Where can I find international grants for a non-profit that does development work in Guatemala?
I am a volunteer for a non profit Seeds of Help and I’d like to start writing grants to raise money. We focus on international development and women’s education. I have tried grants.gov but find it overwhelming. Any and all suggestions and help would be great. Our website is www.seedsofhelp.org to give you more of an idea of our projects.
Thanks in advance!
Good for you! This is a great thing you are doing. The best national listing of foundations that make grants are at http://foundationcenter.org/. There is a fee to access the information if I am not mistaken. Also, writing grants requires a little training and alot of homework. Try googling Executive Service Corps and see if they have branch in your area. They are a nonprofit that often have classes or tutoring on how to write grants. If they don’t pan out, call the local United Way and ask who offers grant writing classes. I strongly reccomend you learn the grantwriting process before you try because there are many common mistakes you can avoid (too many to discuss here) by knowing the game. Lots of people write grants, only those who know the game get them funded. Unfortunately, if you write a grant and make a mistake it will reflect poorly on your organization and maybe even jeopardize the organizations ability to get future grants from that foundation. So be sure you have their support and approval before writting and submitting a grant application. Its serious stuff, but do your homework and it will pay off.