Are you new to proposal writing or want a quick refresher?
This introductory class will provide you with an overview of the basics of writing a grant proposal for foundation funding.
It will include:
Are you new to the field of grant seeking? Discover what funders are looking for in nonprofits seeking grants and how to find potential funders in this introductory class. This class will cover the 10 most important things you need to know about finding grants, and you will have an opportunity to do some hands-on funding research using the Foundation Directory Online Professional database.
*Registration is limited to 16 participants. Please register only if you can attend*
Are you new to proposal writing or want a quick refresher?
This introductory class will provide you with an overview of the basics of writing a grant proposal for foundation funding.
It will include:
Potential applicants must review the Notice of Funding Opportunity, which covers project types, funding levels, applicant eligibility, application components, and review criteria, along with other important information. All applications must be submitted through the grants.gov Workspace. Approximately 16 grants will be awarded through this opportunity.
U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, state and local governmental agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments are eligible to apply. Eligible organizations include institutions of higher education. This program supports projects in three categories: Exhibitions (permanent, temporary, or traveling); interpretive programs at Historic Places; and Humanities Discussions related to “A More Perfect Union:” NEH Special Initiative Advancing Civic Education and Celebrating the Nation’s 250th Anniversary.
Libraries may be particularly interested in applying through the “Humanities Discussions” category. Proposed programs in this category should engage diverse public audiences with humanities resources such as historic artifacts, artwork, or documents, and should be anchored in perspectives presented by humanities experts as speakers, panelists, or discussion leaders, providing context and analysis of program themes. Projects may include, but are not limited to, symposiums, lecture series, reading and discussion programs, analytical discussions of museum collections or theater/musical performances, lifelong learning programs, or other methods of face-to-face audience engagement or informal education. The proposed series should occur over a period of three months to two years. Public Humanities Projects in any category must involve humanities scholars who contribute to all phases of the project.
The Public Humanities Projects program includes two funding levels: Planning and Implementation. Only Implementation awards are available for the “Humanities Discussions” category and such funding will not exceed $250,000. Planning awards in the other categories are typically funded up to $40,000 and Implementation awards in the other categories are funded within a range of $50,000 to $400,000.
As noted above, Public Humanities Projects proposals in the “Humanities Discussions” category must respond to the NEH area of interest, “A More Perfect Union:” NEH Special Initiative Advancing Civic Education and Celebrating the Nation’s 250th Anniversary. According to the Notice of Funding Opportunity, this agency-wide initiative will help Americans better understand the world’s oldest constitutional democracy and how our founding ideals are met in a modern, pluralistic society. As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, NEH encourages projects that promote a deeper understanding of American history and culture and that advance civics education and knowledge of our core principles of government.
Prospective applicants may contact the NEH program staff at 202-606-8269 or publicpgms@neh.gov to discuss potential projects and ask any questions about the application.
Are you new to proposal writing or want a quick refresher?
This class will provide you with an overview of how to write a standard project proposal to a foundation.
It will include:
On Friday, May 3rd, come to a panel discussion, “Tips from Library Grant Winners,” to hear from New Jersey librarians who have successfully applied for grants from a variety of funders. Kim T. Ha, Director of Pennington Public Library, Rebecca Sandoval, Technical Services Manager of Somerset County Library System, and Michelle Yeager, Director of Woodbury Public Library will share their personal experiences in applying for and managing grants at their libraries. Time: 10:00 to 11:30 A.M. Location: New Jersey State Library’s Talking Book & Braille Center, 2300 Stuyvesant Avenue, Trenton. Free. Click to register.
If you’re planning to attend the NJLA Conference, consider an early arrival to attend the preconference workshop on Wednesday, May 29 (10 A.M. to 1 P.M.), “What Makes a Proposal Great? Beyond the Basics of Grant Writing for Your Library.” Join Brittany Campese of Vision Driven Consulting for an interactive and engaging session that will review common grant jargon, discuss aspects of good (and not so good) grant proposals by reading actual applications, and practice crafting a compelling program pitch. Some prior experience with the grant writing process is recommended for attendance at this workshop. This workshop is co-sponsored by NJLA’s Administration & Management and Small Libraries Sections. See the NJLA Conference website for registration and pricing details.
Sponsored by the New Jersey Chapter of the Grant Professionals Association, the Mid-Atlantic Grants Conference might also interest library directors or anyone else seeking grant funding for libraries. This year’s conference starts off with a preconference session at 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, May 19th, followed by a full day on Monday, May 20th, 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., all at Caesar’s Atlantic City. Highlights will include luncheon keynote speaker, Susan Shiroma, Senior Social Sector Librarian at Foundation Center; a Funders Panel including Jeremy Grunin (Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation), Marsha Atkind (Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey) and Eddie Laporte (NJ Office of Faith-Based Initiatives); and such sessions as “Are You Grant Ready?,” “Performance Indicators,” and “Ethics in Using Data.” See the website for additional information and to register.
Are you new to proposal writing or want a quick refresher?
This class will provide you with an overview of how to write a standard project proposal to a foundation.
