Where to Look for Grant Money!

The Foundation Center

The Foundation Center is one of the oldest  professional organizations for grant makers and grant seekers. Their website offers a free online database of grants organizations, private and public. You can do key-word searches to find possible funders for your project. There are more opportunities than ever for individuals seeking support for writing and publishing projects. The Foundation Center's website is filled with resources for the fund-seeker...tips on developing proposals, listings of RFPs (requests for proposals), and the kind of information that can inform the beginner. If you want to dig deep, you might want to go for the subscription option, but poke around for free to start.

When I began writing grant proposals over 30 years ago, grants for individuals were rare. Today there are more and more opportunities for the creative individual to access funding for projects, either through grants from public or private foundations, or through social media powered crowdfunding applications. We live in an entrepreneurial society, and if we're willing to think like entrepreneurs, we can realize our creative goals. I say goals instead of dreams, because a goal is an outcome we expect to reach, a dream is a place we go when we're asleep.

How do you Win a Pulitzer?

We're all Just Bozos on the Bus!

Several wise people have said this or repeated the sentiment. Yes, in many ways we are just that. There is no private club for those who are destined to outshine, out-win, out-succeed everyone else. The secret society members are those who were not afraid to ask. They know that if you don't ask the answer is no. They know that if you don't listen to your heart, follow your dreams, write the way you feel and about what you believe passionately, you won't be happy and therefore you won't succeed. The ultimate success is happiness, but it's also nice to earn recognition or cash, or both, along the way.

So how do you win a Pulitzer, or any other prize or reward for your writing?

A man by the name of Gilbert King went from writing about Mr. Potato Head to crafting an award-winning story about racial injustice. Then he won the Pulitzer Prize. Of course, and a lot happened in between: He worked, read, worked, thought, worked some more, wrote, worked more, made connections, worked, and pitched his work. Pretty much the way we all do it.

Here's the story about Gilbert's journey to getting what he never thought possible. He knew he was just one of us; he also knew he had a story to tell about racial injustice. The rest unfolded along the way. Here's the story about how Gilbert King decided to go for broke and wound up with a Pulitzer Prize:

Gilbert King on How to Win a Pulitzer Prize...

You're probably just be one of us bozos too, plodding your way through the next chapter, but victory might also be yours.

Awards & Grants & Prizes List

Must-have Publication

Poets & Writers' Contests, Grants, and Awards Database

Poets & Writers magazine offers a database filled with current opportunities for writers seeking recognition and/or money to help support their work. Check out their online presence. I also have subscribed to this publication for years and it is my personal favorite for resources, ideas, input from professionals, and all-around support for the often lonely habit of writing.

Some contest and award programs require an entry fee; some do not. I suggest setting a budget for entering fee-based writing contests for the year and choosing carefully and sticking to the budget.

In the back of every issue are listings of these opportunities and of retreats, fellowships, workshops, and agents and publishers seeking new work. Each issue has a theme related to the work of writing both fiction and non-fiction, novel-length and short stories, essays and articles. For new writers, this is the place to dip your toes and whet your whistle...read what agents and publishers have to say about their field.

If you're looking for support or recognition, this is a good place to begin. Their online database currently lists 80 writing contest and award deadlines between May 15 and July 15.

A Few Good Tips

Are you losing out on possibilities to help fund your writing project? Are you stuck on the idea that if you don't snag an agent who will win you the big deal with the big publisher you will never publish your work? Do you need a room with a view and a table and a few months to get your worthwhile writing project finished? There are ways to find money, time, and a quiet place to write. There are also avenues through which you can find funding to publish your book, or publish a book you believe in. Can you put into words why you should receive funding, a place and the time to finish your project, or backing for your publishing project? I bet the answer is 'yes' on at least one of those counts or you wouldn't be reading this. 

Here are a few tips on where to look for funding for writing/publishing projects for the individual or the small press:

1. Don't just look for funders in the literary field, look for funders also in the field in which you are writing/publishing about.  Is it an environmental story? A self-help book for addicts? A memoir about someone who overcame dyslexia?  Look also for funders in those fields.
2. Do you know there are thousands of Crowdfunding programs? Research crowdfunding strategies and read about crowdfunding success stories.
3.  Write a powerful one-pager about your project. Include who will benefit from the book, who will buy it, why you wrote it (or are writing it), and why you are qualified. You will be able to use this one-pager in all kinds of fundraising situations. You will be able to use it to sell your book.

The art of winning grant money and fundraising is a mystery to many. Most of us assume that you have to be a non-profit organization providing charitable services for the needy, a public service television or radio station, or a church to raise donations for a worthy project. While all of those organizations do in fact have access to billions of dollars in grants money and  charitable donations, there are today a growing number of opportunities for individuals with talent and promising careers in writing and publishing to raise funds in support of their work and their publications.

At the beginning of this century there was talk of a dying literary field, that people would soon not be reading books, and that only the behemoth publishers would survive. In fact, just the opposite has come to pass. Because of the greater access to the many talented writers through digital mediums, the world of publishing has expanded its reach. More people know about more writers. Small, independent presses have picked up the slack where the giants have opted to publish only New York Times best-sellers. There are more ways to publish the written word and put it in the hands of eager readers.

Part of being human is loving story. Now, we have more people, more writers, more stories, and more ways to publish, and more ways to read. We also have now more available funds to support independent artists and publishers. There are a growing number of foundations that support artists and artist groups that support artists. There are new ways to access donations including thousands of Crowdfunding sources with billions of funding dollars to share and disperse. Arts Commissions are more inclusive and far-reaching in their support of individuals than ever before. The trick is knowing where to look, what to look for, and how to ask.

There is one thing that has not changed: The successful writer understands the premise of their story, why readers want to read, and how to pitch their vision to those who can help put the story to the printed page. The successful publisher understands how and why their business works. Writers are learning more every day about promoting their work, now they can learn more about how to fund their work.