GETTING TO KNOW GRANTFINDER
» What is GRANTfinder?
» What type of funding does GRANTfinder report on?
» What level of detail is provided?
» How often do you update the website?
» How will GRANTfinder help me to keep colleagues and third parties informed?
» How do I subscribe?
» Who updates the information on GRANTfinder?
» Can I use GRANTfinder to keep track of upcoming deadlines?
» Does the database provide information on match funding?
» How many people/ departments can be included on a GRANTfinder licence?
» How much does a subscription to GRANTfinder cost?
LOGGING INTO GRANTFINDER
» How do I get a username and password?
» What do I do if I have forgotten my password?
» How do I change my password?
SEARCHING THE WEBSITE
» What do the weird and wonderful pictures stand for on the Identification tab?
» How can I use the advanced search features of the GRANTfinder Text Search?
» I am unsure of the information I need to input on the Applicants page.
» What applicant code do I use if I am running a search on behalf of an individual?
» Does the Employees field relate to the number of employees of a local branch or the national organisation as a whole?
» How do I access previously run searches?
» How do I change the name of a saved search?
SEARCH RESULTS
» My search has not identified any matches. Where have I gone wrong?
» I have run a search and too many results have been identified. How can I edit the results?
» As a GRANTfinder user, can I share searches run under my password with other users within my organisation?
NAVIGATING THE ‘MY RESOURCES’ SECTION OF GRANTFINDER
» How do I edit the Project Search Form?
» When running a search, I have noticed that there is an option to de-select Suspended reports on the Display Filters page. What does Suspended mean?
MANAGING AND MONITORING MY GRANTFINDER ACCOUNT
» I need to monitor usage of GRANTfinder within my organisation. Is there any way of doing this?
» I wish to set up separate usernames and passwords for different members of staff. How do I do this?
» A colleague has now left the organisation. How do I ensure that they are no longer able to log in under our password?
AUTO UPDATE NOTIFICATIONS
» I have taken over responsibility for using GRANTfinder. When I log in, my predecessor’s e-mail address is displayed on the Identification tab. How do I change it so that it always displays mine?
» How do I change the e-mail address to which an Auto Update Notification for a particular search is being sent?
» How do I deactivate an Auto Update Notification?
REPRODUCTION OF GRANTFINDER INFORMATION
» I have read a Special Update Feature that I think organisations I work with would find particularly useful. Am I able to distribute the article to them under the terms of the GRANTfinder licence agreement?
FURTHER HELP
» How do I download instructions on GRANTfinder?
» Does GRANTfinder have a Help Desk?
» Does GRANTfinder run training courses?
» What other support is available to me?
GETTING TO KNOW GRANTFINDER
What is GRANTfinder?
GRANTfinder – by far the UK’s largest and most comprehensively supported database of its type –
is a user-friendly database carrying in excess of 6,000 UK and EU funding programmes – a reservoir
of information that is constantly growing and continuously updated.
Funding opportunities are identified through searching on the following key criteria: location;
total project value; who is applying for the funding; what they want the funding for; and number of
employees (relevant only to the private sector). GRANTfinder’s advanced filtering system goes one step
further in allowing you to run your search against a particular group of funding providers should you
wish to do so.
GRANTfinder’s search mechanism does not simply identify funding opportunities for up-and-coming
projects. Our Text and Sponsor searches allow you to scan the database for a particular programme
or provider, without a project in mind.
In the same way, the interactive Update Bulletin, listing the most recent changes to the database,
opens a further window on the latest funding opportunities that are available to your organisation.
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What type of funding does GRANTfinder report on?
The funding sources we report on range from EC and UK Government sources, including Government
departments, local authorities, charitable trusts and corporate sponsors. As well as grants, we report
information on loans, venture capital and advisory programmes.
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What level of detail is provided?
Information on GRANTfinder is jargon-free and presented in plain English. Following an initial search,
GRANTfinder presents you with information at three levels of detail:
- A thumbnail overview of potential schemes for a first assessment.
- A more detailed summary to facilitate the selection process.
- A detailed report with everything you need to prepare your bid.
