Grant Sources

Listed below are organizations and websites we suggest you visit for guidance on how - and from whom - to obtain funding if your proposal does not meet Kirsch Foundation criteria.

Community-based organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area region:

• Silicon Valley Community Foundation - funding San Mateo and Santa Clara counties (from Daly City through Gilroy).
• San Francisco Foundation - funding the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo.
  
• East Bay Community Foundation - funding the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa.
  
  

Community health, special needs and human care organizations:

• ABLEDATA - A federally funded project whose primary mission is to provide information on assistive technology and rehabilitation equipment available from domestic and international sources to consumers, organizations, professionals, and caregivers within the United States.
  
• Grantseeking Basics for Individuals - A resource from The Foundation Center designed to help individuals seek out and identify potential sources of foundation funding.
  
• Michigan State University Library: Grants for Women - A comprehensive listing of funding opportunities including websites, databases, books, and announcements.
  
• Modest Needs - Helps link individuals who are normally self-sufficient but need one-time financial assistance to remain productive with donors and/or funding.
  
• National Eye Institute - Does not help individuals pay for eye care but provides a listing of programs and resources for obtaining funding for eye care purposes.
  
• Office of Justice Programs (OJP) - Provides three types of funding to state, local, and private agencies and organizations.
  
• Small, Minority and Women Owned Business - Offers links to resources for small, minority, women-owned and disadvantaged businesses.
  
• Technology Grant News - A website that offers information on ongoing grant opportunities focused on technology funding.
  
• United Way - supports the health and human care needs of local communities. Visit this site to find your local United Way chapter.
  
• The Women's Foundation of California - Funds non-profit organizations that work to improve the lives of women and girls.
  

Environmental organizations:

• The Energy Foundation - a partnership of major foundations interested in sustainable energy.
  
• Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund - one of its funds areas focuses on protecting the environment and another on stabilizing population growth.
  
  

Family foundations headquartered in San Francisco Bay Area:

• The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation - primary funding interests are in the areas of education, performing arts, population, environment, conflict resolution, family and community development, and U.S.-Latin American relations.
  
• The David and Lucile Packard Foundation - primary funding interests are in the areas of science, children, families and communities, population, conservation, arts, organizational effectiveness and philanthropy.
  
• Skoll Foundation - primary funding interests are in Silicon Valley community, focused on learning and education, philanthropy, micro-enterprise and technology.
  

Information on foundations and their grants areas:

• Council on Foundations - a nonprofit association of grant-making foundations and corporations
  
• The Foundation Center - a resource for grant-seekers and grant-makers that provides information on foundations and corporate giving. Also available at the Foundation Center Marketplace is the latest edition of "The Foundation Directory," a comprehensive listing of all active grantmaking foundations in the U.S.
  
• GrantStation - a resource for grant-seekers that provides access to a searchable database of grantmakers.
  
  

Scholarships & Loans

Education and Scholarship Information:

• Absolutely Scholarships - This site allows students to search the most comprehensive educational databases available for college scholarships.
  
• The Black Collegian Online - Offers a listing of information on fellowships, grants, and scholarships of interest to people of color.
  
• College Answer - This site helps you understand how to prepare for continuing education and the financial aid application process.
  
• Department of Veterans Affairs - Contains information about benefits for veterans including support for education.
  
• EStudentLoan.com - This site compares various loans and lets you apply online with lenders.
  
• FastWeb.com - This site helps in locating scholarship and loan money. Fill out a detailed questionnaire and the site finds scholarships that match your profile. Note: It contains many ads and special offers so be careful when checking boxes!
  
• FinAid.com - This site enables you to figure out the loan process and work with complex forms.
  
• The Foundation Center - This site provides information for the non-traditional or returning student.
  
• Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans -- College scholarships for U.S. military members who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since September 2001.
  
• Scholarships.com - A free college scholarship search, this site helps you create a personal education profile that will be matched to a database of over 600,000 college scholarship awards.
  
• Schools in the USA - Provides a database of state-administered financial aid.
  
• SimpleTuition - A free site with information on student loans, financial aid, loan consolidation, and a loan comparison tool.
• upromise.com - When you or designated family members make purchases at participating companies, 1% to 10% goes into a tax-free college fund.
  
  

Management & Other Resources for Nonprofits

Resources and Information
If you are working with a nonprofit organization and looking to improve your organization or simply want to learn more about the nonprofit world, we recommend the following resources:

Within California:

• CompassPoint Nonprofit Services - provides management tools and community service advice to San Francisco Bay Area nonprofits
  
• California Association of Nonprofits - a resource for nonprofits within California
• GrantsUSA - helps nonprofits connect with funding sources
  
  

In the environmental field:

• Environmental Grantmaking Foundations - a guide to foundations supporting environmental causes.
  
• The Foundation Center's Marketplace - a resource for grant-seekers and grantmakers that provides information on foundation and corporate giving. The Marketplace recently released a new edition of National Guide to Funding for the Environment & Animal Welfare that lists fundraising details such as giving priorities, contact names and sample grants.
  

International Focus:

• U.S. International Grantmaking - The redesigned and expanded U.S. International Grantmaking (USIG) website offers help to grantmakers who fund projects across international borders.
  
• International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) - their mission is to expand, enrich, and increase the effectiveness of grantmaking for international Indigenous development. IFIP offers a resource guide with information on more than 200 foundations that support grassroots organizations and Indigenous peoples, basic elements of an effective proposal, how to conduct foundation research, and more.
  

General information:

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy - a leading online newspaper for nonprofit environments. Also offered is The Careful Donor, a weekly guide on effective philanthropy.
  
• Community Foundation Locator - an online resource to finding the Community Foundation in your area.
  
• The Foundation Center's Guide to Grantseeking on the Web - Fee based access to information about resources and supplies available on the Internet.
  
• Foundation Grants to Individuals Online - fee-based access to searchable database for organizations that make grants to individuals to address a broad variety of needs, including educational and personal assistance.
  
• Grantcraft - a resource from the Ford Foundation offering free guides, videos, and case studies to promote effective grantmaking practices.
  
• Grants.gov - an online resource for information on more than 800 federal grant programs.
  
• GrantSmart - an interactive resource center about all charities, including private foundations.
  
• Grant Wrangler - a free grant index for K-12 teachers that makes it easy to search for grants by subject area, grade level, or grant name.
  
• Guide to Winning Proposals - a Foundation Center resource featuring twenty real-world grant proposals funded by some of today's most influential grantmakers.
  
• Innovation Network - a new resource for nonprofits and funders providing planning and evaluation tools.
  
• Seedco - a national community development intermediary that offers a free online "Toolkit for Developing a Social Purpose Business Plan" as well as small organization loans.
  
• Venture Philanthropy Partners - A revamped website, from Venture Philanthropy Partners, aims to strengthen nonprofits and inspire philanthropists, corporate and nonprofit leaders and policymakers by sharing information and experiences.
  
• Verizon Foundation Resource Center - offers online tools that give nonprofit managers access to national training partners and business resources.
  
• VolunteerMatch - an online recruiting service dedicated to helping everyone find a great place to volunteer.