2&navID=0&

Community Foundation Locator
http://www.cof.org/Locator/index.cfm?menuContainerID=34&crumb=2

Cultural Funding: Federal Opportunities - A National Endowment for the Arts online resource of Federal Funding available for arts initiatives through national, state, and local funding programs. Over 20 federal agencies are represented.
http://www.arts.gov/federal.html

Educational Funding Strategies - Link for "The Internet Insider" for grantseekers & fundraisers, a free, twice-monthly e-mail newsletter of Internet sites, jokes, news items, and more including a special section for Canadians. Also, Distance Learning Courses of self-paced, e-mail-and-Internet-based online courses for nonprofits, educational organizations, local governments, and public agencies. Site also promotes In-Person Training and Workshops and E-books and Courses-On-Disk.
http://efsinternet.com/

EPA Grant-Writing Tutorial - EPA developed this program with Purdue University to help communities and non-profit organizations identify financial assistance opportunities for their environmental-oriented development programs (but it works for all grants). Also, this program was developed to make it easier for applicants to produce more competitive grant applications. There are eight tutorial sections including a mock grant writing activity. Best Bet.
http://www.epa.gov/seahome/grants/src/msieopen.htm

Mock Grant Writing Activity
http://www.epa.gov/seahome/grants/src/mock/mock.htm

Faculty and Research: Writing a Grant Proposal - Columbia University Writing Tips and Application Forms. Sections include: Tips for Scientific/Technical Writing, Grant Application Forms, Columbia University's Health Sciences Division's Manual of Policies and Procedures, Courses, Seminars, and Slide Presentations on Preparation of Applications, and Comprehensive Research Funding Information. Best Bet.
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/research/writing.htm

Federal Commons - Internet federal grants management portal serving the grantee organization community, with subject matter and grants administration links. Best Bet.
http://www.cfda.gov/public/granttopics.asp

Office of the Federal Register - Search the CRF (Code of Federal Regulations) and the Federal Register. Also here are Public Laws, the US Government Manual, Weekly Complilation of Presidential Documents, Public Papers of the Presddent, Congressional Information and more. Best Bet.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html

FirstGov - The official U.S. gateway to all government information, is the catalyst for a growing electronic government. Government at Your Fingertips. The search engine and ever-growing collection of topical and customer-focused links connects you to millions of web pages - from the federal government, local and tribal governments and to foreign nations around the world. On FirstGov.gov, you can search more than 51 million web pages from federal and state governments, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. Most of these pages are not available on commercial websites. FirstGov has the most comprehensive search of government anywhere on the Internet. They are working with agencies to encourage portals organized around customer groups and topics, instead of agency names. Examples of cross-agency portals include: seniors, students, people with disabilities and exporters. Best Bet.
http://www.firstgov.gov/
[ FEBRUARY-MARCH 2001 FEATURED SITE... more in Featured Sites Index. ]

First.Gov Reference Shelf
http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf.shtml

Follett Library Grant and Funding Resources
http://www.titlewave.com/intro/grantfunding.html

The Foundation Center – National organization based in NYC and Washington DC, but also having regional collections throughout the nation (including Utica NY at Utica Public Library). Collects and distributes information on grant makers, including statistics and trends. Many grant-related publications, directories and 'how to' books. Links to hundreds grant makers. FAQ listings and access to online librarian. Publish Philanthropy News Digest. Best Bet.
http://www.fdncenter.org
[ JANUARY 2000 FEATURED SITE... more in Featured Sites Index. ]

The mission of the Foundation Center is to foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects. Our audiences include grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public.