Hyperlinks to e-mail and web addresses are provided at the second and third report levels, offering you a
direct line of communication to each funding provider.
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How often do you update the website?
GRANTfinder updates its information on a continuous basis. As soon as a member of our Research team sources
a new scheme or updates a deadline, the updated information will feature automatically
in any search you run.
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How will GRANTfinder help me to keep colleagues and third parties informed?
In a number of ways! Including:
Interactive Update Bulletin
Our interactive Update Bulletin provides a snapshot of the most important
changes to the funding environment over the last thirty days. With full access to the GRANTfinder Summary
and Detail reports, it can be customised to display only those subjects or locations of interest and then
forwarded to third parties such as community groups and colleagues as part of an External Funding service.
Newsflashes
Newsflashes are sent out on a periodic basis to bring your attention to the most imminent and newsworthy
application deadlines. Clicking on the heading Newsflash options on the My Resources section of GRANTfinder
will allow you to set up personalised alerts.
Auto Update Notifications
Activating an Auto Update Notification on a previously run search means that you never have to search for
funding for a project more than once! Simply check the Auto Update Notification box on the Identification
tab when running a search, and you will be sent an e-mail advising you of any updated or new funding
programmes that match your criteria as and when they change.
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How do I subscribe?
Access to GRANTfinder is through subscription. To arrange a demonstration at your offices, contact our
Sales Department on tel: (01909) 501200, or by selecting the appropriate option on our
» Contact page.
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Who updates the information on GRANTfinder?
The GRANTfinder database is updated and maintained by a 15-strong in-house Research team. Each concentrates
on a particular area of funding such as housing, the Environment, health or business development, and writes a
regular authoritative paper on a specialist subject, often reflecting topical developments.
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Can I use GRANTfinder to keep track of upcoming deadlines?
Yes, there are two ways in which to do this:
- GRANTfinder’s Deadlines Listing provides details of all EU and UK published deadlines.
It can be searched by category (eg Environment), scheme title and sponsor, and each report provides hyperlinks
direct to the funding providers’ own websites.
- GRANTfinder’s Results page includes a message line telling you which programmes operate to
deadlines and which accept applications on a rolling basis. Clicking on the link ‘Imminent Deadlines’ or ‘Deadlines Apply’ will
display a separate box, providing details on any upcoming deadlines and the most recent past deadline.
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Does the database provide information on match funding?
Yes. Where the funding provider makes reference to a requirement for match funding, GRANTfinder will include
this in a specific section of the Summary and Detail reports providing, where known, full information on the
acceptability of match funding in kind.
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How many people/ departments can be included on a GRANTfinder licence?
Anyone who works for your organisation and wishes to stay ahead in terms of grant funding may access
GRANTfinder once your organisation has purchased a licence.
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How much does a subscription to GRANTfinder cost?
At GRANTfinder, we place great emphasis on client satisfaction and retention. In order to provide fully for
the individual needs of our extensive range of clients, we have over the last 25 years developed a wide range of
products and services from which we are able to select the most appropriate to suit your particular organisation's
needs.
To request a no-obligation and completely free-of-charge assessment of your external funding requirements, please
» click here.
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LOGGING INTO GRANTFINDER
How do I get a username and password?
A username and password can be obtained from the person in your organisation who has responsibility for
GRANTfinder. This person can be identified by contacting the GRANTfinder Sales Administration Department
on tel: (01909) 501200, or via our
» Contact page.
This department will also be able to advise you on whether or not your organisation has a GRANTfinder
subscription.
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What do I do if I have forgotten my password?
If you have already followed the process associated with GRANTfinder’s new security enhancements, you will be
able to take advantage of the new Password Reminder facility. If you type in an incorrect password at
log-in stage, you will be able to click on
the question ‘Forgotten your password?’ You will be asked to enter your e-mail address. You will then be
prompted for the answer to your previously-configured security question before the password reminder is sent to
your e-mail address.
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How do I change my password?
Before you undertake this procedure, it is worth double-checking that you are the only person within your
organisation accessing GRANTfinder under this account.
