Because school counselors have a comprehensive view of the needs of students, parents/guardians, and educators, they are in a good position to apply for external funding (grants).
Seeking and applying for grants is one way school counselors can embody leadership & advocacy in order to enhance elements of their comprehensive school counseling program.
Most grants follow a standard format; and school counselors can use the school archival data and/or the needs assessment to help strengthen the rationale for the funding.
The following is a list of potential websites to use to search for grants:
U.S. Dept. Of Education: www.ed.gov
National Institute for Health (NIH): www.nih.gov
National Science Foundation: www.nsf.gov/funding/
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: www.dhhs.gov
Grants, Etc. (University of Michigan) www.ssw.umich.edu/public/currentProjects/grantsetc/
The Grantsmanship Center: www.tgci.com
The Foundation Center: www.fdncenter.org
Federal Information Exchange: www.fie.com
Federal Grant search: www.grants.gov/
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grant Programs www.gatesfoundation.org/grants/pages/overview.aspx
Amon G. Carter Foundation www.aera.net/grantsprogram/res_training/res_grants/RGFly.html
Carnegie Corporation of New York www.carnegie.org/sub/program/grant.html
RGK Foundation: www.rgkfoundation.org
University of Illinois – Illinois Researcher Information Service (IRIS): http://www.library.uiuc.edu/iris/index.html
IRIS Tutorial: http://www.library.uiuc.edu/iris/tips.html
** State sources: Dept of Education, State Agencies, etc.
Sources – Using cutting & pasting community data/social indicators:
a. www.fedstats.gov – 70 federal government agencies
b. Annie E. Casey Foundation – Kids Count Data Book – www.aecf.org
National Center for Educational Statistics – http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/onlinedata.asp