This week we were contacted by a longtime partner organization to ask if we can put together a webinar on corporate and foundation grant funding. Of course we will! While we focus a lot on federal grants, mainly because of their size and typically longer project periods providing the best return on your grant writing investment, corporate and foundation grants are well within our wheelhouse and expertise. In fact, my first foray into grant writing-specific professional development was earning a certification as a Corporate and Foundation Grants Specialist (mumble mumble) years ago.
Especially now that government grants aren't flowing, corporate and foundation grants can be a valuable source of funding that should not be overlooked. Understanding these funding sources, how to identify the right opportunities, and best practices for applying can help organizations weather the chaos in federal funding.
Most organizations start with corporate or foundation grants long before they begin pursuing state or federal funding. So, aside from the ROI, why do we focus so much on federal funding?
For the past 15 years, we've publicized federal funding opportunities every week and have focused our training efforts on federal grant writing because, if you can write federal grants, corporate and foundation grants are going to be relatively easy.
If we don't start seeing some movement on grants.gov soon, we're going to shift our weekly newsletter and biweekly articles to focus more on these funders. Ideally, we'd like to see a budget come out of DC in mid-March that includes the types of competitive discretionary spending we're all accustomed to, but we aren't holding our breath. And even if RFPs start publishing, we're pretty sure you're going to need some creative sources of bridge funding, especially if your work doesn't align with the current administration's priorities. Even if we see familiar competitions open, we're afraid the delays are going to snowball down competition timelines and leave tremendous gaps.
Understanding Corporate and Foundation Grants
Corporate and foundation grants come from distinct sources, each with unique characteristics.
Corporate Grants: Many corporations offer philanthropic support through corporate foundations, sponsorships, or direct contributions. These grants are often aligned with the company’s mission, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, or community engagement efforts. Corporations may prioritize funding projects that align with their business values, employee engagement opportunities, or branding strategies and typically have a geographic focus in the areas where they do business.
Foundation Grants: Foundations are nonprofit entities created to distribute funding to charitable organizations. These come in all shapes and sizes and can be private foundations or community foundations that pool resources to support local causes. Foundations typically have funding priorities based on their mission and giving history.
Identifying the Right Grant Opportunities
There is one definitive source for identifying foundation grant opportunities, corporate or private, and that is Foundation Center Directory Online (FIDO). Yes, this is a fee-based database and yes, it is worth every nickel. There are a number of other sites and sources out there, but in our decades of experience, go to FIDO. Many public libraries offer access for free. If you're just getting started, go see them.
If you are unfamiliar with FIDO, we touch on how to use it in our grant writing course and unlike the training provided by FIDO, we cover the platform's pitfalls and shortcomings. We'll be sure to include that content in the webinar we're developing as well.
As we'll cover in our deep dive into this topic, effective communication, public relations, and networking are often crucial to unlocking foundation funding. And, the scale and scope of your efforts need to be right-size for the funders you are courting. If we've started speaking Greek, grab our ebooks on strategic planning, communication planning and development planning. They'll get you ahead of the curve.
Help Us Help You
Tell us what you need. Seriously. As we're launching into developing a webinar specific to your corporate and foundation funding pursuits and looking at changing the focus of our weekly newsletter and biweekly articles, we want to provide the best information possible that specifically meets your needs. Blow up our inbox with questions, leave a comment below, reach out to us on Facebook or LinkedIn (yes, those are the only two social media platforms you'll find us on), leave us a voicemail, get in touch whatever way works best for you. We genuinely want to tailor the learning experience we're developing to you.
We’re going through a whole grieving process over here week after week as we deliver Grant Round Up nothingburgers. Right now, we’re still dumbfounded and mad, but we’re determined to see you through this.