From the Home Page, click on the ‘My Resources’ link. On the left-hand side of the screen, click on the tab
‘Account Information’. Click the radio button ‘I would like to view/ edit account information’ and then the
Apply button. On the displayed Account Information form, enter a new password and then re-enter it in the box
below for accuracy. Click the Apply button in the bottom right of the form. The password will have been changed.
Passwords should be at least 5 characters in length and are case sensitive.
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SEARCHING THE WEBSITE
What do the weird and wonderful pictures stand for on the Identification tab?
Whilst the search icons do not affect the search in any way, they are there to help you categorise any searches
that you have saved (searches are automatically saved once they have been run). It could be, for example, that
you and your colleagues are all using the same username and password to access GRANTfinder, and you want to
analyse at a future date who or which departments have run which searches. Alternatively, you may wish to
classify the searches by subject, using, for example, differing icons for environmental or health-related
searches, etc. (Remember: you need the agreement of all that are accessing GRANTfinder under the same password
for any classification system to work!)
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How can I use the advanced search features of the GRANTfinder Text Search?
The GRANTfinder Text Search supports Boolean searching. This is an advanced text searching feature used a lot
on the Internet to help enquirers reduce the amount of results retrieved. It can be employed in the following
ways when searching the Keywords box on the Text Search of GRANTfinder:
| and | Will retrieve all reports containing both keywords, for example studentship and fellowship. |
| or | Will retrieve all reports containing either of the keywords as well as those containing both, for example conservation or recycling. It is particularly useful when the enquirer is seeking to identify related terms. |
| not | Will retrieve all reports containing the first keyword but not the second, for example violence not football. |
| parantheses( ) | Allows the enquirer to give greater precedence to the search terms within the brackets, for example (law or crime) or police will force the process of ordering so that greater precedence is given to the words law or crime. |
| " " | Speech marks around a group of words will be understood by the database to be a phrase, for example "big lottery fund". Not using the speech marks will look for any of these three words in isolation. |
| * | Truncating a word with * will retrieve variations of that word; for example environment* will identify any reports that refer to the word environment, environmental, environmentalist, environmentally etc. |
When searching against the Grant Title box, it is important to remember that the search is looking for an
exact match. If, for example, you search for the "environment action fund" and its actual name is the environmental
action fund, the information will not be retrieved. In such cases, it is better to search for one shortened search
term followed by *.
Search results are automatically displayed in score order, with those reports referring to a word or phrase most frequently
listed at the top.
Results may also be ordered by application deadline and alphabetically.
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I am unsure of the information I need to input on the Applicants page.
The applicants refer to the organisations that are involved in the project. It is important to include everyone
as it could be that one of your partner organisations is entitled to apply for funding for the project through a
stream to which your organisation may not have access. If you are working with a college, police force or what you
perceive to be a voluntary organisation, check with them to see if they have set up a charitable arm or have registered
charitable status as this will widen their funding opportunities.
Typing in a key word into the Highlight box (such as community for Community/ Voluntary Organisations) will identify
the most appropriate applicant code. Similarly, if you know the Government SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)
code of the applicant organisation, inputting it
into the Highlight box will take you to the most appropriate code. Once the screen has refreshed, simply place a tick
against any relevant highlighted codes.
»
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What applicant code do I use if I am running a search on behalf of an individual?
Funding searches for individuals should be approached from the perspective of what the individual in question is
currently doing, or hopes to do. For example, a student based at an FE college requiring funding for an exchange visit
should use the applicant code 93300 Vocational Training/Further Education. Similarly, an individual looking to start
up a manufacturing business would select the appropriate code to use from the higher level categories of 20000
(Extraction and Processing of Minerals), 30000 (Metal Manufacture: Mechanical & Instrument Engineering) or 40000
(Other Manufacturing Industries).
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Does the Employees field relate to the number of employees of a local branch or the national organisation as a whole?
As the Employees field should be used only to differentiate between an applicant organisation being a small to
medium-sized enterprise (SME) or part of a larger company (as different funding rates often apply to SMEs), the figure
entered in the Employees field should reflect the number of employees of the national organisation as a whole.
