--Last Updated 8/17/2009
Creating Your Prospecting List:
Whether you are searching for grants or looking for new funders the researching process is fairly similar. When creating a prospecting list you are looking for funders that are interested in your cause, in your community, or have a personal connection to your organization in some way. Things to look for are:
- Your Organization: Who is on your board? Do you have connections with any major organizations either through board members, staff, or volunteers?
- Funding size: Find out the potential funders' asset size and also know how much money they are giving out in grants. Does the amount match your goals?
- Subject Interest: What kind of programs and organizations do they fund?
- Geography: Location, Location, Location! Do they generally give money out in your area?
- Population: What customer does your organization serve (children, women, minorities)? Some special interest groups give funds to support programs for specific populations.
Another good place to start is to check around and see who is funding organizations similar to yours as they are more likely to be interested in your cause, and who is funding your colleges (you can share notes and help each other make contacts with the funders).
Below is a list of online and library sources that can be used to search for potential funding opportunities. Once you have complied a number of possible funders, the next steps are to 1) check with your board members and staff to see if anyone has any personal contact with the potential prospect, and 2) continue with further prospecting research.
Tools to Build a Prospecting List:
Businesses & Executives:
St. Louis Business Journal Book of Lists:
Annual publication put out by the St. Louis Business Journal, which contains various lists of top businesses, Nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and more in the St. Louis Metro area.
R658.009 Saint (Current year available at: CP, DR, KL, KR, MK, MY - Current & Back Issues available at SP)
Central Contractor Registration
Search for small businesses, veteran and women owned businesses in a specified area.
http://www.bpn.gov/ccrinq/scripts/search.asp
Dunn & Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory: (In Library Use Only)
Covers only companies with over 1 million in sales. Includes exact number of employees, sales figures, ownership, and executives' contact information and biographies.
http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html
Forbes Lists
Various lists of wealthy or influential people
http://www.forbes.com/lists/
FundRace:
Search Political Contributions by neighborhoods.
http://www.fundrace.org
Hoover's Online Pro: (In Library Use Only)
Detailed financial and executive biographies on more than 40,000 companies.
http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html
Missouri Professional Registrar:
Create lists of professionals that are registered in Missouri.
http://www.pr.mo.gov/
OpenSecrets.org: This website lists top contributors to political campaigns and elections
http://www.opensecrets.org
http://www.opensecrets.org/states/index.php (Top Donors by Zip)
ReferenceUSA:
Business, Residential, and Medical database.
http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html
Standard & Poor's Register of Corporate Executives: (Need Library Card to Access)
Search for Executives by company name, location, size or search by Executive name, birth place, college, title, and much more.
http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html
Political MoneyLine:
A political money database, can search by zip code or political candidate
http://moneyline.cq.com/
Foundations & Grants:
Economic Research Institute (ERI):
Search the annual reports (990 returns) of Nonprofit Organizations.
http://www.eri-nonprofit-salaries.com
The Foundation Center Online Professional (In Library Use Only, Available at all library branches)
The Foundation Directory Online Professional provides access to an unprecedented wealth of timely, comprehensive information on grantmakers and their grants. Included is a database of over 92,000 foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities in the U.S.; a database of nearly 3,600 sponsoring companies, offering a quick pathway to corporate funders; a database of over 1.3 million recently awarded grants; and a keyword-searchable database of over 527,000 recently filed IRS Forms 990 and 990-PF.
The Foundation Directory
The Foundation Directory offers information on the nation's top 10,000 foundations by total giving. It also includes descriptions on over 51,000 selected grants.
061 SP - On Display "Nonprofit Reference"
Foundation 1000:
In-depth profiles of the largest 1000 U.S. Foundations.
R061 Foundation ("On Display SP Ready Reference")
Guidestar:
Gives a brief overview of nonprofit organizations, including 990 access, financial information, and programs. Also, the Grants Explorer feature allows you to search for Foundations and shows which organizations it supports.
http://www.guidestar.org
Guide to U.S. Foundations, Their Trustees, Officers, and Donors
Provides data for the 67,000 U.S. Foundations and the people who run them.
R361.7632 Guide ("On Display SP Nonprofit Resources")
Sponsorships:
Corporate Giving Directory
Comprehensive profiles of America's major corporate foundations and corporate charitable giving programs.
R 361.76509 Corporate (SP -On Display "Spencer Road Nonprofit Resources")
IEG Sponsorship Sourcebook
This directory of sponsorship opportunities show what types of activities Corporations sponsor.
R 394.26025 IEG ("On Display SP Nonprofit Resources")
Misc.
United States Postal Service: Zip Code Look-up:
http://www.usps.gov/
Wealthy Zip Code List:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/zipcode/zipusa.htm
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