Can You Really Expect the Government to Give You Grant Money?
Applying for government grant money is common these days. Not common in the sense that it’s available to everybody, because chances are it’s not, but common in the sense that this probably isn’t the first time you’ve stumbled on the term.
We’ve all heard the story. Some enterprising organization has a community-based project in mind and wants to seek corporate, foundation, individual, or government grants for funding. Sometimes, the project may even be personal, like consolidating your debt, for instance, or helping you set up your own starter business, although that fact may be dubious. Nevertheless, there’s no disputing the fact that grant money is available and it is being actively sought out by almost everyone.
More than anything, grant money is provided by government for the purpose of funding some project or another that would benefit a community or certain specialized groups. In fact, every year, Congress allocates about $67 billion, (yes that's Billion) in grant money for various kinds of projects. One of the government groups that benefit from federal grant money are public libraries.
Every U.S. city is expected to provide library or information services, along with essential services like fire and police. And for overhead, and ongoing day-to-day working expenses and operations, public libraries get their funding from grant money.
Yet, even with grant money available for their use, government funding has become more and more difficult to come by. For this reason, many public library trustees, staff, users, and friends have begun to look beyond government grant money and towards private funding from corporations or individuals.
One of their top resources of grant money is the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), considered as the chief professional association for fundraisers, and hence for grant-seeking professionals working across the spectrum of nonprofits. The association was formerly known as the National Society of Fund Raising Executives (NSFRE), but later on changed its name to what it is now. Their website at AFPnet.org offers sections on ethics, public policy, publications (including AFP’s online bookstore), professional advancement, local chapters, jobs, and youth in philanthropy (along with a member gateway/dashboard).
Besides that, the AFP also provides a list of certain organizations and their websites that are among the top basic resources of grant money for grant seekers in public, private, and academic institutions. Top on their list is the Foundation Center at FDNCenter.org, which publishes the revered Foundation Directory.
When it comes to best-known resource of grant money for the grant seeker or grant writer, the Foundation Center’s website certainly tops the list. The site offers a compromising grant writing database, a thorough search engine, and potent user interface. The site is highly developed and useful in your search for grant money. Fee-based areas enhance its utility for grant writers. Some entities spend even several hundred dollars a year just to maintain a subscription.
Although some of the Foundation Center site’s areas may cost money, the site’s overall utility is manifest. It provides a good place for almost any searcher to start a quest to find grant makers. Once at the site, one can click on links to the websites of foundations, corporations, individual and family trusts, and even those of other libraries and education entities.
You must beware when looking for information about applying for a government grant because there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there just waiting for the unwary. Make sure you check out anyone who tells you they can do all the hard work for you and can guarantee you the grant. It just doesn't happen that way and you can be taken for a large sum of money.
Just take care and maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones who actually gets the grant.
R. Kleine is a self confessed information junkie and has websites covering a wide variety of topics including applying for and getting government grants. Check out the free information at his website: http://governmentgrantguides.com
