Yesterday, I was scrolling through posts in one of the grant social media groups I belong to, and a new grant writer asked which grant finding tool she should use.
I use several tools (I list them all here in Grant Writing Resource), and I quickly read through the comments before I replied with a list of my favorites.
As expected, there is always one person who claims that they have won $X in grant funding without using a single tool. That isn’t impressive to me- it’s unwise.
When I first started writing grants 20+ years ago, none of these tools existed, and I had to discover grants the slow, tedious way- it was the only way.
Today, smart grant writers research the available tools and use the ones that make the most sense for them.
Here is how I decided which tools make sense for me…
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I discover grant opportunities in three main ways:
- Software platforms
- LinkedIn
- Sniping similar organizations
Since I am a freelance grant writer, I assume the cost of my tools and claim it as a business expense. If I were just getting started and didn’t have much to spend, I would subscribe to Grant Gopher. It is cheap, but it also isn’t very robust. When I find a grant on that platform, I have to verify the info because, many times, it is outdated and incorrect.
If you want to invest a bit more, GrantStation is phenomenal for grant research. You can create projects and save searches. It also has some features for managing your grant pipeline. I love it and use it as a main research tool. It is $699/year, but subscribers of Write Epic Grants get it for $95/year. If you don’t have the discount link, send me an email.
Once I began managing multiple clients and hundreds of grants, I needed a more robust tool to help me research grants and funders, add them to a calendar, send me deadline reminders, alert me to new project opportunities, and keep me organized. I subscribed to Instrumentl. It is pricey at $179/month (save $50 with promo code EPICGRANTS50), but it does everything I need. They offer a 14 day trial if you want to try it out.
When I set up a project, I enter all the details (demographics, grant size, funder type, location, etc), and this is what it generates:
330 GRANTS!! I can even upload a CSV with all my existing grants, and it will migrate them into the platform.
Since the platform stores the 990s in its database, it pulls all the relevant info I need to make a decision about applying for a grant (grant size, deadlines, key people, etc). Learn more about why I love 990s here.
If you work for a nonprofit, I suggest pitching some of these tools to your organization’s leadership. (Monday’s email will be about how to get your organization to pay for these tools.) Even though I am a freelancer, a few of my clients have paid for these tools because they understand their value.
Until next time,
Write Epic Grants