Non-Profit Grants

A large proportion of federal government and charitable giving is geared toward non-profit grants. Non-profit organizations are designated as tax exempt by the Internal Revenue Service. Non-profits are founded for various purposes, often for charitable reasons. What all non-profits have in common is that revenue generated is not distributed as profits or dividends, but brought into the organization for expansion or to meet its charitable aims.

Non-Profit organizations raise money through a variety of avenues including individual giving, earned income and grants. Non-profits are eligible for an array of government and private grants. Non-Profits are able to secure grants by demonstrating to a funding agency that there is a public need that they meet, they have the capacity to use grant funding wisely, and that their goals and objectives are achievable.

To acquire grants for non-profits, an organization needs to prove its tax exempt status by submitting a letter from the IRS about their tax exempt status. Non-profits whose budgets exceed a certain amount (over $100,000) must submit a 990 tax form to the IRS. Funding agencies use 990s and also audited financial statements to determine if the non-profit is spending money wisely.

Eligibility for Non-Profit Grants

There are thousands of grant programs in the United States for non-profit funding. Because these grant opportunities are for a variety of specific purposes, not every non-profit is eligible to apply. Therefore, it is important to read each funding opportunity carefully to determine if a non-profit is meets the eligibility requirements. Requirements for non-profit grants may include the following criteria:

Purpose of Non-Profit
Annual Budget
History of Grant Funding
Capacity to Carry out Program
History of Success
Qualifications of Staff

The federal government has additional requirements such as the non-profit cannot owe the federal government money. Fiscal responsibility is a key criteria in winning non-profit funding.

Non Profit Government Grants

The federal government has the web site Grants.gov that lists all of the federal grants available to non profits. There are over 1,000 non-profit grant opportunities awarded by 26 different federal agencies. A non profit organization can search for grants by funding agency and by key word. There is a wide variety of non-profit government grant opportunities. Education, health, human services, research, children and families, youth, and housing are only a selection of the non-profit grants available. Applying for a non-profit government grant requires an organization register into the Grants.gov system so that it can upload a grant application.

Non-Profit Funding from Foundations and Corporations

In addition to the government, non-profits are eligible for grants from private foundations and corporations. These are most easily found on individual funder web sites. There are directories for foundation and corporate grants available on the Internet by subscription service or for free. The Foundation Center and GuideStar are the largest directories of private foundation information. Corporate foundation grants can be found through Internet searches and through directories of specific types of non-profit grants (e.g., children’s programs, housing, education, etc.)