RFP Bulletin – Published weekly by Philanthropy News Digest of The Foundation Center. Brief overview of current funding opportunities offered by a foundation or other grantmaking organization. This is the index site for recent grant announcements compiled by the Digest and listed by subject areas. This includes: Arts and Culture, Civil Rights, Disabled, Education, Religion, Social Science, Woman and more... 20 topic areas in total.
http://fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/index.jhtml

Search Zone - Brings together all the search capacity of The Foundation Center including databases and annotated links for Private Foundations, Corporate Grantmakers, Grantmaking Public Charities and Community Foundations. Use keywords to conduct a general search of the Center's Web site, links to grantmakers web sites, search the Philanthropy News Digest archives, and the Online Database of the Literature of the Nonprofit Sector. A fee-based services takes you beyond these information sources, to details of the 10,000 largest foundations in the US.
http://fdncenter.org/searchzone/

Virtual Classroom - Learn how to write and research grants with free, online training courses. Featured classes include introduction to the Foundation Center, the Proposal Writing Short Course, an Orientation to Grantmaking and Guide to Funding Research among others. There is also a list of on-site courses offered by the Foundation Center, both free and fee-based.
http://fdncenter.org/learn/classroom/index.html

FC Stats - FC Stats is a free online resource that provides users with ready access to a wealth of statistical data on U.S. private and community foundations and their funding patterns. FC Stats currently offers 520 data tables available only from the Foundation Center. These tables and ranked lists provide the most frequently requested types of summary financial data on foundations. Best Bet.
http://fdncenter.org/fc_stats/

The following are portals to hundreds of grantmaking organizations for grantseekers doing preliminary funding research online. Use their grantmaker search engine through subject and geographic indexes. Also, download their helpful Prospect Worksheet.

Corporate Grantmakers on the Internet
http://fdncenter.org/funders/grantmaker/gws_corp/GrantmakerSearch30Corp_VSearchResult.cfm#results

Grantmaking Public Charities on the Internet
http://fdncenter.org/funders/grantmaker/gws_pubch/GrantmakerSearch30Pubch_VSearchResult.cfm#resultsl

Private Foundation on the Internet
http://fdncenter.org/funders/grantmaker/gws_priv/priv1.html

Community Foundations on the Internet (By State)
http://fdncenter.org/funders/grantmaker/gws_comm/comm.html

Where can I find examples of...?
Examples of nonprofit documents, such as:

Grant Proposals
http://fdncenter.org/learn/faqs/html/propsample.html

Foundations.Org - Directory and links to community foundations, corporate foundations, private foundations and grantmakers from around the world. Also, featured sites with brief descriptions and links to other topic areas of interest. A service of the Northern California Community Foundation but valuable for all of us. Best Bet.
http://www.foundations.org/

Fundsnet Services Online - Directory of over 700 philanthropy sites on the web, including section listing newest funding opportunities and Community Foundations/Regional Grantmakers. Site includes FAQ section and search engine links.
http://www.fundsnetservices.com

General Grant Guidance
http://www.jcdowning.org/resources/generalguide.htm

GrantCraft: Practical Wisdom for Grantmakers - From the Ford Foundation, GrantCraft is a source of practical wisdom from grant makers on the tools and techniques of effective grant making. GrantCraft offers guides, videos, and case studies that present the practitioner's view of philanthropy, on subjects like practice and methods that make grants more effective, insights into relations between grantees and grantors lessons about how to organize grant-making work for best results. Over the past 10 years, the Ford Foundation has developed a set of presentations, publications, and workshops in which its own grant makers share lessons learned about their craft. This new project offers an updated version of some of those materials for a much wider audience, and adds a growing inventory of new material, incorporating insights from foundations of every size and field of interest. Newer materials add the perspective of grantees, too – reflecting a view of grant making from the people who put grants to use. Best Bet.
http://www.grantcraft.org/
[ MAY 2002 FEATURED SITE... more in Featured Sites Index. ]

Grants Central Stateion - Sample Grant Proposals
http://gollygrantsonline.com/grants-central-station.htm#Coming%20grants%20overviews%20by%20Jay%20Mendell

Grant Craft - Practical wisdom for grantmakers, video/dvd from The Ford Foundation. Best Bet
http://www.grantcraft.org/catalog/index.html

granthelp - Tips, techniques and books related to grant writing. A commercial site but helpful for its 'quick tips' and 'grant writing school'. Includes 'glossary' and 'acronyms' pages.
http://granthelp.clarityconnect.com/

