Searching for Funding On Your Own

Grants.gov

Grants.gov is the online clearinghouse for all Federal grant opportunities. It has two main functions that will be of interest to you:

Search- Look for Federal grant opportunities in your area of expertise!

Apply- Fill out the grants.gov proposal package to submit your proposal online!

To search for Federal funding opportunities, go to www.grants.gov and click on "Find Grant Opportunities" in the navigation bar on the left side of the page. This will take you to a page where you can search by Agency, Keyword, CFDA number, or other factors. This search will generate a list of RFPs that are currently in the Grants.gov system. Pay close attention to deadline and closing dates, as well as eligibility requirements.

Once you decide to apply for a particular opportunity, you will need to download PureEdge viewer (software is available for download on the grants.gov site). Once PureEdge has been downloaded, you will be able to download the application package corresponding to the opportunity you have chosen. You can save this file to your computer, where you can work on it offline. Once you have filled out the package, you will need to email it to your GSS grants coordinator for review and submission.

NOTE: You will not be able to submit through Grants.gov without the help of your Grants Coordinator. The Grants.gov system has extensive credential requirements that have already been satisfied for Clemson University by OSP and GSS. Do not attempt to obtain another "account" with Grants.gov!

It is also important to note that Grants.gov and PureEdge work best with the Internet Explorer browser. You may encounter problems when using Firefox or other browsers.

If your computer will not support PureEdge software, you can contact your Grants Coordinator with the specifics of your chosen opportunity (solicitation number, CFDA number, sponsoring agency, etc), and GSS can download the package and assist you in completing it.

Remember, all Grants.gov submissions must be completed by your GSS Grants Coordinator!

The Foundation Center

The Foundation Center is a website that allows you to look up private and non-profit organizations and search available RFPs by keyword. To use the website, go to www.fdncenter.org . At the bottom right hand side of the page, you will see an option to "Search RFPs." Type your keyword into the search box and click the Search arrow to get a list of current opportunities available.

InfoEd/SPIN

InfoEd is the electronic research administration software that Clemson University uses to track your grant proposals. The software also has a component that allows you to receive customized daily emails of funding opportunities from Federal, non-profit, and private sources!

To set up an InfoEd profile, please contact Karen Pless in the Office of Sponsored Programs at kpless@clemson.edu or by phone at (864) 656-6182.

Page maintained by: Grant Support Services, brigett@clemson.edu