Nonprofits from around the world rely on numerous funds offered by other foundations, government offices, and corporations. The funds received are then allocated to various projects, mostly addressing the different problems people living in developing countries experience. Additionally, nonprofits such as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also have operational expenses to consider, and thus the requirement to receive grants constantly arises. For most NGOs, it is preferred to seek for grants in places in which other organizations have successfully been approved, or those that have good reputations from various organizations. To learn more about the sources of grants for your NGO, we have come up with the following examples.
1. Board of Directors
Your organization’s board of directors would normally be connected to individuals and organizations who can possibly provide international grant funding. Reaching out to your board of directors will not guarantee success in receiving grants but it wouldn’t take in much time and effort for your staff either. The best way to open this topic is to make sure your board members are aware that you are seeking for grants. Once they are informed, they will likely give you prospects on corporations or foundations in which they are aware to be providing grants. Thus, it is your job to still research on the particular grant before simply applying, as you need to be certain of their focus areas and determine if it is in line with that of you NGO.
2. Foundation Directories
Keeping your NGO updated with different funds is essentially important. Especially given the fact that funds offered by various organizations are very unique from each other. Thus, you wouldn’t want to miss out on certain opportunities while looking at various sources. Foundation directories are typically information sources which will guide you in making sure you don’t miss the grants which can basically push for the initiatives you intend to pursue. Several outlets such as AsianNGO exist to make sure all the information you need will be visible to you.
3. Federal Funding Opportunities
There are over 900 federal agencies and who allocate billions for international grants for NGOs annually (Stombaugh, 2018), and yet difficulties are still met in terms of seeking for grants. The process of acquiring grants is very competitive and at times, opportunities from over 900 federal agencies aren’t looked into as much. Looking into the website grants.gov can be very helpful as a wide variety of grants are available which can be optimized by your NGO. For NGOs, the possibility of gaining a grant should always remain to be a priority and hence all sources should be optimized.
4. Local Government
The government of the area you are registered in will also likely have funds available for various projects. Often times, they seek for partnerships from NGOs who can successfully implement projects to specific causes from their budget. Seldom will your local government implement all their projects without partnerships but you need to watch out as many other nonprofits also aim to partner with their respective governments. Make sure you have solid proof and foundation that your NGO is fully capable of implementing projects successfully.
5. Google search
Searching for things online is something people do, organizations included on a regular basis. However, with the presence of NGO directories and specific websites, google searching is seldom being used when searching for international grants for NGOs. As much as other references are available, never underestimate the power of searching things on Google. It doesn’t take up too much time and can be done hand-in-hand while using other references.