Grants.Gov
http://www.cof.org/Locator/index.cfm?menuContainerID=34&crumb=2

Grants Etc - GRANTS, ETC enables novice and advanced grantseekers & funders and fundraisers & donors to access relevant information throughout the Internet. Two main sections are Funding Sources and Information Resources. Sections under Funding includes: Government Agencies, Foundations, Corporations, Nonprofit Organizations, Funders for Special Interests, and Contributors and Recipients. Sections under Information include: Courses & Workshops, Associations, Journal & Listservs, Information Sources, Laws, Taxes & Management, and Meta-Sites & Search Engines. Best Bet.
http://www.ssw.umich.edu/resources/index2.html?collection=grants

Grants Information Center - Provides sources of information on foundation and corporate giving. Many links to sources of funding, nonprofits, reserach and planning for grants. A Foundation Center Cooperating Collection.
http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Memorial/grantshp.htm

Grantproposal.com - Grantproposal.com provides free resources for both advanced grantwriting consultants and inexperienced nonprofit staff. This site is designed for nonprofit organizations. Webmaster Elizabeth Brunner has gathered a good collection of tips, information and links.Best Bet.
http://www.grantproposal.com

Grant Seeking in Minnesota
http://www.mcf.org/mcf/grant/index.html

Grants Etc
http://www.ssw.umich.edu/resources/index2.html?collection=grants

The Grantsmanship Center – Well-known for training and publications on grantwriting and grant seeking. They publish a free, extensive and periodic newpaper with articles and bookstore items. Their "Program Planning and Proposal Writing" grant development guide is one of the best (and least expensive) how-to booklet. Linked sections are excellent and include:Today's Federal Register, Federal Funding, State Funding, Community Foundations, and International Funding. Best Bet.
http://www.tgci.com

TGCI Federal Funding – A quick link to federal grants information, such as the Federal Register, CFDA, Commerce Business Daily and the Nonprofit Gateway. For Federal information, a good page to bookmark. Best Bet.
http://www.tgci.com/funding/federal.asp

Winning Grant Proposal Abstracts OnlineDesigned to help nonprofit organizations and government agencies write better grant proposals and develop better programs. This service consists entirely of recently funded, top-ranked grant proposals in a wide variety of subject areas, including: Education, Arts & Humanities, Health, Housing, Law Enforcement, Substance Abuse, Disabilities & Rehabilitation and Minorities.
http://www.tgcigrantproposals.com/

GrantsNet – GrantsNet, is a one-stop resource to find funds for training in the biomedical sciences and undergraduate science education. Through the support of HHMI and AAAS, this service is completely free.
http://www.grantsnet.org/

GrantSAT - The Grant Proposal Self Assessment Tool (GrantSAT) is an instrument for evaluating, and hence improving, the quality of proposals. It provides a number of assessment criteria for nine different aspects of a proposal, e.g., problem statement, budget, evaluation. Each criterion is rated on a scale from one to six, and using these ratings, each aspect of the proposal is given a percentage score indicating its relative strength or weakness. Guidelines are then provided on how to interpret and act upon the results of the proposal assessment. GrantSAT is useful for all grant writers, from the novice to the highly experienced. GrantSAT is available in both PDF format and as a downloadable word document. Developed by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Central Michigan University. Best Bet.
http://www.orsp.cmich.edu/pdf/grantsat.pdf
     JUNE-JULY 2001 FEATURED SITE.
     More site selections in Featured Sites Index. 

GrantSmart - Nonprofit organizations are required to file tax forms with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Copies of these IRS tax returns must be available for public inspection. This site features a searchable Database of tax-related information for each of the over 60,000 private foundations that file Form 990-PF with the IRS. The Database includes images of the most recently filed IRS Form 990-PFs and information from key fields within each tax return. In many cases, more than one year of tax returns may be available; amended returns are also included.
http://www.grantsmart.org/search/search.html

Grant Writing Tools for Nonprofit Organizations - Link to some grant and fundraising resources for nonprofits. Also, tips on grant proposals with samples. Commercial site with other helpful online resources for web site development. Prepared by SeaCoast Web Design. Best Bet.
http://www.npguides.org/guide/index.html

