Know-how Grants for Nonprofits: A Information + 12 Prime Choices

Simply as medical doctors want their surgical devices and mechanics want their instruments, your nonprofit group must be geared up with the appropriate expertise to proceed fulfilling its mission. From donor databases to web site builders to matching present instruments, there are numerous options on the market that may enhance the effectivity of your operations and generate extra income to energy your work.

In line with Nonprofit Tech for Good, many nonprofits are leveraging expertise to boost their processes—79% use automation expertise in on-line fundraising, and 15% even have synthetic intelligence software program in place to foretell donor habits. Not each group, nonetheless, has the funds to remain on the slicing fringe of expertise.

That’s the place nonprofit expertise grants are available in. These grants provide the mandatory funds for forward-thinking nonprofits to realize entry to software program options and sources that may amplify their affect. On this information, we’ll cowl all that you must learn about expertise grants for nonprofits:

As a way to obtain greater and higher outcomes, nonprofits should frequently undertake and adapt to advances in expertise that streamline important processes similar to fundraising, advertising and marketing, and donor engagement. By doing so, your group can unlock extra capability for what issues most—bettering the lives of these you serve.

What’s a expertise grant for nonprofits?

Chances are high, your nonprofit is already conversant in grants as a supply of funding. Nonprofit expertise grants, specifically, give attention to aiding organizations with buying or implementing instruments and software program that may additional their affect. Like most grants, expertise grants for nonprofits come from three major sources:

• Authorities companies. There are a lot of federal, state, and native companies that give out grants to nonprofits. A few of these are expertise grants, obtainable for the particular objective of advancing a corporation’s technological infrastructure.
• Foundations. These grantmaking organizations are available in two important sorts: non-public foundations and public charities. They perform their very own missions by funding nonprofits that align with their pointers and values.
• Companies. Many companies present grant funding to nonprofits as a part of their company social duty initiatives. Quite a few expertise corporations fall into this combine, similar to Google and Verizon.

From these sources stem numerous alternatives to safe expertise grants that may take your operations and processes to the following stage. Whether or not you’re an environmental nonprofit or a nonprofit hospital, gaining expanded entry to the most recent expertise ensures that you may serve your beneficiaries with larger effectivity and outcomes.

How can expertise grants help nonprofits?

There are numerous methods a nonprofit expertise grant can profit your group. Relying in your particular objectives, as an illustration, these funds can empower your nonprofit to:

• Enhance cybersecurity. NTEN’s State of Nonprofit Cybersecurity Report reveals that solely round 20% of surveyed nonprofits indicated that that they had documented insurance policies and procedures in place ought to a cyberattack happen. A expertise grant can present your group with the sources for cybersecurity coaching and the appropriate instruments to maintain your data safe.
• Leverage automation. A expertise grant can cut back the time and sources your group expends in its every day operations by permitting you to embrace automation expertise. Transferring away from pointless guide processes results in much less room for human error and extra time to deal with higher-priority duties inside your nonprofit.
• Streamline fundraising. It’s no secret that efficient fundraising is essential to your group’s lasting success. A expertise grant can allow your group to undertake top-of-the-line CRM software program that makes it simple to handle supporter relationships and attain out to them for presents.
• Enhance knowledge administration. Your group’s knowledge isn’t solely key to personalizing your communications and participating donors, but it surely additionally serves as a wealthy nicely of insights for enhancing your methods and growing your outcomes over time. With a expertise grant, you can also make knowledge administration a high focus amongst workers and volunteers.
• Develop a high-quality web site. A web site is an important facet of your nonprofit’s on-line presence, offering a centralized useful resource for present and potential donors to entry up-to-date details about your work and make presents in help of your mission. A nonprofit expertise grant can provide you with the mandatory funds to raise your web site or create a wholly new one which evokes extra help.

When you’ve pinpointed your group’s particular wants for expertise funding, it’s time to discover a funder that finest aligns together with your mission and values. The extra well-matched you might be to the grantmaking group, the extra seemingly you’ll achieve profitable the grant.

How do I discover the appropriate expertise grant for my nonprofit?

Researching and making use of for nonprofit expertise grants doesn’t must be a strenuous or time-consuming course of. By taking the appropriate method, you’ll be nicely in your technique to securing grant funding on your upcoming expertise undertaking.

1. Seek advice from your objectives and mission.

Earlier than you start your seek for grant alternatives, it’s vital to root your self in your group’s objectives and mission. This ensures that you simply solely establish and apply for expertise grants which are most suited to your nonprofit.

Keep in mind that every grantmaking group has its personal mission and pursuits. In consequence, they’ll be far more susceptible to funding nonprofits that align with their very own priorities and generate the type of affect that they’re trying to see.

