What are Grants?
Grants are financial awards that support research and/or ideas. The world of grants is very competitive. Grantors (organizations that give money) usually give to specific projects and have strict guidelines that you must follow. In many cases, you will need to fill out a narrative (an essay) to get the grant, narratives to close out the grant, be able to provide itemized budgets, and file final reports. It can be a lot of work -- but it's usually worth it!
Because grants vary so greatly, it would be impossible to cover everything in one guide. Please use this guide as a starting point.
There are a plethora of books and subscription websites that promise grant opportunities and promise to make you a better grant writer, however, you can usually find the same information within the library or for free online.
The unfortunate truth is that a large number of paid resources are really just aggregators of freely available information. The main difference is that these companies spend a great deal of money on advertising, so you may be familiar with the company name. Free resources rarely advertise, so you may not know they exist.
Once you do find a grant, you will NEVER be asked for money to apply. Any grant application that asks you for upfront money is a scam and should be reported immediately.
Please note: this is not meant to discredit all paid resources. There are some excellent paid resources (e.g. Candid). The problem is telling the good from the bad without spending a lot of money.
Read about Grant Fraud & Scams here.