Grant Sources for Educators – Discovery Channel's "Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators" web site. In addition to funding sites, information on grant-writing and fund-raising.
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/business/grants.html

Groundspring - Groundspring.org is a nonprofit organization that provides simple, affordable, and integrated services for small to medium-sized nonprofit organizations to help them become effective users of internet technology in their fundraising and management of donors and supporters.
http://www.egrants.org/index_gs.cfm

Guide for Writing Funding Proposals - Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal was created to help empower people to be successful in gaining funds for projects that provide worthwhile social service. A major theme that runs throughout the Guide is a concern for the development of meaningful cooperative relationships - with funding agencies, with community organizations, and with the people you are serving - as a basis for the development of strong fundable initiatives. The Guide is built on the assumption that it is through collaboration and participation at all levels that long term change can be affected. It was written by Dr. S. Joseph Levine of Michigan State University. It can also be downloaded as a 14-page pdf document. Best Bet.
http://learnerassociates.net/proposal/index.htm

The Idea Bank - Sample Proposals
http://theideabank.com/onlinecourse/samplegrant.html

Institute of Museum and Library Services - Federal agency focused on strengthening museums and libraries to benefit the public. Grants and projects awarded by this department, including guidelines and applications.
http://www.imls.gov

Just Grants Arizona - A one-stop toolkit for information and ideas from, for, and about Arizona's grants community. Site resources include a newsletter, tips and tools, relevant links, a consultant directory, local jobs, and more.
http://www.azgrants.com/

Library of Congress – If you are seeking research help on most anything, this is the place to go. Instructions provided on how to do research online. Great FAQ. Best Bet.
http://lcweb.loc.gov/homepage/lchp.html

Montana State Library Foundation Center Cooperating Collection - The State Library is one of five Montana Cooperating Collections of the national Foundation Center. The purpose of the collection is to help Montana non-profit organizations and grant seekers succeed. Extensive resources for writing grants and identifying funding opportunities from private and non-profit organizations are available in a variety of formats, including print, CD-ROM, and Internet. Best Bet.
http://msl.state.mt.us/lisd/foundation-center.htm

MSU Funding Center - The Funding Center at Michigan State University Libraries hosts this great collection of links to grant-related resources. The editor is Jon Harrison, Funding Center Supervisor. The web site serves as a basic starting place for anyone interested in grants or funding. Here you'll find 29 directories on topics, including: Nonprofit Newsletters and Current Awareness Services; Federal Funding Tools and Information Sources; National Grant Makers; Academic Fundraising; Fundraising for Educators; Nonprofit Fundraising; Fund Raisers and Grant-Writing Consultants; Nonprofit Resource Guide; Nonprofit Virtual Library; Philanthropy Research Centers; Planned Giving; Prospect Research Sources; Volunteer Program Management; and Women & Philanthropy.
http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/grants.htm
[ DECEMBER 2000/JANUARY 2001 FEATURED SITE... more in Featured Sites Index. ]

NIH Grant Writing Tip Sheets - Many NIH Institutes put out guides and tip sheets on their Web sites. These guides can be useful resources. A few included at this link are: Quick Guide for the Preparation of Grant Applications, How to Write a Research Grant (PDF Format), Preparing Grant Applications, Tips for New NIH Grant Applicants, Applying for an NIH Grant, and A Straightforward Description of What Happens to Your Research Project.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/grant_tips.htm

NYS Contract Reporter
http://http://nyscr.com

NYS Government Grants
http://www.nysegov.com/citguide.cfm?displaymode=normal&fontsize=100&contrast=lod&superat=102&cat=410&content=main

Ohio Literacy Resource Center - Grants and Funding Links. &A useful section on What to Do Before You Write a Grant Proposal&. Also an outline model for proposal development. Linked as well are sources for funding.
http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/grants_funding.html