Organisations in the public and voluntary sectors should ignore this field.
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How do I access previously run searches?
Any search that has been run by the user(s) is retained in the ‘My Resources’ section of
the website for future reference. Once the user has logged into ‘My Resources’, the
‘Saved Searches’ tab should be selected to display every search carried out under that
specific user name.
The user is presented with an index card for each saved search. The links at the
bottom of each index card provide the user with four options in terms of accessing or
altering a saved search:
- More: Allows the user to see the full search criteria.
- Edit: Allows amendments to be made to the profile before re-running the search.
- Results: Searches the profile again. This new search will identify any reports which are new to GRANTfinder or
which have been updated since the last search. (Note: users have the option of receiving an automatic update via e-mail
if they set it at the Identification stage of the original search.)
- Delete: Deletes the profile (this is done immediately and is not retrievable).
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How do I change the name of a saved search?
- Click on the link ‘My Resources’.
- Click on Saved Searches on the left hand side of the page.
- All searches saved under your password will be displayed. On the tab relating to the search you wish to amend, click on Edit.
- You should now be back at the Search screen. Click on the Identification tab and then amend the name as you wish.
- Click on the Save button on the left hand side of the screen.
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SEARCH RESULTS
My search has not identified any matches. Where have I gone wrong?
Although any search tab can be selected for a stand-alone search or combined with a number of other search
criteria, it is sometimes the case that combining search tabs can restrict the search to the point where no
matches are retrieved. This is most common when the Project Search tabs (ie Identification, Location, Value,
Employees, Applicants, Purpose and Filters) have been combined with a Text Search or Grant Code Search.
Measures to avoid this are as follows:
- Prior to running a search, click on ‘Create new profile’ on the left-hand side of the screen to clear
any previous searches that could affect the results.
- Once the search details have been inputted, it is advisable to check the contents of the search via the
‘Current criteria’ section on the left-hand side of the main search screen. This ensures that the contents
of the search are correct.
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I have run a search and too many results have been identified. How can I edit the results?
Further editing or refinement may be required if the search identifies a significant number of matches.
Starting points for further editing are as follows:
- Select only the most relevant categories on the Applicant and Purpose screens.
- The selection of Purpose Codes in particular can greatly affect the number of matches obtained for a
search as the more categories selected, the greater the number of matched results. It is, therefore, advisable
to select no more than ten Purpose Codes.
- Steering clear of more generic Purpose Codes such as ‘Community Projects - General’ will make the
search more specific.
- Using a Location in a search will only display those schemes which provide funding in a specific
geographical area of interest.
- In instances where a project has a number of objectives, it may be more feasible to conduct a series
of smaller searches, rather than a single one which is too vast. For example, two different searches could be
undertaken for a community hall project: one for funding for the building works and one for funding for the
community activities that will take place in the hall.
- Results should be edited using the Filters facility to define the type of assistance required (ie
grants only) and to remove Suspended reports.
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As a GRANTfinder user, can I share searches run under my password with other users within my organisation?
GRANTfinder searches are automatically saved under the Saved Searches section of My Resources. The searches are categorised by:
- My Searches (listing all searches run under your username and password).
- Shared Searches (which allows you to show your searches to other GRANTfinder users across your organisation).
- (For GRANTNET subscribers only) GRANTnet searches (displaying all searches run under GRANTnet).
If you wish to share the results of a search with others in the group, simply:
- Bring up the Saved Searches tab on the My Resources section of the website.
- Check the box of the search you wish to share.
- On the left hand side of the screen, click on the radio button ‘Share/ unshare with group’ and then Apply.
The search will then be copied to the Shared Searches section where the results can be viewed and copied by
other GRANTfinder users within your organisation.
More information is available through the Saved Searches Help screen.
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NAVIGATING THE ‘MY RESOURCES’ SECTION OF GRANTFINDER
How do I edit the Project Search Form?
