The library at your daughter's elementary school has about as many reading materials as a doctor's office waiting room—can you arrange for more books? Your neighbors work until 6:30, but school lets out at 3:00, leaving the kids with nowhere to go—can you start an after-school program? You've been active in a local organization, but need more money to do the job right, or tackle a new problem—where can you turn for help?

Whether you're an individual with an idea to help your community, or already at work on behalf of kids and families, you can make a difference. But not without adequate funding. Connect for kids has compiled some resources to help you.

If you have other resources or experiences to share, let us know. Send an e-mail to info@connectforkids.org.

Getting Funded: Advice from the Field
General Funding Resources
Grants by Topic

• Child Care and Out-of-School Time Programs
• Children's Health and Social Services
• Education and Literacy
• Arts and Education
• Financial Aid for College
• Technology
• Strengthening Communities for Kids and Families
• Juvenile Justice and Youth in Transition
• For Grantmakers

GETTING FUNDED: ADVICE FROM THE FIELD
The Fieldstone Alliance has created two toolkits to assist non-profit organizations with funding in difficult economic times: 20 Emergency Funding Sources for Nonprofits and 20 Cost Cutting Ideas for Nonprofits.

This NEA Today article offers timeless grant-writing tips from teachers who were successful in securing funding.

A successful child care provider shares her advice for getting the help—in-kind or in dollars—you need for a good program.

Stephanie Karr Dodson, executive director of the Child Crisis Center of El Paso, listed dozens of ways child-centered groups can raise funds or collect items making a difference to children. For instance, she said, keep wish lists of desired items so you are primed when a group or individual asks how they can help. Dodson has a "Hush Baby" list of sleep-related items, a "Squeaky Clean" list of cleaning supplies, an "Office Supplies" list and so forth.

Approach local employee groups about specific projects. In Dodson's experience, local UPS employees painted and fixed up two offices in her headquarters.

Finally, talk to anyone anywhere at any time. Dodson reports success appearing on local TV newscasts on slow news Sundays; the appearances are just another way Dodson has become a high-profile leader on behalf of kids. The crisis center just marked its 20th birthday. For more information, you can write Stephanie at skdod@aol.com.

For news from the world of donors—who's giving how much in support of what cause or institution—OnPhilanthropy puts out useful e-mail newsletters with links to articles from a wide range of news sources.Subscribe to one of five newsletters (fundraising, trends, corporations,technology, nonprofit jobs) by visiting the homepage and checking the newsletters you want to receive in the box on the right-hand side of the page.

According to the National Staff Development Council, funders are looking for proposals that reflect tough thinking and concrete plans. Here are some tips to make your proposals a success.

If you want to try an online fundraising campaign, Affinity Resources and Michael Stein have helpful advice.

FINDING FUNDING RESOURCES

CFK now lists Funding Alerts in Action Central

The Foundation Center is a nonprofit clearinghouse of information on foundations, corporate giving and related subjects. If you're looking for help with youth programs, check their timely list of RFPs.

Common application forms make it easier for smaller organizations to apply to state and local funders. The form for your state is online at the Foundation Center.

Network for Good is a nonprofit organization that uses the Web to help people find the right way to get involved with their communities. Be sure to visit the resources for nonprofits.

Yahoo! lists many foundations that support projects and programs to improve children's lives.

FundsNet catalogs corporate funding opportunities.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance has a database of all Federal programs, a good one-stop for all federal assistance programs and grant opportunities.

If you take the time to fill out and fax back the form on the White House faith-based initiative web site you will begin receiving emails about many grant opportunities.
Also, look at their guidance, grant proposal and resources sections.

Senator Lugar posts the Congressional Research Service's federal grants links on his website, to help constituents identify funders and opportunities.

The federal grants website, Grants.gov is designed to help nonprofits find, apply for and win federal grants by starting in one place.

If all else fails, try a search engine, like www.google.com to find grant makers appropriate for your program. Use a keyword like "grantmaking" along with a word that describes your program, like: literacy, juvenile justice or childcare.

GRANTS BY TOPIC

If you work on a certain issue or area, you can target the donors who focus on that field. Here's a list of resources to get you started. We're updating this regularly, so please bookmark it and check back soon. Got a resource to share? Send it to info@connectforkids.org.

