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University at Buffalo Libraries

Grants & Grantmaking

Grants are significant funding sources for faculty and graduate students who conduct research.  The purpose of this guide is to:

  • Describe private and government funding sources.
  • Cite sources that might help you write more effective proposals.
  • Explain how UB offices can assist in the process.
  • Provide grant writing tips.
  • List sources for financial aid for education.

Grant Finding Sources

Private sources

Annual Register of Grant Support: A Directory of Funding Sources.  Wilmette, IL.: National Register Publishing Co.
Lockwood LB 2338 .G68 (1969+ with gaps, most current in Reference)
Lists nearly 3,000 foundations offering financial assistance.  Topics cover multiple special purpose giving, humanities, international affairs, special populations, urban affairs, education, science and technology, and social sciences. Entries include names, addresses, phone numbers, areas of interest, types of support, eligibility, and application information.  Special features include a brief essay describing "Program Planning and Proposal Writing."

COs Funding Opportunities (Community of Science)
http://fundingopps.cos.com 
A database of funding opportunities for research, collaborative activities, travel, curriculum development, conferences, fellowships, post-doctoral positions, equipment acquisitions, and operating or capital expenses. Sources include the federal and regional governments, foundations, professional societies, associations, and corporations.

Directory of Research Grants (DRG).  Phoenix: The Oryx Press.
Lockwood LB 2338 .D4 (1975+ with gaps, most current in Reference)
Provides brief summaries of nearly 7,500 programs in medicine, science, social science, humanities, and the arts. Entries describe sponsoring bodies, programs, requirements and restrictions, contacts, deadlines, and funding amounts.

Europa International Foundation Directory . New York: Routledge.
Lockwood HV 7 .I57 (1991+ with gaps; most recent in Reference)
Describes nearly 2,500 foundations throughout the world.  The brief entries describe names, addresses, phone numbers, financial information, purposes, and activities. Indexing is by names and main activities.

Financial Aid for Research and Creative Activities Abroad. San Carlos, CA.: Reference Service Press.
Capen Libraries Reference  LB2337.2 .F54  (most recent edition)
Lockwood LB2337.2 .F54  (1992+; most recent in Reference)
Lists over 1,000 grants that support research, creative and professional activities, and related opportunities abroad. 

Financial Aid for the Disabled and Their Families. Redwood City, CS.: Reference Service Press.
Capen Reference  LB2337.2 .F58  (Most recent)
Lockwood Reference  LB2337.2 .F58  (Most recent)
Lists programs that offer at least $1,000 in assistance.  Separate sections cover visual, hearing, orthopedic, developmental, and communicative disabilities, and more general disabilities.

Foundation Center
http://fdncenter.org  
A nonprofit organization that maintains a database of foundation and corporate giving. The Foundation Center provides publications to cooperating libraries at no cost. The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (Lafayette Square) participates in this program.

Foundation Directory . New York: The Foundation Center.
Lockwood Reference Ref AS 911 .A2 F65. (Most recent)
LAW Reference AS 911 .A2 F65. (Most recent)
Lists foundations among the top10,000 givers in the latest year. Descriptions provide addresses, phone numbers, financial data, funding interests, and officers. Five indexes access data by names of donors, officers, and trustees; geography; types of support; subjects; and names of foundation.

Foundation Grants to Individuals . New York: Foundation Center.
Lockwood LB 2336 .F6 (1977+ with gaps, most recent in reference)
Capen Reference LB 2336 .F6 (Most recent 3 years)
HSL LB 2336 F771 (199+ with gaps, most recent in Reference Grants Section)
The most comprehensive directory to foundations that offer grants to individuals. Funding covers education, general welfare, arts and culture, foreign individuals, and company employees. Entries include names, addresses, phone numbers, contacts, financial data, limitations, and deadlines. Special features include a brief discussion of federal legislation governing foundations, and a comprehensive annotated bibliography.

Federal Government Sources

Very important: Be aware of misleading infomercials, Web sites, and reference guides advertising millions in free money. See Who Is Eligible for A Grant at http://grants.gov/aboutgrants/eligibility.jsp to get the real information.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (U.S. General Services Administration)
http://www.cfda.gov/
Lockwood Documents US PrEx2.20: (2005-2007)
A directory to federal government loans and grants available to states, local governments, profit and non-profit making entities, and individuals. Entries cite agencies, program objectives, types of assistance available, eligibility, application procedures, contacts, sources of further information, and examples of funded projects.

