Library Guides: Foundation and Private Grant Funding: Getting Started

Getting Started

This guide is intended to be an introduction to finding and applying for funding through foundations and private grants.

External Funding

The University of South Carolina provides access to The Foundation Directory, which allows users to search for federal and non-federal funding opportunities.

The Foundation Directory
The Foundation Directory provides funding intelligence for research institutions, offering tools to identify potential grant makers and insights into their giving patterns, priorities, and award amounts. It also includes recipient profiles to benchmark peers, uncover new opportunities, and support strategic partnerships

Use the following resources for guidance on searching The Foundation Directory for funding opportunities:

Foundation Directory Tutorials
Access tutorials on searching and navigating Foundation Directory through Foundation Directory Online's official YouTube channel.
Philanthropy Classification System
Explore all searchable terms using Candid's Philanthropy Classification System.

Internal Funding

ASPIRE
ASPIRE provides faculty with funding to begin a new research project for subsequent external funding.
ASPIRE AI
ASPIRE AI provides faculty funding to pursue artificial intelligence research leading toward external funding opportunites.
Provost Research Competition
The Provost Research Competition offers support in three key areas: faculty who are actively applying for external funding, faculty working toward applying for such funding, and those with ambitious projects that will have a major impact on the applicant’s field of research.