ProposalWriter.Com -This site is designed to provide visitors with exceptional resources in a variety of areas relating to: Proposal Development, Government Contracting, Grants and Grantwriting, International Development, and International Business. This site is provided by Deborah Kluge who is also an independent consultant for proposal writing and government contracting. She provide narrative descriptions and explanations and links to the major grant-making information sources. She also offers a handy Proposal Checklist and Pointers. Best Bet.
http://www.proposalwriter.com/

Proposal Writing: Internet Resources – Compiled by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Grants Information Center. Advice for individuals and organizations on planning and writing grant proposals. Information also on resources in print. Best Bet.
http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Memorial/grants/proposal.htm

Purdue Proposal Enhancement Tools
http://www.agcom.purdue.edu/AgCom/ppet/PPET.pdf

RFP Bulletin - The list compiled by Philanthorpy News Digest of The Foundation Center. You can also subscribe to the weekly newsletter that includes this information and a link to the site. Brief overview of current funding opportunities offered by a foundation or other grantmaking organization. This is the index site for recent grant announcements compiled by the Digest and listed by subject areas. This includes: Arts and Culture, Civil Rights, Disabled, Education, Religion, Social Science, Woman and more... 20 topic areas in total.
http://fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/index.jhtml

SchoolGrants – For the K-12 schools and educators, this site is very extensive and easy to search. Includes a "What's New" section, lists and links of grant opportunities, news in the field and a great deal of information on grant-writing and evaluation. Many related links. Best Bet.
http://www.schoolgrants.org
[ OCTOBER 2000 FEATURED SITE... more in Featured Sites Index. ]

SERA Learning - Sample Grant Proposals
http://www.sera.com/index.php?section=funding&option=funding&page=funding_templates#instructproposal

Society of Research Administrators Grants Web– It appears that almost any site you're searching for related to federal government funding is linked here… but also a lot more. Policy information and regulations, private funding sources, e-journals, legislation, plus, plus. Just the type of site you would expect from this professional association. Best Bet.
http://www.srainternational.org/newweb/grantsweb/index.cfm

Tech Soup: Writing A Winning Grant Proposal
http://www.techsoup.org/howto/articlepage.cfm?articleid=504&topicid=10

U.S. Department of Education: Guide to Education Programs – One stop source for funding information coming from this federal department. Best Bet.
http://web99.ed.gov/GTEP/Program2.nsf

Promising Initiatives To Improve Education in Your Community - A guide to selected US Department of Education Grant Programs and Funding Opportunities. Includes program descriptions and abstracts of some funded activities. The site also provides a download feature to print the document.
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/promisinginitiatives/

University of Vermont Grant Writing Page - Five linked articles on grant writing including: The Original How to Write a Research Grant Application (NIH in PDF* format), How to Improve Your Score When Submitting a Grant Proposal, A Practical Guide for Writing Proposals, A Guide to Proposal Planning & Writing, and Writing from the Winner's Circle: A Guide to Preparing Competitive Grant Proposals
http://www.uvm.edu/~ospuvm/

Univesity of Wisconsin-Madison
http://grants.library.wisc.edu/organizations/nonprofits.html

Video Series - Grant Writing Series - Illinois State Applied Social Research Unit.
http://www.asru.ilstu.edu/grantwritingseries.htm

Web Sites for Grantseekers and Nonprofit Organizations - Directory of the Tuscon-Pima Public Library with an excellent array of links to sites about funding, grants, government information, nonprofit management, jobs, volunteerism, technology and more. Best Bet.
http://www.lib.ci.tucson.az.us/grants/grants45.htm

Writing a Successful Grant Proposal - Prepared for Grantseeking in Minnesota, this guide provides good help for everyone following standard RFP sections or just requesting funding from any source. An easy to follow outline.
http://www.mcf.org/mcf/grant/writing.htm

Grantseeking Basics
http://www.mcf.org/mcf/grant/basics.htm

Giving Forum Newsletter - Subscription Form
http://www.mcf.org/mcf/forum/subscrib.htm

Past Articles from "Giving Forum" - Topical articles on Community Foundations, Corporate Grantmaking, Family Foundations, Grantmaking Basics, Profiles and Trends, and Technology.
http://www.mcf.org/mcf/forum/articles.htm#Grantmaking%20Basics

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