GovBenefits.gov
http://www.benefits.gov/
A consortium of federal agencies pool their resources to make information about grants and benefits more accessible. Locate information by topics or by states, or complete a questionnaire to view a list of benefits/grants you are eligible for.  Almost all assistance pertains to issues affecting employment, financial aid, food, housing, law, and health, not research.

Government Benefits, Grants, and Financial Aid (U.S. General Services Administration. Office of Citizen Services and Communications)
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Benefits.shtml
A directory to dozens of government benefits, grants, and financial aid available to the public.

Grants.gov (U.S. Chief Financial Officers' (CFO) Council. Grants Policy Committee (GPC) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
http://grants.gov/ 
A central information source about federal grants. Links retrieve information by topics, and offer opportunities to subscribe to grant notification services. Additional features cover the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance and data about grants management.  Grants.gov offers assistance to governments, educational organizations, public housing authorities, non-profit organizations, and for-profit entities other than small businesses.  The Web site excludes grants to individuals.

GrantsNet (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
http://www.hhs.gov/grantsnet/ 
An online guide to grant information sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Information covers  a reference collection of grant related resources covering legislation, regulations, policies, lessons learned, and success stories.

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
http://www.neh.gov
An independent federal agency that is the largest funder of humanities in the nation.

UB Sources

Libraries Catalog (University at Buffalo. Libraries)
http://library.buffalo.edu
Search the catalog for books that describe how to prepare grant proposals, and trends in public and private grant giving. Likely subject headings are "Fund Raising" and "Grants-In-Aid." Related subject headings include the following. Be certain to use two dashes (--) when searching.

  • Arts--Scholarships, Fellowships, etc.
  • Federal Aid to Research--United States--Directories
  • Humanities--Research Grants
  • Research Grants...
  • Research Support--Directories
  • Research Support--Periodicals
  • Scholarships--Directories
  • Scholarships--United States--Directories
  • Science--Research Grants...
  • Student Aid--United States
  • Student Loan Funds

Sponsored Programs Administration (University at Buffalo. Vice-President for Research)
402 Crofts
(V) 645-5000 x 1060
(F) 645-2760
email: info@research.buffalo.edu 
http://www.research.buffalo.edu/spa/
Helps faculty and staff find and acquire grants for research, scholarly and creative activities, education and training, and public service; and assists recipients in post-award administration.  The site map (http://www.research.buffalo.edu/sps/sitemap.cfm) walks people through the grant process covering:

  • Introductory information.
  • Forms.
  • Online reports.
  • Searching for sponsors.
  • Grant writing fundamentals.
  • Preparing and submitting proposals.
  • Reviewing awards.
  • Establishing accounts.
  • Managing awards.
  • Closing out awards.

Frequently Asked Questions at http://www.research.buffalo.edu/sps/about/default.cfm#freq includes information about subscribing to the SPS Weekly Email Summary that announces new funding opportunities and an External E-mail Funding Alert Service that describes opportunities offered through various funding agencies.

Other State and Local Sources (includes UUP)

Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (Business, Science, and Technology Section, Lafayette Square. Contact person: Dan Caufield, 858-7100.
The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library maintains a Foundation Center Library Cooperating Collection. The Foundation Center is an information clearing house established by foundations to provide data on grant giving. The Center supports Cooperating Collections in libraries throughout the nation.  Information is available to the public without cost.  This includes the Foundation Directory Online Professional database that has data about grant makers, companies, grants, and 990 tax returns.  The public must currently use the database in the library.

Catalog of State and Federal Programs Aiding New York's Local Governments, biennial. (New York Legislative Commission on State-Local Relations).
http://nysl.nysed.gov/uhtbin/cgisirsi/1?new_gateway_db=HYPERION&user_id=CATALOG
A directory of grants available to New York State and its local governments.

Government > Grants (New York State)
http://www.nysegov.com/citGuide.cfm?superCat=102&cat=410&content=main
Links to grant information on a variety of topics including health, transportation, housing, the arts, workforce training, parks and recreation, technology transfer, criminal justice, and tuition assistance.

Grants Action News (New York State Assembly)
http://assembly.state.ny.us/gan/  (2000-present)
Lockwood Documents NY LEG 603.2-3 GRAAN (1995-present)
A monthly newsletter that describes grants available from federal and New York State agencies.

