Most grantmakers place very specific limitations on their giving to individuals or “for-profit” organizations, since provisions for grants to such entities require advanced approval of the program by the IRS. For this reason, grantmakers usually cannot make exceptions to their program guidelines, even if you present a compelling case for them to do so. This limits the number of grants available for individuals and “for-profit” organizations, although they do, indeed, exist.

Since most foundation funding is awarded to nonprofit organizations, the individual and “for-profit” grantseeker should expect to encounter stiff competition for grant dollars. It is essential, therefore, that you research all potential funding sources within your own discipline or geographic area.

Although there are grants that can be secured by individuals or “for-profit” organizations (college scholarships, support for writers, support for artists, college fellowships, business start-ups, preservation ventures, etc.), there are a limited number of proposal writing resources geared specifically to these grantseekers. Furthermore, prototype proposals for individual or “for-profit” grant projects are usually unavailable for public access (via print or the Internet), since these are typically very project specific to the writer requesting funding as well as the funder’s mission, and they work only within that context. Additionally, the highly specific criteria for most organizations that fund individuals or “for-profit” organizations has made it difficult to create a comprehensive “how-to” guide for such grantseekers.