Books and Periodicals

There are not many good books written specifically for nonprofits on how to obtain government grants. Most of the books listed in the Resource Section of the Foundation Chapter would apply.

The Grantsmanship Center Magazine. This free quarterly publication of the Grantsmanship Center provides summary information on Federal Grants. Each issue contains information from the Federal Register on new grant programs, application deadlines, and citations on new publications on Federal grants. There are also many interesting articles on government funding issues. To subscribe, go to www.tgci.com.

Directories and Research Tools

A Guide to Funding Resources, U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, Nationa Agricultural Library, Rural Information Center Publication Series, September, 1997. This guide reviews governmental and private funding sources that are available to local government, small businesses, organizations, and individuals. It is available free from the Rural Information Center at (800) 633-7701.

Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection. This publication is now a searchable database that allows you to locate, free of charge, federal grants for a variety of topics including source water protection and watershed management. The Catalog can be accessed by going to www.epa.gov/owow, and entering the above title in the “search” box.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, U.S. General Services Administration. This is a comprehensive catalog published twice a year that lists all sources of federal assistance (financial and technical). The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is available in hardcopy for $72 from the Government Printing Office (202-512-1800). You can get it on floppy diskettes or CD-ROM (both easier to search than the hardcopy version) by calling (202) 708-5126. It is also available at depository libraries and you can access it electronically at www.cfda.gov.

Directory of Funding Sources for Grassroots River and Watershed Conservation Groups, River Network, 2003. This directory, available to Partners as a searchable database, includes profiles of potential private, corporate, and federal funding sources for river and watershed groups.

Paying for Dam Removal: A Guide to Selected Funding Sources. This publication describes nearly 100 federal and state programs that can be used to finance dam removal and associated river restoration, as well as other kinds of projects such as habitat enhancement, recreation, riparian restoration and water quality improvement. It also provides information on other sources of funding, cost considerations, and several successful projects. It is available free from American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Ave, #720, Washington, DC 20005. Call (202) 347-7550 or check the web site, www.americanrivers.org, under “Toolkits.”

Watershed Resource Directory. This online, searchable directory of funding sources created and maintained by the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) at Boise State University includes information on funding programs available for federal, state (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska), private and other funding sources. While it is designed specifically for groups in the Northwest, much of the information it contains is applicable nationwide. The list of federal grant programs is particularly good. Go to http://efc.boisestate.edu/watershed/.

Training Opportunities

The Grantsmanship Center, 1125 W. Sixth St., Fifth Floor, P.O. Box 17220, Los Angeles, CA 90017, (213) 482-9860, www.tgci.com, specializes in providing practical training in both foundation and government grantsmanship. See Resources in Foundation Chapter for full write up.

EPA Grantwriting Tutorial: go to www.epa.gov/seahome and click on EPA Grant Tutorial. Created in association with Purdue University, this free, on-line, go-at-your-own-pace course is designed to teach proposal writing skills to nonprofit fundraisers. While it places an emphasis on government funding, many of the lessons can be applied to other types of funders.

Web Sites

We have tried to choose some of the best sites out there from the plethora of sites available. The sites below are ones that we think will be around for awhile, offer free or very low cost resources, and are well managed and frequently updated.

cfpub.epa.gov/fedfund/
The Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection website is a searchable database of financial assistance sources (grants, loans, cost-sharing) available to fund a variety of watershed protection projects. To select funding programs for particular
requirements, use either of two searches. One is based on subject matter criteria, and the other is based on words in the title of the funding program.

www.access.gpo.gov
This is the Government Printing Office web site. Click on Library Services to get into the resources section, and then search for
specific documents, such as the Federal Register, under “core documents."

www.cfda.gov
This great site, the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, not only helps you locate grant programs that might fund for your project, but also contains good information on how to obtain government grants.

www.Firstgov.gov
This site has a wealth of information for nonprofits on all aspects of government, including links on “Fundraising and Outreach” and “Grants, Loans and Other Assistance."

www.grants.gov
This new web site offers one-stop shopping for information on applying for all federal grants.

www.house.gov/pelosi/crs1036.htm
This site, created by Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi in response to the requests from constituents for information on how to obtain funds, contains lots of detailed information on government grants and is quite useful. Hopefully, Nancy will be reelected and it will stay around for awhile!

www.richardmale.com
This web site has a great article entitled “Raising Funds from the Federal Government: the Pros and Cons and How to Write the Proposal” by Jay Katz. Click on “articles” and then on “Government Articles”.

www.tgci.org
The web site of the Grantsmanship Center contains many useful articles on different aspects of government funding. Click on the Grantsmanship Center Magazine archive of articles and then on “government funding."

www.dec.state.ny.us
If you go to this web site and click on “Programs” and then on “Division of Water," you will find a very nice publication entitled “Funding Sources and Tips on Grant Applications for Watershed Protection and Restoration” put together a few years ago by dedicated state employees.