A nonprofit organization is a business designed for a specific purpose and which does not earn a profit or distribute funds to owners or shareholders. Nonprofits still have expenditures and even pay salaries to employees, but they do not earn any revenues or hold any accounts for the purpose of saving money. An organization is generally a collection of resources structured to accomplish an overall goal. The purpose of a nonprofit organization is to meet specific needs within a community. Each nonprofit organization spells out its overall purpose in a mission statement. Very simply put, the word “nonprofit” means an organization that does not distribute a profit, and serves needs in a community.
Typical types of nonprofit services are advocacy, arts, civic, cultural, education, health and human service. Nonprofits range in size from extremely large organizations such as the Red Cross, hospitals, and schools, to extremely small enterprises that have no full time employees and operate only through the time spent by volunteers.
Nonprofit organizations usually require funding to serve their stated purpose. Funding can come from community and corporate donations, federal funding and gifts from individuals. Fundraising events are frequently used to create funding as well. Some of the biggest sources for funding of non-profit organizations are grants. Grants are available from a wide variety of sources, and can often sustain an entire organization’s fiscal needs alone.
Types of Grants Available
Private foundations offer grants to nonprofit organizations that support the same goals and meet specific needs within its guidelines. A grant making public charity (sometimes referred to as a “public foundation”) derives its support from various members of the public. An example of a grant making public charity is the Ford Foundation, which is probably most well known for its support of National Public Radio programs. Most community foundations are also grant making public charities.
Grant making private foundations typically fund nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity under strict guidelines from the Internal Revenue Service. These are generally organizations whose purposes are charitable, educational, scientific, religious, literary, or cultural. Their revenue over and above operating costs cannot in any way benefit private individuals, and their influence on legislation or political campaigns is limited to a very strict set of guidelines. Public and private schools, libraries, and other various government organizations also qualify as public charities, even though they usually have not applied for nonprofit status.
Perhaps the largest source for nonprofit grants is the federal government. The number of available grants from federal sources can be overwhelming. Starting at the government’s own grant website, Grants.gov is a great starting point for information. Offering a clearinghouse of grants offered and one application and account for applying for many of them, this website is an invaluable tool for nonprofits seeking to apply for federal government grants. Some of the agencies with the federal government that award grants to nonprofits include the Agency for Internal Development, Health and Human Services, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
How to Apply for NonProfit Grants
Successful grant applications require solid advance planning and preparation. It takes time to coordinate planning and research, organize resources, write and package proposals, submit proposals to the grant maker and to follow-up after applying. There are generally very strict guidelines that must be followed to apply for any types of grants. These application guidelines vary between federal agencies and other opportunities.
Federally funded grants posted on Grants.gov are highly competitive. There will be many applications submitted for a single award opportunity and those with the best chance of funding will include exactly what is requested by the grant making agency. Grant proposals should be presented in clear, simple language.
A good grant proposal addresses the need and impact of the project, stability of project design and the methods to accomplish goals and proposals, adequately budgeted resources, quality of project personnel and use of volunteers, evaluation methods, and community services to be provided. To ensure there is sufficient information for all that is required on an application for a particular award or opportunity, completing research, sufficient planning and preparation is key. Research is the primary element in every grant proposal and determines the overall quality of the application.
Organizing the grant proposal, paying attention to detail and specifications, using concise, persuasive writing, and requesting reasonable funding for the related project will all help in the application process. Clearly understand the grant maker’s guidelines before writing the grant proposal. Make sure the grant maker’s goals and objectives match the grant seeking purposes of the nonprofit organization.
Some of the more important points to keep in mind when putting together a grant application include the ability to prove financial need, clear and concise outline of how the funds will be use to meet needs in the community, and a clear reflection of planning, research and goals throughout the grant proposal.
The nonprofit organization’s needs and objectives should be stated clearly and concisely in a well written grant proposal or application. Points should be factual, supportable and professional. A well written grant proposal is the key factor in the grant maker’s decision making process. Proposals should be presented neatly, professionally and in an organized package. All entries should be typed and single-spaced. Close attention must be paid to the guidelines requested by the grant maker, and followed to the letter. Only information and materials requested by the grant maker should be included.
Nonprofit organizations are in integral part of the support system in a community, but without funding they have trouble meeting the needs they seek to meet. One of the most readily available sources for non-profit funding is from grants offered from a variety of sources. With careful planning, and well constructed and presented grant proposals, nonprofit organizations can get the funding they need to continue to do the work of helping others in their community.
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