This post is part of our NORDP 2016 Conference Reports. These reports capture the take-home points from a variety of sessions presented at the NORDP Annual Meeting in Orlando.
Session Scribe: Suzanne Lodato
Beyond the RFP: Ann Introduction to Diverse Methods and Resources for Identifying Funding
Presenters: Katie Keough, Christina Leigh Deitz, and Susan Clarke
Key points from the session:
- Both static (e.g., web pages on which information does not often change) and dynamic (e.g., regularly updated databases and lists) can be valuable tools for searching for funding opportunities.
- For cash-strapped institutions, an impressive number of free online databases, lists, and digests are available from federal agencies, foundations, scholarly societies, professional organizations, and others.
- Novel searching methods can be highly effective. Examples are:
cited reference searching using award announcements and lists to identify opportunities, investigating peer institutions and organizations, checking the membership lists of funder affinity groups, read annual reports, strategic plans, foundation 990 forms, etc.
What did you hear at this presentation that surprised you?
Although the presenters all subscribe to multiple lists and digests that sometimes overlap, they do not find overlapping listings to be a problem because they scan them quickly. The extra time it takes to scan duplicate listings is well worth the discovery of a good funding opportunity for their faculty.
What resources did you discover at this presentation?
The slides list numerous sources – both free and subscription-based. We did discuss Guidestar, a free online database containing information on non-profit organizations, including foundation 990 forms that often contain the names of grantees and grant amounts.
What else from this session should NORDP members know?
Move beyond your daily opportunity list and do some detective work. It will pay off in the end!
NORDP News 