2. Conduct analysis.

Amongst doable expertise grant sources in the USA, there are round 127,595 foundations alone. Due to this, it’s essential to be strategic together with your analysis to slim down the appropriate choices. As you start wanting into expertise grants for nonprofits, comply with these finest practices:

• Examine nonprofits just like your group and find grantmakers who’ve funded them prior to now.
• Determine current connections that your board or workers members might have with funders.
• Look by way of grant directories and databases, similar to Grants.gov and Basis Listing.

Evaluation every nonprofit expertise grant’s software standards to make sure that you’re eligible to use. For example, some grantmakers might require your group to be situated in a particular area or space.

3. Take into account searching for knowledgeable assist.

There are fairly just a few steps on the journey to receiving a expertise grant, from analysis to making use of to grant administration. In case your nonprofit is in search of some further steering to make your expertise grant purposes stand out, think about partnering with a nonprofit grant marketing consultant. These professionals can help your group with researching grants, drafting purposes, and reporting.

Prime nonprofit grant consultants, similar to Getting Consideration, will commit themselves single-mindedly to making sure that your group’s grant efforts succeed. If you work with a expertise grant marketing consultant, it’s best to count on them to:

1. Study the ins and outs of your nonprofit, similar to your mission, your affect, and your donor base.
2. Develop a devoted technique and conduct analysis to establish grant alternatives that align with all that they’ve realized about your group.
3. Deal with your nonprofit grant purposes to maximise your possibilities of profitable the grant.
4. Help your group with constructing relationships with funders to safe extra help down the road.

A nonprofit grant marketing consultant could be instrumental in serving to your group safe nonprofit expertise grant funding, particularly if in case you have restricted time and sources to hold out your complete course of successfully.

Able to faucet into the potential of expertise grants for nonprofits? Happily, we’ve already gathered 12 high choices so that you can think about.

12 Prime Know-how Grants for Nonprofits

Use these nonprofit expertise grants as a jumping-off level to your pursuit of expertise funding. Keep in mind to maintain your particular objectives in thoughts as you select the alternatives that finest align together with your group.

1. Google Advert Grants

Since its creation, the Google Advert Grants program has offered over $10 billion in free promoting to nonprofits. All eligible organizations can obtain $10,000 every month to bid on key phrases for advertisements that may seem on Google’s search outcomes pages. With these advertisements, you’ll be able to promote key pages in your nonprofit’s web site, similar to your donation web page or occasion registration web page, to generate extra help on your trigger.

To satisfy this system’s eligibility standards, your group should:

• Be a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Not be a authorities, healthcare, or academic establishment.
• Have a high-quality web site.
• Register with TechSoup.
• Create a Google for Nonprofits account.

This nonprofit expertise grant can equip your group with a robust software for spreading the phrase about your mission and attracting extra supporters to your trigger. To make sure that you safe your grant and take advantage of it, think about turning to a Google Advert Grants company that may care for your complete course of for you.

2. Salesforce’s Energy of Us Program

The Energy of Us Program has offered discounted CRM expertise entry to over 56,000 nonprofits and academic establishments. To affix these ranks, your group should:

Moreover, Salesforce Basis supplies grants to organizations specializing in schooling, workforce growth, and local weather change by way of invitation solely.

3. Twilio

Twilio is a cloud communication platform that facilitates donor and volunteer engagement by way of the communication channels they like most. Via their Affect Fund, Twilio has awarded over $35 million in grants and investments to offer nonprofits with the expertise they should heighten their affect. Organizations which are eligible for this nonprofit expertise grant funding should:

• Be a acknowledged 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Not be a authorities entity or political group.

To obtain an invite to use for the Affect Fund, nonprofits ought to join the Affect Entry Program, which gives further advantages similar to reductions on Twilio merchandise.

4. Okta for Good

Okta for Good’s Nonprofit Know-how Initiative goals to fulfill the expertise wants of nonprofits by supplying $10 million in philanthropic funding. One latest focus has been enhancing cybersecurity for organizations to make sure that they’ve the right coaching and sources to guard themselves from cyber-attacks. To be chosen for these expertise funds, nonprofits should:

• Be a acknowledged nonprofit group of their nation of operation.
• Have robust management groups and mission alignment with Okta.

Whether or not your nonprofit is searching for to enhance its knowledge safety or transfer to the cloud, Okta’s give attention to digital transformation is price wanting into for all organizations desirous about expertise enhancements.

5. Field Affect Fund

Field Affect Fund helps nonprofits with related missions on their path to adopting expertise that may improve their every day operations and work. To satisfy Field Affect Fund’s eligibility necessities, organizations should:

• Be a acknowledged 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Give attention to youngster welfare, disaster response, or the surroundings.
• Suggest a digital transformation undertaking.

Field lists 4 particular standards for evaluating grant purposes: alignment, affect, inclusion, and scale. Subsequently, it’s vital to make sure that your group matches this funder’s priorities and demonstrates the affect you’d like to realize with the expertise funds to set your software up for achievement.

