Governments at the local, state, and federal levels make grants to nonprofit organizations to carry out programs that benefit the welfare of the community. They also support research in virtually every area and artistic endeavor. In some ways, getting a grant from a government agency is easier for the grant writer than from any other source.

Applications for government grants always involve completing forms, which can be easier than constructing a proposal.

The applications limit space for the description of your program. This not only forces you to get to the essence of a program (which benefits all your foundation and corporate proposals), but it also prevents everyone at your charity who reviews your edits from adding on (and on and on) to it. I love telling people editing my government proposals that for every word they want to add, they must suggest a word to cut. This takes great discipline for all concerned.

You don’t have to rely just on websites and directories to learn about government grants. You’ll find it useful to establish contacts with your elected representatives’ staffs. They might hear of a grant opportunity that has just come out or that you might have overlooked. The better educated you keep them about your charity and its programs, the better they can represent you by supporting legislation that will help your cause, too. Put your elected representatives on your mailing list, and that means home offices as well as legislative offices.

Governments support nonprofits (and occasionally individuals and businesses) through grants, Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and the distribution of “earmarks”—politely known as special allocations. Let’s take a look at each.