Child Care and Out-of-School Time Programs

• The National Child Care Information Center has gathered a list of funding sources and ideas for funding child care.
• Afterschool.gov is a one-stop resource for information on federal funding sources.
• The Finance Project publishes brief reports that outline good strategies for sustaining, stretching and finding dollars for out-of-school and child care programs.
• The PNC Foundation has a new initiative to support Head Start centers and early learning for school readiness. Grants will be made primarily in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky and Delaware.
• Youth Action Net, a website for youth-run programs gives tips for fundraising and a list of current grants.

Children's Health and Social Services

• Find out if you are eligible for federal funding and how to apply in the GrantsNet section of the Department of Health and Human Services.
• The Maternal and Child Health Bureau administers many federal programs to improve child and family health.
• The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools posts current funding opportunities and links to funding sources.
• The Community Toolbox for Children's Environmental Health offers small grants to community-based organizations each year.

Education and Literacy

• For a price, GrantsAlert has a database of corporate, foundation and other funding sources, especially for education programs, to help you identify appropriate funders.
• FundsNetServices lists RFPs from government and foundation grantmakers every week.
• First Book disseminates books for low-income kids to keep.
• The non-profit Literacy Empowerment Foundation works to meet the needs of literacy programs in a variety of ways, including distributing over 2 million free books to schools and literacy programs during the school year.
• For $35 a year, you can get the School Grants biweekly newsletter with news on funding opportunities.
• Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) makes it easy to find teaching ideas, learning activities, photos, maps, primary documents, data, paintings and sound recordings from more than 35 federal organizations covering thousands of topics.
• Find your state contact for the U.S. Department of Education to look for local funding opportunities.
• School Funding Services is a resource to find funding for organizations that provide academic products and services to schools, or work on behalf of education.

Arts and Education

• The National Endowment for the Arts makes grants to programs serving children, as artists and as audience.
• The Endowment also lists the State Councils for the Arts, which in turn provide grants to local artists and organizations.
• The Americans for the Arts Directory database can help your find your local or state arts agency.

Financial Aid for College

• The U.S. Department of Education has information on how to get on the college track, and find help with tuition.
• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the only application one must complete to be considered for federal financial aid. Most state and many private funding sources also require a completed FAFSA as part of their application process, so it's a good idea to complete the FAFSA even if you don't think you are eligible for federal aid.
• If you are college-bound, FastWeb can help you match your goals, hobbies, interests, and background with scholarship opportunities. Be advised that FastWEB collects and sells student information (such as name,address, e-mail address, date of birth, gender, and country of citizenship) collected through their site.
• Students with learning disabilities can get advice on financial aid options from LDOnline.

Technology for your School or Program

• If you're addressing the digital divide, visit the Digital Divide Network's funding resources.
• eSchool News School Funding Center has frequently updated information on grant programs and funding sources especially for funding education technology.

Strengthening Communities

• Youth Service America can help you recruit volunteers or identify funding sources for your youth and community service programs.
• The Foundation Center lists local community foundations that support projects close to home and local public charities that support specific community efforts.
• Fundsnet Online Services is a comprehensive soruce of information for nonprofit organizations,colleges and universities on upcoming grant deadlines and foundations that fund arts, children and youth and other areas of effort.
• The Corporation for National and Community Service offers funding and an easy to use eGrant service.
• The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse lists opportunities such as awards, grants and scholarships for service-learning related causes.

Juvenile Justice and Youth in Transition

• The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Funding Web site lists current funding opportunities available from the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). Also, look at the Other Federal Funding section.
• Find your OJJDP state contact (category: Juvenile Justice Specialist) to apply for local grants or check out the OJP's state contact information.
• The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) provides funding to local communities to support young people, particularly runaway and homeless youth, and their families through three grant programs.
• Youth For Justice offers two grant opportunities for Law-Related Education programs in school, community or juvenile justice settings, as well as other funding opportunities.
• The National Youth Court Center offers links, resources, and tools to assist youth courts in seeking funding.
• The National Criminal Justice Association provides a list of funding sources.

For Grantmakers

• There are several grantmakers' associations designed to bring grantmakers together to learn about how to be more effective, network, exchange information and analyze different strategies. Grantmakers for Children and Grantmakers for Education focus specifically on youth program funders.
• The Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement and the Neighborhood Funders Group are targetted toward community-based efforts.
• The Independent Sector is a coalition of nonprofits, foundations and corporations.

In January 2004, Connect for Kids hosted a TalkTime Live! Web chat on effective strategies for finding nonprofit funding for children's programs. Take a look at the advice-filled transcript.