The Project Search Form allows GRANTfinder users to obtain, in an electronic format, the relevant
information from an enquirer to run a funding search. Those interested in obtaining funding are asked
to provide details of their project: who is involved; where it is located; and the purpose of the
project, using the same headings as the GRANTfinder Project Search.
The document may be accessed through the User Library in the ‘My Resources’ section of the website.
It may be edited and customised by your organisation: for example, branded with your logo and your
contact details added.
To ‘unlock’ the Project Search Form to enable editing in Word, the process is as follows:
- Click on ‘View’.
- Go to ‘Toolbars’.
- Select ‘Forms’ from the list.
- In the small box that is then displayed, click on the padlock icon.
The form is now able to be edited, for example, by changing the logo or removing certain Purpose Code sections.
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When running a search, I have noticed that there is an option to de-select Suspended reports on the Display Filters page. What does Suspended mean?
Suspended refers to the category on GRANTfinder which lists programmes that have either closed to
applications for the final time or that have been held in abeyance for some time. They continue to be
reported on GRANTfinder for the sake of those organisations that have been successful in procuring funds from
a certain scheme and wish to keep abreast of monitoring procedures.
Programmes where an application round has simply closed and another one is expected continue to be reported
in the live section of GRANTfinder to allow organisations to plan ahead for future projects.
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MANAGING AND MONITORING MY GRANTFINDER ACCOUNT
I need to monitor usage of GRANTfinder within my organisation. Is there any way of doing this?
Yes, as a main user you can identify how many times GRANTfinder has been used, how many searches have been
run, and how many reports and Special Update Features have been downloaded. Simply:
- Log into GRANTfinder.
- Click on the ‘My Resources’ link.
- Click on the Account Information tab on the left hand side.
- First ensure that the account you are interested in is highlighted and click on the radio button View Account Stats.
- Click on Apply.
- The totals for each category, including a breakdown by month, will be provided for the past year.
Clicking on the Previous button will take you back to the statistics for earlier years.
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I wish to set up separate usernames and passwords for different members of staff. How do I do this?
This facility is available under the main user account.
Log into the ‘My Resources’ section of the website, and click on Account Information.
On the left hand part of the screen, choose the option 'Create a new account' and click on Apply.
The screen will then prompt you to input new Login information. A Login e-mail address should then
be typed in as well as a password (between 5 and 50 characters long) in the boxes provided. It should
be noted that both are case sensitive.
The bottom section of this screen (User information) is optional but may be filled in with the user's details.
When all details have been completed, click on Apply and the new username and password will be created.
If you do not have the option ‘Create a new account’, this is either because you are a sub-user (the
feature is only available for main users) or because permissions have not been set up for you by GRANTfinder.
To request the option to set up further user accounts, simply contact our Sales Administration Department on
tel: (01909) 501200, or by selecting the appropriate option on our
» Contact page.
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A colleague has now left the organisation. How do I ensure that they are no longer able to log in under our password?
Use the Main User's username and password to log into the "My Resources" section of the website
and then 'Account Information'. Select the relevant account from the list and click on 'Enable/Disable Account'
and then click on the 'Apply' button. This will then disable the account so it cannot be used in the future.
You can check that the account has been disabled properly by ensuring that the account username ends with '(Disabled)'.
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AUTO UPDATE NOTIFICATIONS
I have taken over responsibility for using GRANTfinder. When I log in, my predecessor’s e-mail address is displayed on the Identification tab. How do I change it so that it always displays mine?
- Log into GRANTfinder with the main user's username and password.
- Go to the '‘My Resources’' section of the website.
- Click on the tab Account Information on the left-hand side.
- Ensure the correct account is highlighted, click on the radio button ‘I would like to…view/ edit account information and then click on Apply.
- On the Account Information tab displayed, scroll down to the User Information section and change the default e-mail address to your own.
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How do I change the e-mail address to which an Auto Update Notification for a particular search is being sent?
- Log into GRANTfinder.
- Go to the '‘My Resources’' section of the website.
- Click on the 'Saved Searches' tab on the left hand side of the screen.
- Locate the relevant search.
- Click on the 'Edit' option at the bottom of this search description box.
