Why Grant Research Is the Foundation of Fundraising
Grants are one of the few funding sources that don't require you to give up equity, repay principal, or dilute your mission. But the competition is real: federal agencies like the Department of Education and USDA receive tens of thousands of applications each cycle, and private foundations often fund fewer than 5% of requests they receive. The organizations that succeed aren't necessarily the ones doing the best work—they're the ones that found the right grants and submitted applications that matched what funders were looking for.
This guide covers the major places to search, how to assess your eligibility before investing hours in an application, and how to write a letter of inquiry that gets your foot in the door.
The Major Grant Databases
Grants.gov
Grants.gov is the federal government's official portal for all grant opportunities from U.S. federal agencies. It lists opportunities from more than 26 grant-making agencies, including HHS, HUD, the Department of Education, EPA, and USDA. You can search by agency, category (arts, education, environment, health, etc.), eligibility type, and closing date.
One limitation: the interface was not designed with small nonprofits in mind. Federal grants tend to have complex reporting requirements, matching fund obligations, and multi-year performance periods. They're well-suited to organizations with dedicated grants staff or prior federal experience. If you're a newer organization, start with state and local grants while you build your capacity.
Foundation Directory Online (Candid)
Candid's Foundation Directory (formerly Foundation Center) is the most comprehensive database of private foundation giving in the United States. It includes 140,000+ foundations and their grant histories, which lets you see exactly who a funder has supported and for how much. The paid tiers (starting around $59/month) are worth it for organizations actively seeking foundation support—being able to read actual grant descriptions from past awards tells you more about a funder's priorities than their website ever will.
State Grant Portals
Every state has its own grant programs administered through agencies covering arts, housing, workforce development, health, and more. These are often less competitive than federal grants and carry fewer administrative burdens. Search for your state's name plus "grants portal" or visit your state legislature's appropriations page to find current-year allocations.
Community Foundation RFPs
Community foundations in major metro areas run grant cycles several times a year, often with straightforward applications (under 10 pages) and faster turnaround than federal programs. They tend to prioritize local impact, so if your work is geographically focused, a community foundation should be near the top of your list.
Checking Eligibility Before You Apply
Reading through a full grant application package before confirming you're eligible is one of the most common time wasters in nonprofit fundraising. Before you draft anything, confirm these five things:
- Organization type: Many grants restrict eligibility to 501(c)(3) organizations, while others accept fiscal sponsorship arrangements. Some federal programs require you to be registered as a nonprofit in your state for a minimum period (often two years).
- Geographic scope: State grants typically require you to serve residents of that state. Federal place-based programs like CDBG target specific census tracts or counties. Confirm your service area matches the funder's geography.
- Program focus: Funders publish priority areas for a reason. A foundation that funds workforce development is not going to fund your capital campaign, even if the application is excellent. Match your program to the funder's stated priorities, not the other way around.
- Budget size: Many foundations have informal (and sometimes explicit) grant ranges based on the applicant's annual operating budget. A funder that typically awards $25K–$100K grants is unlikely to fund a $2 million organization's general operations.
- Previous relationship: Some foundations require a letter of inquiry before you can submit a full proposal. Others are invitation-only or fund only organizations they've supported before. Check the funder's website carefully before cold-applying.
Writing a Letter of Inquiry That Gets Read
A letter of inquiry (LOI) is usually a one-to-two-page document that introduces your organization and project to a funder. Its purpose is to get invited to submit a full proposal—nothing more. Most funders receive far more LOIs than they can fund, so brevity and clarity matter.
An effective LOI covers four things in about 500 words:
- The problem: State the issue your program addresses, with one or two data points that establish scale or urgency. Avoid jargon.
- Your solution: Describe what you do in concrete terms. How many people does your program serve? What does the program actually look like day to day?
- Why you: What makes your organization the right one to address this problem? Years of experience, community trust, a specific methodology—whatever differentiates you from other applicants.
- What you're asking for: State the amount you're requesting and what it will fund. Funders appreciate specificity here: "$40,000 to fund one program coordinator and materials for 120 participants over 12 months" is more useful than "$40,000 for general program support."
Using a Grant Matching Tool
Manually reviewing dozens of grant databases is time-intensive, and it's easy to miss opportunities that aren't well-indexed. Tools like FindGrants work differently: you input your organization's profile—org type, focus areas, service states, budget range, populations served—and the engine scores every grant in the database against your profile to return ranked matches. This saves the research phase and surfaces grants from federal agencies, state programs, and foundations that match your specific criteria.
The scored output also helps you prioritize: rather than working through a list of 200 vaguely relevant grants, you can focus on the 15–20 with the highest alignment to your organization's actual characteristics.
Building a Grant Calendar
Grant cycles follow predictable patterns. Federal programs typically open in the fall or winter with spring deadlines. Foundation grant cycles vary but often have two rounds per year. Tracking your target funders' deadlines in a simple calendar—even a spreadsheet—keeps you from discovering a high-priority opportunity a week before it closes.
A functional grant calendar includes the funder name, deadline, estimated award amount, application requirements (LOI vs. full proposal), and a 30-day prep reminder. That's enough to stay ahead of most cycles without over-engineering the process.
The Bottom Line
Finding grants for your nonprofit comes down to knowing where to look, confirming you're eligible before you invest time, and writing clearly about what you do and why it matters. The organizations that consistently win grants aren't doing anything magical—they're doing systematic research, submitting applications that are genuinely aligned with funder priorities, and building relationships with program officers over time. Start with the databases above, get your eligibility filter in place, and let your program results do the heavy lifting in the narrative.