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.