It will include:
NEA Big Read is a community reading program centered on one of 32 selections from the NEA Big Read list. An applicant to participate in the NEA Big Read must propose at least a month-long series of events and programs that are designed around one selected book.
Requested grant funds ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 “may be used for such expenses as book purchases, speaker fees and travel, salaries, promotion, and venue rental.” Grant cost share is required and must be matched on a 1:1 basis in nonfederal dollars.
Applicants must complete two steps specific to the federal grant application process. An applicant must know its organizational DUNS number. An organization may search for or request one through Dun & Bradstreet. Each applicant must also have a valid SAM (System for Awards Management) registration.
Several New Jersey libraries have received NEA Big Read awards over the last few years. Both returning and new applicants should be aware of a new application step instituted this year. As noted on the Guidelines and Application Instructions page, to start the process, an applicant must complete an online intent to apply form. After submitting the intent to apply form, an applicant will then receive a link to the full application. The application checklist (which includes a link to an offline application template in Word) will help keep applicants organized during the application process. NEA Big Read staff also developed a new “Survival Guide” to planning a community-wide reading program. The Survival Guide covers partnerships, marketing and promotion, and programming and events. Arts Midwest staff members are available to assist potential applicants by phone: (612) 238-8010 or by email: neabigread@artsmidwest.org.
Small and mid-sized libraries with humanities collections should consider applying for a Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions. Grant funds (typically up to $6,000) help institutions such as libraries, museums, and historical societies to “improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections. Humanities collections may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine art objects, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, historical objects, and digital materials.”
The application will become available on November 15, 2018 and is due on January 15, 2019. Similarly to the NEA Big Read application process, National Endowment for the Humanities requires an applicant DUNS number, a valid SAM registration and, in addition, a grants.gov registration. NEH staff members in the Division of Preservation and Access are available by phone: (202) 606-8570 and by email: preservation@neh.gov.
Thank you to Susan Shiroma, Senior Social Sector Librarian at Foundation Center New York, for teaching us about the six basic steps for developing a fundraising plan. During her presentation, Susan emphasized the importance of developing a case statement to describe why an organization deserves funding. She also explained that, to ensure sustainability, organizations need to have multiple revenue streams, including earned income. Class participants received tools to take home that they can use to assess their organization, set goals, and develop a fundraising plan.
For more information about fundraising planning, see the following links:
NJSL’s Nonprofit Management Research Guide – http://libguides.njstatelib.org/nonprofits
Into to Fundraising Planning recorded webinar – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WWgQ8nigfA
GrantSpace Topics: Fundraising – https://grantspace.org/topics/fundraising/
For fundraising related books, search the NJ State Library online catalog at the following link:
If you have any questions or would like to set up a one-on-one tutorial on how to use the library’s resources to research funding, please contact me at lclark@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 X 158.
Are you new to proposal writing or want a quick refresher?
This class will provide you with an overview of how to write a standard project proposal to a foundation.
It will include:
At the New Jersey Library Association Conference a couple of months ago, Kate Tkacik, Director of Network Engagement at Foundation Center, spoke about a free data tool which can assist libraries in their efforts to finding funding opportunities. By exploring the Visualizing Funding for Libraries data tool, libraries can “see who is funding library projects, analyze funder and library networks, and discover natural collaborators.” You can explore library funding data through maps, charts, and pathways, and other means. The data set includes foundation funding information from 2006 to the present.
A search in the data tool on grants received by libraries in New Jersey yields a result set of 1,246 grants given to 229 recipients from 294 funders worth a total of $47.8 million.
Digging deeper into the data will provide the specific names of the funders — foundations whose interests and mission might align with your library. The Visualizing Funding data tool is a great (free and easily accessible) way to start your grant research process.
After you’ve started your research in the Visualizing Funding data tool, you might wish to learn even more details about the grantmakers you’ve discovered. Your next step might be research into the Foundation Center’s premier database, Foundation Directory Online Professional (FDO). This database enables research through 140,000 grantmakers (including those who have funded libraries and those who haven’t) and provides detailed information on these grantmakers, including issued grants, funding interests, the application and RFP process, staff, and other details.
One thing to bear in mind: access to FDO Professional is by subscription only (unlike the Visualizing Funding data tool, which you can access from any browser). There are a number of New Jersey public libraries where you can access FDO Professional in person (but call ahead to confirm!): New Jersey State Library, Elizabeth Public Library, Hillsborough Branch of Somerset County Library System, Margaret E. Heggan Library and the Westampton headquarters of Burlington County Library System.
In addition to in-person access to Foundation Directory Online Professional, at the New Jersey State Library (at 185 West State Street in Trenton) you can also find grant writing resources in our print collection on Level Four. Business and Funding Information Librarian Leigh Clark can provide an orientation to FDO and to our grants-related collections during your visit. Contact Leigh via phone at 609-278-2640 ext. 158 or email at lclark@njstatelib.org.
Are you new to proposal writing or looking to learn more about the grant writing process? During this class, we will present a general overview of the proposal writing process including:
Additionally, we will take a closer look at how to apply to federal grants offered by agencies like the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) by showing you how to navigate Grants.gov Workspace. Resources on where to find prospective funders and additional grant writing support will also be shared.