6. Cisco Product Grant Program

The Cisco Product Grant Program provides networking and communications expertise to nonprofits targeted on disaster response, schooling, financial empowerment, and local weather change. To be eligible for this system, organizations should:

• Be acknowledged as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Have a couple of yr of profitable operations.
• Not be a faculty, hospital, library, or meals financial institution.
• Not exceed an overhead of 25%.

Cisco accepts grant proposals year-round and critiques them quarterly. For first-time grant candidates, you’ll be able to request as much as $100,000 of Cisco tools. To make sure your nonprofit meets all the factors to use, you’ll be able to take this eligibility quiz that Cisco supplies on its web site.

7. Microsoft Tech for Social Affect

Microsoft launched Microsoft Tech for Social Affect to offer discounted and donated Microsoft instruments to nonprofits. These gives embody Microsoft 365 Enterprise Premium, Energy BI Desktop, and Azure. To be eligible for Microsoft’s nonprofit packages, your group should:

• Be a acknowledged 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public library, or public museum.
• Adjust to Microsoft’s anti-discrimination coverage.
• Solely assign licenses to eligible workers members.

On its web site, Microsoft supplies a step-by-step registration course of that you simply, one other workers member, or a volunteer can full to start out accessing the expertise instruments this firm has to supply.

8.  Know-how Innovation Awards

For nonprofits searching for funding for a technology-related undertaking, Tech Ahead will present $10,000 by way of its Know-how Innovation Awards to help their efforts. To be eligible for this grant, your group should:

• Be a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) charitable group.
• Not be a church, non-public academic establishment, nonprofit hospital, or governmental unit.
• Have an annual working price range of a minimum of $500,000.
• Be inclusive and embrace variety.

As a part of the nonprofit expertise grant software, you’ll must current data similar to your mission, companies, and key constituents, together with a full description of your proposed expertise undertaking.

9. TechBridge

TechBridge’s Dream Large Grants present a possibility for nonprofits to amass expertise options that may improve their operations and enhance their affect. To be eligible for certainly one of these grants, your group should:

• Be a acknowledged 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Give attention to certainly one of its 4 pillars: starvation reduction, homeless help, social justice, or workforce growth.
• Have annual working bills over $2,000,000.
• Have a minimum of 5 full-time paid workers who’re paid minimal wage or extra.

The applying course of for certainly one of these expertise grants for nonprofits contains an eligibility verify, an software essay, and a video submission.

10. Verizon Basis

Verizon gives invitation-only grants to help nonprofits in three important areas: digital inclusion, local weather safety, and human prosperity. To obtain an invite, Verizon advises nonprofits to contact their local people relations supervisor first. When you’re accredited to use, you’ll nonetheless have to fulfill these eligibility necessities:

• Be a acknowledged 501(c)(3) nonprofit or not-for-profit faculty.
• Observe the best requirements of conduct in relationships with the general public.
• Not duplicate or considerably overlap the work of public companies.

Moreover, should you’re requesting funds for IT infrastructure enhancements that complete greater than 20% of the grant’s complete direct prices, you will need to present particular particulars on how your group is planning to make use of these IT property in your grant software.

11. HP Know-how for Neighborhood

HP is a expertise firm that’s pushed to produce funds to nonprofits in order that they’ll buy expertise or technology-related schooling to raised serve their objective. To be eligible for HP Know-how for Neighborhood, organizations should:

• Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Not be a member company or a faculty.
• Not be situated outdoors of the USA.

Whereas certified nonprofits can apply from throughout the nation, HP will give desire to these working in or close to the positioning communities listed in its necessities.

12. The Change Occurs Basis

The Change Occurs Basis is a personal nonprofit basis devoted to supporting nonprofits targeted on creating social change round science, the surroundings, and schooling. The muse gives a number of grants—to be eligible, organizations should:

• Be a acknowledged 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Not be faith-based or situated outdoors of the USA.
• Have a three-year historical past of 990 types.

There are three steps within the software course of, beginning with figuring out your nonprofit’s eligibility. When you’ve performed so, the inspiration requires first-time candidates to submit a Letter of Inquiry to find out if its pursuits align together with your request. Organizations accepted for additional consideration can then submit their grant proposals.

Wrapping Up

New applied sciences are continuously rising, and together with them come higher methods for nonprofits to serve their communities and make an enduring distinction. Determining the way to incorporate these instruments into your fundraising, advertising and marketing, and communications methods is crucial to setting your group up for achievement sooner or later.

Authorities companies, foundations, and companies acknowledge this precedence as nicely. Due to this, there are quite a few expertise grants for nonprofits obtainable to fund your initiatives—you simply must know the place to look and the way to pinpoint the appropriate alternatives to pursue.

When you’re in search of further data on nonprofit grants and deepening your group’s affect, think about these complete sources: