Abstract
Chapter 7 examines the strategic process of locating grant opportunities and argues that successful searching begins with understanding the applicant, project, and funder rather than simply looking for available money. Writers must identify opportunities that genuinely match organizational missions, project needs, beneficiaries, geographic reach, and implementation capacity. The chapter surveys multiple approaches to discovering funding, including asking colleagues where they have found support, examining paths taken by similar organizations, searching for new opportunities, consulting grant databases, and using AI to generate possible leads or keywords. It provides practical guidance for searching databases through initial keywords, Boolean logic, filters, advanced search functions, deadline awareness, and systematic recordkeeping. The chapter also explains how to search foundation databases and evaluate what information should be saved during the process. Throughout, the authors emphasize critical judgment because search results may include poor matches, misleading information, or fraudulent opportunities. Effective grant searching is therefore presented as an iterative rhetorical activity: writers gather information, refine search terms, evaluate fit, and ultimately recognize when enough information has been collected to stop searching and begin proposal development.

Before Searching, Understand the Applicant and Project
Before Applying, Understand the Funder
Ask Others Where They Have Gone
Go Where Others Have Gone Before
Go in Search of New Opportunities
Ask AI Where to Go
Searching Grant Databases
Gather Information About Your Project
Consider Querying AI for Keywords
How to Search a Grant Opportunity Database
Being Aware of Time, Including Deadlines
Consider Initial Keywords
Boolean Logic and Search Operators
About Filters
Search and Search Again
The Simple Search Box vs. Advanced Searches
What to Write Down
A Keyword Search Scenario
How to Search a Foundation Database
Why Search for a Foundation?
Advanced Search Options
What to Look at and Save
Summary