- Once the search criteria selection screen has loaded up, click on the 'Identification' tab.
- Towards the bottom of this screen, you will find the Auto Update Notification check box and the e-mail address to which update notifications are being sent. Change the e-mail address.
- Click on the Save icon (located at the top left hand side of the Current Criteria tab) to recognise this change.
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How do I deactivate an Auto Update Notification?
The Auto Update Notification is an automated process which you can set up for any search (done so by placing a tick in the relevant box on the Identification tab or on the Search Results page). You will be sent an e-mail every two weeks to alert you to any new funding opportunities or up-and-coming deadlines.
If you wish to de-activate this facility once your project is up-and-running, simply follow either of the following processes:
Upon receiving an e-mail alert
Click on the 'unsubscribe here' link at the end of the e-mail.
Select to either unsubscribe from that particular alert or from all alerts set up for your e-mail address.
At any time
- Log into GRANTfinder.
- Go to the 'My Resources' section of the website.
- Click on the 'Saved Searches' tab on the left hand side of the screen.
- Locate the appropriate search and click on its 'Results' option.
- On the left-hand side of the Results screen, remove the tick from the 'Alert me to funding updates to this search' box.
- You will automatically be unsubscribed from the alert.
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REPRODUCTION OF GRANTFINDER INFORMATION
I have read a Special Feature that I think organisations I work with would find particularly useful. Am I able to distribute the article to them under the terms of the GRANTfinder licence agreement?
There may be information on GRANTfinder that you wish to reproduce on your own website or circulate to
organisations you work with. For example, many GRANTfinder clients post our informative Special Update Features
and our Newsflashes on their own websites.
We are happy for you to do this provided that both the author of the article and GRANTfinder are acknowledged.
For further information contact the Research Department on tel: (01909) 501200,
or by selecting the appropriate option on our
» Contact page.
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FURTHER HELP
How do I download instructions on GRANTfinder?
The GRANTfinder User Manual and the Mini Guide each gives step-by-step instructions on how to navigate from one screen to the next. They are stored in the 'User Library' section of the ‘My Resources’ tab (under the heading User Manuals).
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Does GRANTfinder have a Help Desk?
Yes, two!
The GRANTfinder Research Department, which is the Team responsible for keeping abreast of changes in the funding
environment and updating GRANTfinder accordingly, operates a Client Help Desk. Queries can range from the operational
(eg talking a user through each step of a Project Search) to the investigative, such as tracing information on a
scheme that has yet to be launched.
The Help Desk may be contacted on tel: (01909) 501200, or by selecting the appropriate option on our
» Contact page.
If your query is of a more technical nature, the Technical Help Desk may be contacted in the same way.
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Does GRANTfinder run training courses?
GRANTfinder training courses are targeted at helping new users familiarise themselves with the database,
and to refresh existing users on search facilities they may not use regularly.
Courses are conducted either at a client’s own premises or at the GRANTfinder offices in Worksop, the latter
affording clients with the opportunity of meeting other users of GRANTfinder within the same sector.
We run two types of training course:
- GRANTfinder training courses: targeted at helping new users familiarise themselves with the GRANTfinder database,
and to refresh existing users on search facilities they may not use regularly.
Courses are conducted either at a client's own premises or as an open course at the GRANTfinder offices in Worksop.
- Our Fundraising for Beginners courses: designed specifically for people in the not-for-profit sector who are new to fundraising.
Further information is available from our Training Department, tel: (01909) 501200, or select the appropriate option on our
» Contact page.
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What other support is available to me?
Every organisation subscribing to GRANTfinder has its own Account Manager. Your Account Manager is there to
help with issues such as marketing and developing the use of GRANTfinder within your organisation and may be on hand
to demonstrate GRANTfinder at a funding fair or other local event. From time to time, the Account Manager will visit
the main contact within your organisation to ensure that your organisation is getting the best out of the database
and to introduce GRANTfinder to any new members of staff.
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» Print view
If you have any queries relating to the content of this document, please contact the Research Department
on tel: (01909) 501200, or by selecting the appropriate option on our
» Contact page.
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