Grants are a key source of support for most nonprofit organizations, particularly new organizations or those starting new programs. This guide, developed out of a series of seminars, helps grantseekers develop a strategic plan for finding funds for their programs.

Crack the Funding Code demystifies the world of angel investing, venture capital, and corporate funding and lays out a strategic pathway for any entrepreneur to secure funding fast. Lack of funding is one of the biggest reasons small businesses fail. In 2016 in the United States alone, more than 31 percent of small business owners reported that they could not access adequate capital, and the lack of capital prevented them from growing the business/expanding operations, increasing inventory, or financing increased sales. This book will show you how to find the money, create pitches that attract investors, and then structure fair, ethical deals that will bring them new sources of outside capital and invaluable professional advice. Crack the Funding Code gives you the broader perspective on: how funding works, how investors think, and what they need to hear to put their money where your mouth is. Every entrepreneur who reads this book will get easy-to-follow deal checklists, a roadmap of where and how to locate the best funding resources and top business mentors for their industry or geographical location, and a step-by-step process to create pitches that make their idea or business irresistible.

Previous Praise for Winning Grants Step by Step "Warning: this book works. It provokes you to ask the right questions, hand-holds you through practical exercises, and offers a map that includes paths to develop strategic relationships with funders." E. Eduardo Romero, Nonprofit Roundtable "Winning Grants Step by Step is a very practical A-to-Z resource that speaks to the importance of staying focused on your mission every step of the way. The third edition is artfully updated with words of wisdom from grantmakers themselves, as well as updates on the latest processes and buzzwords all grantseekers need to know." Heather Iliff, Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations "With solid advice and clear examples, nonprofit leaders will find it a page turner!" Clarence Hauer, senior director, strategy and organizational development, St. Louis Nonprofit Services Consortium "Winning Grants Step by Step is a gift to nonprofit organizations. The valuable insights and hands-on tools will instantly make any proposal more competitive." Alex Carter, Your Nonprofit Coach "Developing great grant proposals is essential for nonprofit leaders. Winning Grants Step by Step provides important guidance to those who are new to fundraising as well as to anyone who needs a refresher. This new edition of Winning Grants brings updated tips and vivid examples. As an experienced fundraising consultant, I believe it will help my clients and colleagues alike." Maria Gitin, CFRE, Maria Gitin & Associates "As an executive director, fundraising is on my mind every day. It's great to have a resource like Winning Grants Step by Step to use and share with my board, staff, and peers." Deborah Menkart, executive director, Teaching for Change

"An in-depth resource with an easy-to-understand format, Finding Funding brings the reader up-to-date with 120 newly researched Web sites to help grant seekers be more efficient and effective at writing successful government, foundation, and private grants. The authors focus on four main phases of grantwriting and administration: exploring grants, writing proposals, implementing programs and managing acquired funds, and closing out funded projects"--Publisher website (May 2008).

What goes on inside your grant reviewer's head? Understanding this is the key to avoiding rejection and getting your next grant funded. You may wonder...What is my reviewer really looking for? Did they reject my grant just because of politics? Why did one reviewer love my grant and another one hate it? How can I revise my grant to make it more fund-able? The answers lie within a four step process reviewers go through when they read your grant proposal - a process most reviewers aren't even aware they're doing. If you gloss over one of these steps - or worse, leave it out all together - your grant will be rejected, and you may get cryptic reviews back that don't explain why it was rejected or help you avoid another rejection. Four Steps to Funding gives you the simple process that will clarify your thinking, organize your proposal, and address reviewer objections before you submit your grant. Going far beyond the typical "word-smithing" and fill-in-the-blank examples of other grant writing books, 4 steps to funding gets into the mind of your reviewer and provides techniques for persuading him/her of the value of your work, your own credibility, and your approach. Written in an easy to read, engaging style, the concepts in this book are critical, for writing NIH or NSF grants. However, the concepts are easily applicable to Foundation, SBIR, or even business or non-profit proposals. It is your turn to crack the code, by learning the four steps that your next grant proposal must have in order to succeed. Your proposal will go beyond providing the facts and will get your reviewer excited about your work, and ready to fund it!

In the fifth edition of our essential Guide, author Jane C. Geever provides detailed instructions on preparing successful grant proposals. Incorporating the results of 40 interviews with grantmakers across the nation, the Guide reveals their priorities in reviewing submissions and provides insight into what makes a winning proposal. The Guide outlines the entire proposal-writing process: Pre-Proposal Planning Tips - This helps you decide when your nonprofit is ready to raise funds and determine how to best define your project. Components of the Proposal - Review actual cover letters, project descriptions, budgets, and examples of important follow-up communications with prospective donors. Guidance from Grantmakers - Interviews highlight new trends in grantmaking: preferred proposal formats, funder cultivation strategies, tips on re-submitting a rejected request, and on how to capture and sustain a grantmaker's interest. To illustrate key points, excerpts from successful grant proposals are inserted throughout the Guide. And a complete model proposal is included in the appendix. An updated bibliography features selected resources on proposal development, including web and print sources. A new chapter focuses on crafting an effective evaluation component, addressing the heightened interest in outcome-based assessment of funded projects. Book jacket.

This book reveals: * Where to to find investors and the best approaches to win their support * What investors are really looking for but won't tell you * How to persuade banks, business angels, VCs and public funders * Insider tips for compiling material that satisfies investors * Little-known strategies that will boost your success

Discover the targeted funding and resources available to support YOUR small business or ideaTarget Funding ensures that the struggle to obtain funds will never again come between you and your dreams.Too often, great business ideas fail to see the light of day because the entrepreneur doesn’t know how to secure the funding he or she needs. Until now. Target Funding proves you don’t need to be one of these would-be business owners or inventors. No matter what your idea might be, there is funding available to build a solid business or invention around it. Target Funding helps you obtain this and more—even if you have faced bankruptcy, exhausted all avenues, or feel like you are at your wit’s end.Kedma Ough is one of today’s most respected authorities on business funding and entrepreneurship and this practical guide reveals how to locate and secure the necessary funds and resources you need to launch, stabilize, or grow your business dream. She will open your eyes to the vast array of opportunities you didn’t know existed—and provides special insight into beneficial sources before you’re even left the gate. Target Funding takes you on a deep dive into:•The wide range of funding options available for any startup, including un-bankable ventures and independent inventors•Hundreds of vetted funding sources detailing features and eligibility requirements •A winning process for matching funding opportunities with your specific needs•Step-by-step guidance on how to approach funding sources, win them over, and convince them to provide the money you need•Real-life business funding stories that will motivate you to actYou'll learn about all the options available to you, including conventional, alternative, and diversity funding. You’ll find out how to access all of them based on your needs, demographic, industry, location, and other variables. Get started on your dream venture today! With Target Funding, you have a proven business-funding strategy to lift your company or invention off the ground and become a sustainable profit machine.