I am interested in opening a non-profit social service organization. How can I find federal grants for this?

Question

I have tried searching the web but get nothing but a bunch of sites that want me to pay for the information.

Answer 1

Your best bet is to seek for private grants or grants from private foundations.

The best resource for this is Foundation Center http://www.fdncenter.org . They have a very good database covering all organizations giving grants and you can find foundations that are interested in supporting your type of cause. However, it's a subscription based website ($19.95 per month I think is the cheapest subscription price). But it certainly is worth the fee. You can subscribe one month, and make sure you get all the info you need and then stop the subscription.

If you want to try federal sources, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants.

CFDA has several ways to search for grants. I suggest you search by beneficiary and select Private Non Profit Organization and you can find listings of grants available http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show

However, to be able to get grant awards, you need to be 501C(3) certified from the IRS http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/index.html

Answer 2

Federal grants are very, very difficult to get. Most of that money goes to universities and such. You would likely do better trying for a grant from a private university near you. A wealthy university that has an interest in the type of cause/clientele you want to work with.

You will also need to have a plan of work - how many people you want to serve and exactly what you will do for them. Also be ready to justify your time to be spent on the grant and to break down to an hourly rate for yourself.

Good luck!

Answer 3

short answer, go to www.grants.gov and search for anything to which you might be eligible.

Finding and getting federal funding is NOT easy, even for long established nonprofits with long outstanding track records. You might want to look around at the social service organizations already established, and approach them to 'team up" with you on your proposal, if they don't offer the specific service that you are interested in providing.