Finding the Right Grant

I’ve heard from a lot of folks in both academia and the non-profit sector that they don’t even know where to start looking for new funding. It’s simply, “I need money to do X—who would fund that?”

It can feel overwhelming when you’re unsure where to find funding. There are countless sources and distinct funding types to match. The amount of time it takes to wade through eligibility, priorities, and application processes can lead to decision paralysis. You don’t want to spend 10 hours searching for a grant only to realize your keywords aren’t matched to funder terminology! So let’s take a look at how to find the right grant.

Types of Grants

There are three primary grant sources: governments, foundations, and corporations.

Government grants can originate from municipal, provincial/territorial, and federal levels. They often provide larger, multi-year grants that cover both operating costs—like staff salaries—and capital expenses such as equipment or vehicles. Government grants will fund academics and non-profits, depending on the competition.

Grants from foundations typically target specific project or program funding. Funding typically supports non-profits directly engaged with communities. As of 2023, Canada had over 11,000 foundations (Philanthropic Foundations Canada, 2024). These grantmakers distribute more than $10 billion annually to support essential services and community development (PFC, 2026). The top four causes I’ve seen over the last year are education, health, climate change, and local/regional initiatives.

Finally, corporations fund through donations, sponsorships, or in-kind support. These funds often respond to corporate social impact and focus on community investment. The competitions tend to support local initiatives (to the town/city or region, or where they have offices and/or staff).

Funding types matter as much as funding sources. This is where those keywords can really make a difference. Funders categorize their priorities in specific ways (I’ll get into this in the next section). Each grant description defines what’s eligible and supported, so it’s up to you, the applicant, to find competitions where your work fits with the funder.

Finding Funds

Some of you may know the term prospect research—I hadn’t heard it until a few years ago. Suddenly, the act of “doing research to find grant money” had a name! It can cover various approaches, but is, in essence, digging into various sources for new funding opportunities and summarizing and synthesizing the findings for practical use (like reports for directors and boards or crafting a funding strategy).

Knowing prospect research terminology is critical—both in finding the right competition and in using your time effectively. The language that funders use doesn’t always match how applicants describe their own work. Translating funder language and understanding how to describe your project within those boundaries takes skill and is one reason why proposals may be rejected (stay tuned for an upcoming post on this).For example, a non-profit looking to train staff may need to search for capacity-building or organizational development to find the right competition. A research team partnering with a specific community group might search for collaboration or fieldwork, but relevant competitions may be categorized under community-based participatory research, community development, or community-led research. Once you find a potential fit, reach out to a grant officer to discuss your project and confirm eligibility. This will provide you with a better understanding of the grant program, connections with the funder, and a chance to strengthen your application.

With the right approach, prospect research can be more than just finding funds now. It can be a strategic plan to avoid missing calls for proposals, deadlines, or new funding streams. If you lack a grant strategy, add one to your annual planning. Strategies take the guesswork out of your funding goals, ensuring you know who to target and when. If your team’s capacity is limited, hire an expert to handle this work for you!

Community–University Partnerships

Finally, a quick word on partnerships. I love working with teams comprising non-profit experts and post-secondary researchers. Partnerships like these strengthen initiatives, increase impact, deepen connectivity, and expand funding access by bridging sector gaps.

Benefits of these partnerships include:

• Access to restricted academic grants: some, like the SSHRC Partnership Engage grant, exclude non-profit applicants. However, partnering with a researcher whose work aligns with your mission may then make your organization eligible.
• Resource-sharing: collaborators can pool resources to conduct better prospect research, sharing tools and staff time. This may also give non-profits access to a university research officer who can provide expert guidance on grant sources, writing support, and proposal assessment.
• Partnerships drive impactful work benefitting diverse community members while boosting collaborator visibility, authorship, and credibility with future funders.

Grant-seeking doesn’t have to feel like trying to catch a jellyfish with your bare hands (slippery and elusive). It does, however, require strategy, patience, and the right tools. If you’re just starting out or looking to diversify funding, take time to carefully plan your search strategy, understand funders’ priorities, and ensure your work aligns with their goals.

If you’d like support crafting a grant strategy, identifying funders, or developing a proposal, I’d love to help. Explore my services or reach out to see how we can work together!