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We are happy to announce this week’s launch of the California Grants Portal, a single (and unique!) website to find state grants and funding opportunities.
Two years ago CalNonprofits sponsored the bill authored by Assemblymember Monique Limón (Santa Barbara) to create this portal. Up until now, a nonprofit seeking state funding had to search through dozens of different state agencies without searchable sites.
Thanks to Assemblymember Limón and the nonprofit community who spoke up, the bill mandated the creation of a single site where all opportunities from every state agency would be listed, along with links to more details and application forms.
Designed for nonprofits and local government agencies seeking grants and loans from state sources, the site was built by the California State Library with input from a variety of stakeholders, and improvements are already planned for the coming months. Members of the CalNonprofits Task Force on the Grants Portal were an integral part of the development process.
Assemblymember Monique Limón stated: “I am excited to see the implementation of Assembly Bill 2252 which I authored in 2018 – making California grants accessible to nonprofits in our state. The grants website comes at a time when nonprofits and interested entities need information and access to additional funding sources. State grants make up a significant amount of nonprofits’ revenue; having a one-stop-shop for all current state grant opportunities and a streamlined application process is critical to nonprofit success by allowing greater access to state funding opportunities.”
In particular, having better access to government is important to nonprofits in rural areas and in marginalized communities. And state agencies will benefit from having a wider and more diverse pool of nonprofits with which to contract. At the same time, there are still many obstacles for nonprofits in obtaining state funding. This is an important first step, but there are more steps that CalNonprofits will be addressing as we move forward.
Keep in mind: The website is new and state agencies are still figuring out how to add their opportunities – so if you don’t see what you’re looking for bookmark the page and come back in a couple of weeks!