Grant Money: Finding and Writing Grants

Curtis M. from FCI Beaumont, and several others, wrote in and asked about where to find grants to start their own non-profits, and how to write and get grants. I’ve avoided talking about grants as my focus is business. It is possible to get grants for businesses,  artists, and other for profit projects so I decided to finally tackle this topic. I don’t plan on addressing this again in the future, so I hope these answers help.

There’s billions of dollars every year available for grants. These are both public sources, like governmental entities,  and private sources, like private foundations.. I’m not against grants if you can get them. During the pandemic I helped my wife get two small grants to support her for-profit work as an artist. 

I have taken several grant writing courses, and successfully written grants for several nonprofit groups. Business is my strength and passion, and I believe in focusing on strengths and passions.  

I’m an optimist, not trying to burst anyone’s bubble, but I will shoot straight with you. I generally avoid grants for four reasons:

1. The process of getting grants is complicated, competitive, and frustrating. In my years of business and working with nonprofits I’ve never seen anyone provide money for a new nonprofit: every grant I’ve ever seen or heard of only gave money to already established groups. If you really want to go for grants incorporate your nonprofit as soon as you can so you can at least be set up to apply for grants in the future. Check out my Ask Bob – Nonprofits for more on that. 

2. It takes a large time commitment to continually research grant opportunities, and even more time to respond to them; often with a low success rate.

3. If you get a grant you have requirements to fulfill that grant, and will be watched closely. I saw in today’s news that a leader of a high profile non-profit in Boston was indicted for misuse of a $6,000 grant she received. That’s not an isolated case: I regularly hear about people getting in trouble because of misusing grants they received. Sometimes it’s not even misuse – it could be as simple as a mistake in reporting or documenting how they used the money. I caught my case for the temporary misuse of SBA loan funds. I know firsthand how closely the government and others watch you to make sure you completely fulfill your obligations. 

4. I’ve talked to people that received grants that have said sometimes the requirements after the grant aren’t worth the money the grant gives. For instance, I have a friend with an east coast  nonprofit who recently turned down a $25,000 grant when the group who wanted to give her the money required her to give detailed operational reports for five years after the grant was awarded. That’s an extreme example, but you should be aware of what you’re getting into before you accept someone’s money. 

Finding Grant Money

If I haven’t scared you away yet let me help you find where grant money is. Most all grant notices are online, so you need someone checking online if you don’t have access to the internet. 

There are some grants available for formerly incarcerated citizens which you or your people can research on your own. I personally don’t spend time researching grants, so that’s not an area I can help in. 

When you search online for grant opportunities you can:

• Do a keyword search on Google or whatever search engine you like. For instance, if you want to start a nonprofit boxing club, do an online search for grant money for boxing clubs, grant money for youth programs, grant money for at-risk youth, and whatever other words you can think of that apply to your vision. Then follow those leads.

• You can set up a Google alert to notify you when grants applying to your keywords are advertised. That is to say, from our previous example, that  you can set up a Google alert to tell you when grant money for boxing clubs or youth programs are available.  

Here is how to set up a Google alert:

1. Go to Google Alerts.
2. In the box at the top, enter a topic you want to follow.
3. To change your settings, click Show options. You can change: How often you get notifications. The types of sites you’ll see. Your language. …
4. Click Create Alert. You’ll get emails whenever we find matching search results.

• Often you will find grants where you are past the application deadline. Make a note on your calendar for next year, a month before the most recent application deadline, so you can apply for it later. 

• Check with your State’s website to find a grant in your area of interest. For instance, go to www.texas.gov and in the Search area do a search for “grants.” I just did and found 25 grant opportunities in about 10 seconds.  You can also check with your local city and county and any known charitable foundation you know to find more grant opportunities. 

Writing a Grant

When a group or organization advertises they have a grant they always have their own process for you to apply for their money. Some grants are a simple online application, most are not so easy, although almost all grant applications are made online. 

If you are required to submit a written proposal to apply for the grant, that’s called “writing a grant.” Grants can often be like glorified business plans, but with specific items for nonprofits.  

Having written grants I believe 70-80% of all grants contain the same basic information, like a description of your group and key leaders, your statement of need,  as well as financial reports, demographic reports of the groups you serve, proof of non-profit status, and the like. A grant writing class I took recommended writing a basic grant as a model or template to use for any grant you apply for.  This helps you to apply for more, without having to “reinvent the wheel” each time you write a grant. 

Regardless of how you write your grants, the most important thing is to write them in a way that specifically addresses them for the grant opportunity you are applying for. Grants are challenging for anyone. There are people who make their careers writing grants, God help them!  

Here’s some books I found at Amazon on how to write a grant.

I haven’t read these, and I’m not paid to endorse them, but each seems to have good reviews and should have helpful information. 

How to Write a Grant: Become a Grant Writing Unicorn, © 2021 by Meredith Noble $17.85 + S/H

The Complete Book of Grant Writing: Learn to Write Grants Like a Professional (Includes 20 Samples of Grant Proposals and More for Nonprofits, Educators, Artists, Businesses, and Entrepreneurs) © 2012 by Nancy Smith $22.99 + S/H

How to Write a Grant Proposal: A Step-by-Step Guide to Apply for Small Business Grants or Other Government Grants (How to Apply for a Grant) © 2014 by Geoffrey Mitchell, $10.99 + S/H/

I hope you found this helpful.  Good luck in your adventures! 

Bob