Run or Start a Non-Profit: How To Look for Funds

There are literally thousands of foundations out there to choose from. If you are a semi-experienced researcher you know that locating a resource that may fund your venture is a time consuming venture. Many up and running foundations hire an individual or individuals responsible for going out and procuring funds. If you are small organizations, which most are, this type of individual is not exactly in the budget at the moment. Let me introduce you to Community Foundations/Trusts.

Community Foundations/Trusts have been around for some time and are not a new phenomenon to the non-profit landscape but are over looked as resources for grant seekers that are looking to assist in solving a community need or searching for scholarships for your children to go to college. I would like to give you a quick overview into what they do as more than likely; there are a few in your area.

By definition, they are an instrument used to pool donations into a coordinated grants making facility primarily to the social improvement of a given place. There are hundred of them across the country and in most major cities or states. They go by names such as the New York Community Trust or the Hawaii Community Foundation for example. Philanthropists and individuals will make a donation to the pool of funds and have the choice of what the funds will be used for. Youth development, elderly and scholarships are usually typical choices but there are normally many others. They also are looking to keep the funds within a specified geographic area and normally that area is within the community where the foundation is physically located.

What this means is that if you are currently running or looking to start up a not for profit organization, there is a large pool of funds that you may be able to tap into that are right in your home town or state. Typically this is a good starting point because the funds will directly benefit individuals in that local community and the donors will see benefits right in their city.

I am all about community and bettering yourself and those around you. I would highly recommend locating your local Community Foundation/Trust and be aware of what the concerns are of your local community. This could help you focus your objectives as you would then know that there are funds available and for what purpose. If you are having trouble locating the one in your area, here is a link to web site that can assist you:

http://www.cof.org/Locator/