Though grants are something that seemingly all Nonprofit organizations are actively looking for, the use of such a term can be rather vague. In fact, there are a number of different grants that a nonprofit Organization can potentially receive, and the kind that will be best for your organization depends entirely upon your goals and mission.

What are your goals as an organization? How much funding are you going to need, and when are you going to need it? What other sorts of capital are you going to need in order to move closer to accomplishing your mission? If you are looking to receive grant-based funding, these are precisely the kinds of questions you ought to be asking yourself before you even begin the lengthy application process.

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Though there are seemingly countless varieties of grants available to nonprofit organizations, here are eight unique grant opportunities you may not have thought of:

Donated land, donated equipment and donated products

Perhaps considered to be outside the realm of traditional grants by some, receiving material donations can be incredibly beneficial for an aspiring nonprofit organizations.

Essentially, receiving donated land, equipment and products is something that cuts out the “middle-man.” Instead of having a corporation or other organization give you money that you would then use to buy these things, they might choose to give them to you directly. If you are looking to think outside of the box, contact your suppliers and see how they might be willing to work with you. 

Loan Guarantees

Normally if you are going to secure a loan from a bank, you are going to need to support such a loan with a good credit history and/or some sort of collateral. But if you are a new nonprofit organization, both of these things might be something you simply do not have.

With a loan guarantee, a potential donor to your nonprofit organization will either co-sign for you on your line of credit or be willing to offer the collateral requested by the bank. This way, you can access credit that may have otherwise been out of reach.

Publication

If you are a nonprofit organization, it is very important for you to become known by the general public. If your mission is found to be appealing by publishers, instead of charging you to be featured on their website or publication as they might with other businesses, they may be willing to feature you for free.

As is the case with many of these free goods and services being presented in the form of grants, you won’t really know if this option is available to you until you decide to ask. But you just might be surprised with how many organizations are willing to work for you for you free.

Not all grants come in the form of money. Sometimes, simply having your organization be known by the public can be more beneficial.

Use of Facilities

Many landlords who own a large number of different properties aren’t always able to rent them all out. Instead of sitting on an empty lot and not making money anyway, some of these landlords will be willing to let nonprofit organizations utilize their empty space for an agreed-upon time frame.

The kinds of spaces most commonly negotiated in situations such as this include office space, storage space, and even occasionally retail space. Simply mention you are a nonprofit organization and the potential property tax breaks that will be available, and you might be able to save a lot of money as an organization.

Loaned Talent

For professionals with a very specific set of skills, their talent might be more valuable for your organization than even their financial resources. Some professionals—lawyers, accountants, etc.—will happily grant you some of their time if your organization is pursuing a mission they sincerely believe in.

Using loaned talent can also help these individuals achieve individual tax breaks and potentially meet volunteering quotas their company may require of them. Before paying someone to perform these high-cost services for you, think of a professional you may know and see if they are willing to volunteer.

Employee-related scholarships

For nonprofit organizations that need to maintain a consistent staff on payroll, their payroll can potentially be enhanced by offering benefits to its members. Employee related scholarships can be offered to those who work for the organization for a certain amount of time with a plan to later receive higher education.

Even if the amount of money you give your staff is limited, you can still enhance their experience by offering benefits elsewhere. 

Debt reduction

Many organizations are forced to start off by acquiring a large amount of debt. But though this debt may be what was able to get them off of the ground and running, it can quickly become a problem if it is not properly taken care of.

Debt reduction—also known as deficit financing—is a type of grant that is to be used specifically for reducing an organizations debt situation. It is similar to receiving cash funds, but these funds must be used for a very specific (though important) purpose.

Annual Campaigns

As the name might imply, annual campaigns are grants that are given to nonprofit organizations on an annual basis. These kinds of grants are preferred by many organizations for a number of reasons: they create a predictable source of revenue, they can create a lasting relationship with potential donors and they offer flexibility that some of the more limited sources of funding do not.

Ultimately, when pursuing funding from outside donors, you need to begin by establishing a concrete operations plan. To the best of your ability, begin by determining what you will need, when you will need it, and how much it will cost. Once you have all of your expenses reasonably projected, you can then begin to construct a plan that will allow to produce the revenues needed to match these expenses.

As a nonprofit organization, you are trying to achieve some greater goal. You will require some sort of capital inflow that enables you to produce an outflow of some sort of social good. These unique grant ideas are just a few of the ways you can begin acquiring the funding you need. If you are willing to be creative, you can certainly achieve your mission. 

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