The grantwriter can access information anytime day or night on the internet. Not so long ago we had to use expensive databases such as Lexis/Nexus and CompuServe to find information on foundations and corporations. The information was hard to find and at the rates charged by Western Union and Dunn & Bradstreet, among others, a search could cost $100 before you knew it. And what did it produce? Lists of names, sometimes phone numbers, sometimes addresses, rarely contact names or profiles. It took a lot of frustrating hours to come up with a list of prospects, and then the work had only begun. Today, by contrast, the grantwriter can find information in minutes that brings the grantmaker forward, with all the data about guidelines and contact names (not often enough, alas) and past funding. 990s are a click away. Newspaper articles and statistics and even other researchers whose experienced brains are there to be picked (very often, astonishing as it is). And we are spoiled. We want someone to lead us straight to the latest grantmaker, into the hands of the right source with money to grant our institutions and clients. Such a source is Charity Channel. I use them everyday, and they are getting better, starting from a high point anyway. This is to call attention to only one of dozens of features, the weekly updated column of Don Griesmann's Grant Opportunities. If you go to the link I have provided, you will see the latest installment of Don's fantastic, well-researched, and always accurate list of grant opportunities. He provides a précis of each opportunity and a link so the grantwriter can explore at will. From this page you can go to the Charity Channel homepage and discover the bundle of treats they provide. Gratis.
