of the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County
4th floor, Bausch & Lomb Public Library Building
(585) 428-8120  Hours

The Grants Information Center, the Rochester area's largest grants information collection, is a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center. As a member of this nationwide network of libraries, community foundations, and other nonprofit agencies, the Grants Information Center provides visitors with free public access to grantmaker directories, books on fundraising and nonprofit management, and online databases.

Online resources 

These databases are available at the Central Library:

• The Foundation Directory Online is a fully searchable database that includes detailed profiles of all active U.S. foundations, as well as an extensive file of recent grants awarded by the nation’s top funders.
• The Foundation Grants to Individuals Online is a database of more than 6,100 foundation and public charity programs that fund students, artists, researchers, and other individual grantseekers.
• The Online Guide to Grantmakers, a database from the Grantmakers Forum of New York, contains information on over 250 local and national corporations, foundations, trusts, and other funders. It is searchable by field of interest and type of support.

Researching grants

Use the Guide to Finding Grants as a starting point for grants research.

Congressional Research Service has prepared this guide to grants and federal domestic assistance for members of Congress and their constituents.  From the following link, go to "serving you" on the menu, and select "grants and federal funding."

 http://www.louise.house.gov  

Help from local organizations

Seeking funding can be a difficult, labor-intensive process. Assistance for the novice grant writer is available from these organizations:

• Council of Community Services of New York State
• Foundation Center -- provides links to both fee-based and free online courses in grant research, writing, and nonprofit management 
• Grantsmanship Center
• Grassroots Institute
• Monroe #1 BOCES
• Nonprofit Works

Library help

Library staff can help patrons start their grant searches by suggesting appropriate resources and by providing instruction on how to use them. Staff cannot recommend specific funders or write proposals. To schedule an orientation (individual or group), call (585) 428-8120.