There are a lot of sources for technology grants for nonprofits out there. You just have to know where to look for it. But before that, you need to pay attention to several aspects of your project.
The first thing to do is to incorporate technology aspect to your organization’s annual strategic plan. After that, you should create a good technology grant proposal. However, you should never focus on the technology aspects alone. Focus more on the project’s mission and goals, and explain to the potential grant provider on how the technology can help the program in a better and more efficient way.
Technology Grants for Nonprofits
Another important aspect to your proposal is the budgeting. You should avoid submitting a proposal that requires the funder to provide 100% of the funds for Technology expenses. Submit a proposal with shared costs budgeting, and make sure you show that you are going to maximize your existing resources and make use of local community technology resources.
This way, you can be sure that you can cut some of the costs and save some money. You can go to your local community and ask for equipment donation or even software donation. In a way, you should really understand your current resources, your minimum requirements for the project, and also the future needs.
There’s a little secret that some grant seekers don’t know. For technology grants, sometimes your chance of getting the grant is bigger when you work together with your local organizations or projects that have the same interest and need. Creating a joint grant proposal is a great idea, because the grant provider will consider that their money is used for a good cause and reach more people.
Where to Find Technology Grants for Nonprofits
There are several places you can try. If you already know your target, you just go to Google and search for the exact name of the corporation, foundation, or state or national federal program. On the other hands, people who have no clue where to start looking for technology grants for nonprofits can try:
- Community Foundations
Although there are various national foundations that offer technology grants, the competition for it is quite fierce. Based on our experience, we notice that small to medium nonprofit organizations often have more luck with local or community foundations. These local foundations prefer local nonprofits to get their grants, because it will strengthen the community. That said, you should still submit your technology grant proposal to the national or state level foundations or corporations that offers this kind of grant.
- The Foundation Center and GrantStation
These two sites is a great source for individual or nonprofits looking for grant opportunities. The You should apply to become a GrantStation member to access the contact information for the grant providers. You can browse through companies and foundations to learn about their preference. Meanwhile, the Foundation Center is yet another great source for this kind of information. They are focused on the New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Cleveland. The directory is pretty big, and you can even do custom search for your technology grants for nonprofits.
References :
- Foundation Center – http://foundationcenter.org
- Grant Station – http://grantstation.com
- Community IT Innovators – http://communityit.com
- Grant Watch – http://grantwatch.com
- Image: work.chron.com, info.emilcott.com