Information on Grants Available in New York State (New York State Archives and Records Administration and the New York State Library)
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/ils/topics/grants.htm 
Options include:

  • Arts Grants
  • Teacher Opportunity Grants
  • Grants and Loans for College
  • Vocational and Applied Technology Education Grants
  • Low Interest Mortgage Loans
  • Science and Technology Entry Program Grants
  • Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program Grants
  • State Education Department Grants Available to Help New York's Libraries Improve Access to Information
  • Grants Resource Collection at the New York State Library

New York State/United University Professions Joint Labor-Management Committees
 http://nysuup.lmc.ny.gov/
Provides grants to SUNY faculty and professional staff. This program is suspended temporarily until the tentative UUP contract covering 2011-2016 is approved.

Western New York Grantmakers Association
http://www.wnygrantmakers.org/
Member organizations are Western New York's largest philanthropic groups.  Facilitating communication between grant seeking and grant making communities is a goal.  The membership list is a good overview of the most prominent granters in the area.

Education Grants

Financial Aid for Study and Training Abroad.  San Carlos, CA.: Reference Service Press.
Capen Libraries Reference  LB2337.2 .F53  (Most recent edition)
Lockwood LB2337.2 .F53  (1994+; most recent in reference)
Cites over 1,000 grant opportunities for Americans studying abroad.

Financial Aid Information Page (FinAid)
http://www.FinAid.org 
Although it includes information about research grants, emphasis is upon financial aid for undergraduate and graduate education. Topics cover background information, loans, and scholarships. Site administrators include calculators for estimating costs.

Grants Register. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lockwood LB2338 .G7  (1969/1970+; most recent in Reference)
Describes grants for postgraduate, and advanced professional and vocational education.

New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC)
http://www.hesc.com/content.nsf/
Administers the New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). TAP covers the tuition costs at New York colleges and schools.

Scholarships, Fellowships and Loans. Detroit: Gale. (Gale)
Capen Libraries Reference LB2338 S3 (Most recent)
Lockwood Reference LB2338 S3 (Most recent)
Access over 4,000 sources of education-related financial aid at all levels of study. A section on federal financial aid summarizes federal government programs.

Student Aid on the Web (U.S. Department of Education)
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp
Takes students through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process.  Topics deal with using the FAFSA Web site, descriptions of federal programs, applying to college, applying for financial aid, and tools and resources.  Additional sections are intended for non-traditional, Native American and international students; parents, and counselors/mentors.  Contact the following agency for additional information or questions.

Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC):
1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243)
(TTY 1-800-730-8913)

 Consult 2 companion sites.

TAP (Tuition Assistance Program administered by New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC)).

UB's Financial Aid Office
http://financialaid.buffalo.edu/

990 Tax Returns

Internal Revenue Service regulations require foundations to file annual 990-PF tax forms. These data are detailed descriptions of foundations giving patterns. See the IRS guide, How to Read the IRS Form 990 & Find Out What it Means, at http://www.npccny.org/Form_990/990.htm for more information. Locate 990's at:

 

Grant Writing Tips

Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing.  Jane C. Geever and Patricia McNeill. New York: The Foundation Center ,.
Lockwood HG 177.5 .U6 G44 (2007 edition in Reference)
HSL Ref WZ 345 G298f 1993.
The 2004 edition covers budgeting priorities, developing summaries and statements of need, describing projects, packaging proposals, researching funders, and dealing with rejections.  The authors interviewed representatives of foundations and corporations to determine what they look for when considering proposals. Appendices include a sample proposal, and selected sources on proposal development.  The 1993 edition is much more limited.

How To Grants Manual: Successful Grantseeking Techniques for obtaining Public and Private Grants.  Phoenix, AZ.: Oryx.
Lockwood Reference HG 177 B38 1999
Three sections cover preliminary steps prior to seeking grant support, government funding sources, and private funding sources.

Selected Proposal Writing Websites (University of Pittsburgh. Office of Research)
http://www.pitt.edu/~offres/proposal/propwriting/websites.html
Although several links do not work, the guides to which this this Web site points still provides useful information.

Tips On Writing a Grant Proposal (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) (EPA)
http://www.epa.gov/ogd/recipient/tips.htm 
Selected topics include proposal summaries, problem statements, project objectives, and methods and evaluations.  Emphasis is upon budgeting and funding.