Grants & Funders

Grants Overview

Here you'll find steps for successful grant research, planning, writing and stewardship.

Research

We encourage you to start your grant work by getting the lay of the land. Find out what funders are out there and what they fund. A good first stop is your local community foundation. They often have subscriptions to the paid subscription databases and it’s a great way to start the conversation “Hello, we are looking to diversify our funding base and want to start grant writing. Would you be able to help us?" Start with a grant search and then find out about their grant cycle and application process. 

Grants Team

We encourage you to engage other staff members and key stakeholders (i.e. board members, volunteers, longtime supporters, retired journalists) in your grant writing work. By making this a team effort you spread the workload while also ensuring that the organization is aware and bought into the grant writing work. 

Connections

Fostering a connection with a funder is a key step in your grant writing work. Most newsrooms have been covering foundation work for years and have a natural connection. If this isn’t the case talk with your newsroom staff and key stakeholders to identify a contact who can help you make a warm introduction to the foundation. If a “warm” introduction isn’t possible then we encourage you to reach out to funders with a short email that provides them with a concise overview of your work. Here are some examples of cold emails to foundations. 

Writing the Core Parts of a Typical Grant Application

Most grant applications have the same core requirements:

• Problem statement & Demographics

• Program description

• Evaluation & sustainability

• Program budget

Once you’ve drafted these components for your first application,  it’s often a matter of updating information and revising your program description and budget for subsequent applications. We encourage you to use Candid’s Proposal Guide to help you craft your application.

Supporting Documents

Most grant applications require supporting documentation. Here’s a list of commonly requested documents. We encourage you to gather these documents early in your grant writing process so you have them ready and in one place well before a grant deadline. 

•  Letters of Support 

• 990s

• Employee Identification Number

• List of Board Members

• List of Funders

• Mission Statement

• Vision Statement

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Statement

• Annual Report

• Past, Current, and Future Budget

• Audited Financial Statements for the past two years

Stewardship

Once you’ve secured a grant, the first thing you’ll want to do is to reach out to the funder to say thank you and ask about reporting requirements. 

Within a week of the grant award letter, you’ll also want to send a handwritten thank you note to the foundation. 

Noting the foundation on your website and social media is important as is making sure they are listed and receive a copy of all newsletters and reports that you produce. 

Staying in touch throughout the funding process is important. 

If there is a staffing change, or you are launching a new program, be sure to let the foundation know. This is also a great opportunity for you to lay the groundwork for future requests.

Grant Support

We're here to help. 

• Report for America can provide letters of support.

• Fiscal Sponsorship documentation. 

• Help with grant writing (reviewing decks or proposals) and deadline tracking. 

• Research or connections with institutional donors. 

Email the Local News Sustainability Team at sustainability@reportforamerica.org. 

2023-2024 Foundation Support from Across the Country 

We'd like to thank the funders below who have provided Local News Sustainability support to Report for America Newsrooms across the USA.