LSTA Project

GrantsWatch, Inc. can now be found in the Connecticut State Library A-Z Databases.

Fresh content is uploaded daily.  Check it out!

Grants are available from many other sources, including Federal agencies, local foundations, banks, and businesses. Here are a few funders to investigate:

General

• The Awesome Foundation has a chapter especially for libraries that supports "technical and non-technical library innovations that embody the principles of diversity, inclusivity, creativity, and risk-taking." Note: As of June 2024, the library chapter is inactive.
• The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy maintains an extensive member directory listing dozens of community foundations, banks, and businesses that provide grants in Connecticut.
• Connecticut Humanities provides grants to nonprofits throughout the state.
• The State Department of Economic and Community Development operates as a grant making agency for state and federal funds for the arts and historic preservation.
• The Greater Hartford Arts Council offers many different grant opportunities, including Artscape Grants "to community programs and projects that use the arts to improve the quality of life in our cities and towns."
• The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) offers several different types of grants for libraries.
• The National Endowment for the Humanities offers Preservation Assistance Grants designed to help small and mid-sized institutions improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine arts, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, and historical objects.
• Danbury-based Linde’s Global Giving Program makes grants to support education, diversity, healthcare, environment and disaster relief, with priority to organizations where its employees volunteer their time and talent.
• Scholastic maintains an extensive list of library grant programs.
• The Walmart Foundation offers a Community Grant Program to nonprofits, municipalities, and schools in Walmart's service areas.

Library services, programs, literacy

• ALA offers grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 to support programs aimed at enhancing adult literacy through The American Dream Starts @ your library® initiative.
• ALA has many other grants for collection development, research, professional development, literacy, and innovation.
• Better World Books gives up to $15,000 for "Game Changing ideas which help advance a compelling literacy project."
• The Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations and schools that help individuals advance their literacy and basic education skills.
• The nationwide A.R.T. Library Program distributes books on contemporary art to rural and inner-city schools, libraries, and alternative reading centers completely free of charge. 
• The Flutie Foundation awards grants to organizations that provide educational, recreational, and employment support for people with autism.
• Libraries and Autism provides "Autism Welcome Here" grants for library programs and services, with applications accepted between September and December.
• The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation provides grants for the purchase of children’s books for bookmobiles.
• National Network of Libraries of Medicine Region 7 (New England and NY) offers grant funding to improve access to health information.
• The Wish You Well Foundation gives grants between $200 and $10,000 to support new and expanded programs for family literacy and education.

Children/YA

• The ALSC/Candlewick Press "Light the Way: Outreach to the Underserved" Grant consists of $3,000 to assist a library in conducting exemplary outreach to underserved populations through a new program or an expansion of work already being done.
• The Pilcrow Foundation provides new, quality, hardcover children’s books to rural public libraries across the United States through a 2-to-1 matching grant.
• ALA's Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) offers grants for collection development, research, and summer reading programs.

Schools

• AASL has several grants and awards for school libraries.
• The Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations and schools that help individuals advance their literacy and basic education skills.
• The nationwide A.R.T. Library Program distributes books on contemporary art to rural and inner-city schools, libraries, and alternative reading centers completely free of charge. 
• The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation awards mini-grants of up to $500 to public schools and public libraries for projects that foster creative expression, working together and interaction with a diverse community.

Facilities

• The Neighborhood Assistance Act tax credit program from the State of Connecticut allows businesses to provide funding for municipal and tax-exempt organizations, who can use the money for open space acquisition, an energy conservation project, or other programs. The tax-exempt organization fills out a brief form, gets approval from the municipality, and then gets approval from the CT Department of Revenue Service. Local businesses can then fund the project in lieu of paying their state taxes.

This page is maintained by staff from the
Connecticut State Library | Division of Library Development | Contact Us