August 26, 2022
When looking over NOFOs, one big question is: Does this grant require a match?
Let’s take this apart. When a grant has a matching requirement, that means in addition to grant funding, your municipality, organization, or partners need to contribute the required matching funds. Not all projects are suited for matching grants. If you are already struggling to scrape together funding to start a project, you may want to focus on grants with no matching requirement. However, matching grants are great for when your organization, municipality, etc. has a project on hold due to budgetary shortfalls. Matching grants bridge these funding gaps for projects already in the works for which funding is already allocated.
Some grants require an in-kind match wherein your organization’s match does not need to be monetary. Other grants don’t require a match but give preference to applicants who offer a partial match. In this case, see where you can find funding either internally, through fundraising, or from a project partner.
Related Articles
Things to Keep in Mind when Seeking Funding for Partnered Projects
Many projects are collaborations across sectors and involve governmental entities, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations and even the private sector. However, only some of these entities are eligible for the grant funding needed to support collaborative...
One Tip I Wish I Knew Sooner
Grant writing can be a challenging and rewarding journey, and like many grant professionals, I’ve had my fair share of lessons learned the hard way. If I could go back and give myself one piece of advice early on in my career, it would be this: Always read the grant...
Checklist: Should we apply for this grant?
Once you get the grant search ball rolling, the question becomes, should we apply for this grant? Grant writing is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process, and grant seekers realize in short order that not every grant is worth the effort of application. When you...