Finding the Right Funding Fit

I entered my search terms and received a bunch of hits ("prospects").  How do I know which ones to pursue?

1. First eliminate those that really don't fit because of geographic focus, recipient organizations, or application policies.

• Geography: If the foundation's giving is limited to Indiana and Idaho, and your project is in Massachusetts, that source is not going to work for you.
• Applicant organizations: If the funder gives only to churches or K-12 schools, Bridgewater will not be eligible.
• Application policies: If they don't accept applications, or only accept applications from organizations known to them, this source is not worth pursuing.
• Deadline: If their deadline isn't until December, and your project starts in November, the timing won't work.

2. Now it's time for a closer look. What you're looking for is the best "fit."  Funders generally always fund the same kinds of projects. Look at how their giving compares to your project regarding:

• Amount of money: You might think that because the Ford Foundation typically gives grants in the $250,000+ range, surely they can give you a grant for $2,500 but that's not the case. Generally you're looking for a source that give grants in about the same $$ range that you're looking for.

• Fields of interest: If the funder is really focused on the environment, they are probably not going to be interested in a humanities project. (Sometimes, if the funder has multiple fields of interest, and your project aligns with two or more of them, you can get strong consideration. Projects incorporating both environment and education, for instance.)

• Type of project: If you are doing "hard" research, and your funder is interested in advocacy and outreach, the fit may not be good. Try to determine if the source is focusing on research, or public programming, or education, or advocacy, or something else.

• Types of organizations funded: The funder may tell you in their guidelines that they fund colleges and universities, when in fact they only fund elite private universities.

• Size/scope of project: Most large national foundations only fund projects of wide national significance. If their interest is in projects that can act as models or can have a broad impact, and your project aims to provide local services, it's probably not a good fit.

3. Past Projects Funded

While you can glean a lot of information from a funder's guidelines, the very best place to look is not at what they SAY they fund-but at what they really fund. There are several places to find information on past projects funded:

• Link on the foundation's/agency's website

• Annual Report-either on agency website or can be requested

• Guidestar.org: a FREE site where you can look at any foundation's IRS report, Form 990.

Once you have identified 3-5 sources that seem like really good fits, it's time to contact OGSP to begin getting the application in process. It might be appropriate to call a program officer at the foundation to get more information about their giving priorities, to get a preliminary invitation to apply, and receive important guidance about your proposal. OGSP can help you set up that call, and coach you through a good conversation with potential funders.

Don't forget: All requests for funding must go through either OGSP or the Office of Institutional Advancement. The earlier in the process you contact us, the more we can help.

Last Modified: July 29, 2009