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Jonah, my suggestion to you is that your organization determine what you most want to do to meet your needs and the needs of your constituents and communities, and then seek out funders that can match that, rather than the other way around. Don't chase the dollar then design a program to match, but rather find the dollars that help fulfill your needs.
Then you will need to find funders who are a good match for what you want/need to do. Outside of the public funders someone just mentioned to you, I hope you are familiar with databases such as the Foundation Directory online. You need to research what funders have funded in the past to get a sense of whether or not they are a good fit for the work you want to do.
Bear in mind that sometimes funders change their focus. That is another reason not to just design a program around a funders' interests. Plus, there are a variety of funders out there. Many have restrictions about who they will fund based on interest, geography, size, etc.
Good luck,
Susan
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jonah Cohen
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 7:47 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: trends in grants: less is more? more is less?
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Greetings, all. A quick question about what your center + your
development department find that grant funders are looking to pony up
money for.
In short, say there are two options:
1) Doing programs (be they outreach, field trips, whatever) that
allow you to serve a large number of students, but each kid only a small
number of times (maybe only once per kid)
2) Doing programs that serve a small number of kids, but works
frequently with each kid served
Does there seem to be a preference by grant-funders for one over the
other? I'm wondering because, from the education perspective, we can
design our programming to fit either option; I was just curious about
whether we should spend more time/effort preparing for one of those
options.
Thanks,
Jonah Cohen
Outreach & Public Programs Manager
The Children's Museum
"I hold that popularization of science is successful if, at first, it
does no more than spark the sense of wonder."
-Carl Sagan
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