Grants mean Money!!
Money is fun to have, it gives you materials you need to distribute, and brings programs to your library. Money lets you do all the things that you want to do for your community.
So don’t be shy about asking for more money!! It’s a great tool you can use to turn into better materials and better service! Don’t your patrons deserve great stuff? Of course they do! So you need to grab some grant money and provide it!
This month we will be looking at Grant Writing and all kinds of resources you might use to find, write, and administer grants.
I’ll tell you the main secret right now: It’s not hard.
Whew! There we go, the big secret is out!
Grants take some time, yes. You need to be thoughtful in your application process, and in thinking through the work you can realistically do with the time and resources already available to you.
But the rewards can be great!!
So today we are starting by finding places to find grants. Finding them can be the hardest part, as there are tons of possibilities, so you can find things in all kinds of areas. Don’t get too seduced by the lure of money in all these areas; hone down to the ones that really fit your mission – the one you have now, or the one you are trying to develop.
Here are a few places you can start looking for grants:
- the ALA’s Grant website
- Scholastic keeps a running list
- Matthew Lesko has 100 free money sources for libraries, along with some advocacy information
- Michigan State created a list of tech grants for non profits
- This site collects links to all kinds of grants, many focusing on education
- Grants.gov collects all kinds of grants
- Here you will find a frequently-updated list of grants for K-12 programs, focusing on tech
- LibraryWorks has collected a bunch of grants
Browse around these sites. Search out more for yourself. Look at resources in your community. Identify a few possible grants that might work for your library.
The first step is important – and this is it!