Grants Research Guide

Looking for funding for research? Begin your research with publications from the Foundation Center, of which there are many.

Foundation Directory Online Professional

The most comprehensive access to foundation grant information at Ohio University is through the Foundation Directory Online Professional, which is available to all campuses of Ohio University. It has four main components:

1. Grantmakers Search
2. Companies Search: find grantmakers associated with commercial companies
3. Grants Search
4. 990 Search: database of over 230,000 Forms 990, the annual information returns that grantmakers must file with the Internal Revenue Service

Foundation Center Online

The website of the Foundation Center complements the Foundation Directory Online Professional. The site explains the grant process and offers reference guides and newsletters. A few favorite pages:

Foundation Finder
A brief entry for each of the foundations in the Foundation Directory Online Professional. Offers less info than Foundation Directory Online Professional, and only name and geography searching.

Reference Guides
Lists of titles of online and paper information sources for special topics and populations, such as musicians or minorities. Check the paper sources in ALICE to see whether OU owns them.

Statistics pages
Data from the Foundation Center's extensive collection, for example, funding by subject area and year.

PND: Philanthropy News Digest
A free online periodical about the world of fundraising.

Catalog of Nonprofit Literature:
"A searchable database of the literature of philanthropy. It incorporates the unique contents of the Foundation Center's five libraries." The Catalog was formerly known as Literature of the Nonprofit Sector (LNPS).

Next, go the web site for the university’s office of research:

Ohio University's Office of the Vice-President for Research

Pages and pages of just what you need to know about finding and managing a grant at OU, including local and outside sources of funding, how-tos, local forms, and tracking.

Of interest: Click on the "Funding" tab to find sources of possible grants, including:

Internal Awards
Sources managed by Office of Grant Writing and Projects

Grant Advisor Plus (available only on campus)
Similar to SPIN, mostly government funding sources. Includes opportunities organized by deadline and discipline. Provided by the VP for Research.

InfoEd's International SPIN database (available only on campus)
Database of research money. The database is searchable using keywords, Sponsor name, Award type, Applicant Type, Geographic Region, and/or Deadline Date. Similar to FC Search, but this resource concentrates on government funding, with only a few foundations. Includes an alert service. Provided by VP for Research. More info at www.ohiou.edu/orsp/spin.htm

ORSP grant announcements
ORSP sends these e-mail announcements of current opportunities each month. This is the link to the web-available archives.

Other Grants Websites

Grants and Related Resources
This guide from Michigan State University includes large lists of grants sources, disicussion groups, charities, associations, business advice, etc. The grant sources will also be found in the Foundation Directory Online Professional, in SPIN, and in Grnd Advisor Plus, which is why we're not keeping our own lists.

Reference Books on Funding Sources

Below is a partial listing of recent books; to see a complete list, search ALICE using these subject headings:

• Federal aid to…
• Fund raising
• Grants-in-Aid
• Proposal writing for grants
• Proposal writing in…
• Research grants
• Block grants
• Endowments

Annual register of grant support. (Annual) Chicago [etc.]: Marquis Academic Media, Marquis Who's Who.
Location: Latest edition in Alden 2nd Fl Reference
Call Number: AS911.A2 A67.

Awards, honors, and prizes. (Annual) Detroit : Gale Research Co., [1969]-
Location: Latest edition in Alden 2nd Fl Reference
Call Number: AS8 .A93.

Catalog of Federal domestic assistance. (Annual) Washington, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget.
Location: Govt. Docs. Reserve Alden 5th Fl & World Wide Web www.cfda.gov/
Call Number: PrEx 2.20:

Directory of grants in the humanities. (Annual). Phoenix, AZ : Oryx Press.
Location: Latest edition in Alden 2nd Fl Reference
Call Number: AZ507 .D57x

Directory of research grants. (Annual). Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.
Location: Latest edition in Alden 2nd Fl Reference
Call Number: LB2338 .D57

Financial aid for research and creative activities abroad. (Biennial). San Carlos, Calif. : Reference Service Press.
Location: Latest edition in Alden 2nd Fl Reference
Call Number: LB2337.2 .F574

Financial aid for study and training abroad. (Biennial). San Carlos, Calif.: Reference Service Press.
Location: Latest edition in Alden 2nd Fl Reference
Call Number: LB2337.2 .F576
Note: "A list of scholarships, fellowships, loans, grants, awards, and internships for study and training abroad; an annotated bibliography of financial aid directories; and a set of five indexes: title, organization, geographic, subject, and deadline." Companion publication to: Financial aid for research and creative activities abroad.

Foundation grants to individuals. (Biennial). New York : Foundation Center.
Location: Latest edition in Alden 2nd Fl Reference
Call Number: LB2336 .F596x

Government assistance almanac. (Annual). Washington, D.C.: Foggy Bottom Publications.
Location: Latest edition in Alden 2nd Fl Reference
Call Number: HC110.P63 G69.

The Grants register. (Biennial). Chicago : St. James Press.
Location: Latest edition in Alden 2nd Fl Reference
Call Number: LB2338 .G7

The International foundation directory. (Annual). Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research Co; London : Europa Publications.
Location: Latest edition in Alden 2nd Fl Reference
Call Number: HV7 .I56
Note: Complemented by: The international directory of corporate philanthropy.

Money for graduate students in the biological sciences. El Dorado Hills, Calif. : Reference Service Press, 2007-
Location: Latest Edition in Alden Library 2nd floor Reference
Call Number: LB2337.2 .M653.

Money for graduate students in the health sciences. El Dorado Hills, Calif. : Reference Service Press, 2007-
Location: Latest edition in Alden Library, 3rd floor Health Reference
Call Number: LB2337.2 .M6532.

How to write a grant or a research proposal

The websites mentioned above include many pages about writing grants. You will also want to look at books. Here are a few recent titles:

Browning, Beverly A. Grant writing for educators: practical strategies for teachers, administrators, and staff. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2004.
Location: Alden Library, 6th floor
Call Number: LB2342.4.U6 B76 2004x.

Burnett, Ken. The Zen of fundraising : 89 timeless ideas to strengthen and develop your donor relationships. [Melrand, France] : White Lion Press ; San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass, c2006.
Location: Alden Library, 6th floor
Call Number: HG177 .B876 2006.

Craswell,Gail. Writing for academic success: a postgraduate guide. London; Thousand Oaks, Calif. : SAGE, 2005.
Location: Alden Library, 6th floor
Call Number: LB2369 .C73 2005x.

Henson, Kenneth T. Grant writing in higher education: a step-by-step guide. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, c2004.
Location: Alden Library, 6th floor
Call Number: LC241 .H46 2004.

Karsh, Ellen and Arlen Sue Fox. The only grant-writing book you'll ever need. 2nd ewd. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2006.
Location: Alden Library, 6th floor
Call Number: HG177.5.U6 K37 2006

Liberatori, Ellen. Guide to getting arts grants. New York : Allworth Press, c2006.
Location: Alden Library, 3rd floor, Fine Arts
Call Number: NX705.5.U6 L53 2006.

Miner, Jeremy T. and Lynn E. Miner. Models of proposal planning & writing. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2005.
Location: Chillicothe
Call Number: HG177.5.U6 M558 2005.

United States. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Developing competitive SAMHSA grant applications. [PDF file] [Rockville, Md.] : U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, [2007]
Location: WWW
Call Number: electronic book