One of the most difficult facets of proposal writing is locating funding sources. Hundreds of Web sites, books, and databases are at your disposal, but you have the problem of sifting through everything and narrowing your list to a small, selective number of donors whose focus matches your needs. Many educators express frustration at locating funds for technology. This article is the first in a series that will help to facilitate the process.

http://fdncenter.org
This site contains a wealth of information for the novice or professional grant writer. Search engines are easily accessible by category, by geographical location, by subject, and so on. Reference books, proposal writing courses, and myriad other topics are available for the serious grant seeker.

Of particular interest is the Finding Funders page (http://fdncenter.org/funders). You can search through thousands of foundation profiles and financial tax records (look for Form 990). This public information contains the name of every individual or organization that has made a donation throughout the year. A monthly fee is required for this online service, but you can choose a plan that best meets your needs. It's well worth the expense.

www.grants.gov
Grants.gov is a comprehensive Web site that is the primary access point for over 1,000 grant programs offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies. You may also apply for a competitive grant and access assorted links to obtain information concerning specific topics. This site was just updated and enhanced in mid-December of 2005, so you should take a return trip if you havent't visited since that time.

Once you find a prospect by searching through Grant Opportunities, you must record the Funding Opportunity Number or CFDA number. Enter it manually on the Download Application Package screen in the Apply for Grants section.

The site offers an assortment of grant-searching methods, types of proposals and grant opportunities, and application packages. Sample articles, fact sheets, and a newsletter provide supplemental information. A training demonstration/tutorial helps guide you through the grant-writing process. Once you become familiar with the areas of interest, you can bookmark key pages for easy access.

www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/announce/index.html
The U.S. Department of Education's Web site is brimming with information for students, parents, teachers, and administrators. It focuses on grant-application opportunities, general information, documents and other publications, resources, and supplementary areas of interest for educators.

FIG. 1: The U.S. Department of Education Web site’s Grant Application Packages section includes an extensive list of grant competitions that are currently open.

If you search under Grant Application Packages (www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html?src=rt), be prepared to sift through an extensive list of currently open grant competitions to determine whether any conform to your needs (see Fig. 1). Many of the grants listed are complex and take a long time to complete. You should consider collaborating with one or more departments in your school when writing your grant.

This site is an extraordinary resource that contains a wealth of information. Be sure to review it periodically for opportunities to assist your technology program.

www.sony.com/SCA/philanthropy.shtml
Sony offers grants for arts education, arts and culture, and other areas. Schools and school districts are eligible. Grants are usually $1,000, and grant opportunities are offered in numerous educational categories. Sony is responsive to grant seekers and institutions that bring commitment and innovation to the task of strengthening education at the primary and secondary school levels. The Corporate Philanthropy section of Sony's site contains information about these programs.

http://target.com/target_group/community_giving/index.jhtml
Target stores know their community and make an earnest effort to create a positive impact in education. Their areas of interest are broad, and the company's primary concern is how proposals will impact the students. Grants average from $1,000 to $3,000.

FIG. 2: eSchool News Online provides funding news, grant deadlines, grant-writing tips, sample proposals, useful links, and editorials on areas of interest to educators.

www.eschoolnews.com/resoufibrces/funding
Want to read a newspaper that covers a broad variety of educational technology topics? eSchool News Online provides important information to help K — 12 educators reach their goals through the use of technology in the classroom (see Fig. 2). The site offers top funding news, grant deadlines, and editorials on areas of interest to educators, including curriculum, research, and funding.

The process of writing grant proposals can be daunting. Fortunately, eSchool News Online helps educators who wish to develop successful technology-enhanced programs in their schools. It makes research and grant writing easier, presenting grant writing tips, sample proposals, and information on funding opportunities. Annotated links to each state's Department of Education, to the U.S. Department of Education, and to numerous foundations and corporations are integrated into the site.

www.schoolgrants.org
This site is useful for educators, and offers grant-writing tips, indexed information on grant opportunities, sample proposals, links, and more. Note that SchoolGrants recently posted an announcement regarding a continuing problem with denial of service attacks that may necessitate that it change its domain name. (In “denial of service attacks,” hackers attempt to prevent users of an online service from accessing the service by flooding the network or disrupting connections between machines.) Fortunately, if you subscribe to the SchoolGrants newsletter, you will be informed if the domain name changes.

Stephen Wilensky is the Music Department chair at Central High School in Philadelphia, and is a Temple University faculty member and Fulbright Award recipient. Please email the author at swchs@earthlink.net with comments, questions, and suggestions for future “Finding Funds” columns.