General Funding Sources

There are 4 databases that OSP frequently recommends for conducting funding searches:

1. SPIN/GENIUS/SMARTS: OSP subscribes to this service for use by all Smithsonian staff and affiliated individuals. Feel free to contact OSP for information about or help using this service. It consists of 3 different parts:

SPIN (Sponsored Project Information Network): A database of funding opportunities from government and private funding sources. It is updated daily and contains more than 2,500 sponsors and more than 11,000 funding opportunities. You can conduct “quick” or “advanced” searches of funding opportunities on SPIN using a variety of parameters (keyword, type of award, geographical restrictions, sponsor, deadline, etc.). For a PowerPoint tutorial on how to use SPIN, click here.

GENIUS: A database of investigator profiles of scientific and scholarly expertise useful for finding potential research collaborators. You can conduct “quick” or “advanced” searches of investigator profiles on GENIUS using a variety of parameters. For a PowerPoint tutorial on how to use GENIUS, click here.

SMARTS: Investigator Funding Alert System matches your investigator profile in GENIUS with information in SPIN and sends you a daily notification email with funding opportunities found in SPIN match your GENIUS investigator profile. SMARTS is the easiest way to stay on top of new funding opportunities that fit your interests. For a PowerPoint tutorial on how to uses SMARTS, click here.

2. GRANTS.GOV: A database of all federal government funding opportunities. Search by keyword or Federal agency. Register for a daily email of new funding opportunities that fit your search criteria. Eventually, you will be able to search for and apply to any federal government funding opportunity using this website.

3. FOUNDATION DIRECTORY ONLINE: A database of private foundations and the projects they have previously funded. Search the foundations or projects by keyword and other criteria. Access requires a username and password. To obtain these, contact your unit’s Office of Development. OSP can also run searches of the database for you.

Other servers of interest:

Foundation Center: The mission of the Foundation Center is to foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects.
FedBizOpps: Formerly known as the Commerce Business Daily. It serves as the official publication mechanism for finding acquisition opportunities.
Society of Research Administrators International: This website contains many helpful resources if you are looking for Federal or private funding.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission: This website maintains a list of many different online databases which can be used to search for funding opportunities.
Iowa State University maintains a list of upcoming funding opportunities that can be searched by deadline or by discipline.
Community of Science: Community of Science, Inc. (COS) is the leading Web network for R&D professionals. COS provides business-to-business Internet solutions for the communication, collaboration and purchasing needs of the global R&D community. COS leverages its channel relationships with universities and research organizations to produce validated information about R&D professionals. COS unique profiling system offers a powerful knowledge management and networking solution to participating institutions.
Research Research: A database of funding opportunities that requires a subscription.
Grants.Net: A database of funding opportunties that requires a subscription.
Energy Research Clearing House: In 1988 the National Petroleum Council (NPC) recommended that an organization be created to promote collaborative exploration and production research to help offset declining research efforts in the United States.

Unit-Specific Sources

1. National Museum of Natural History

Click above for NMNH-Related Funding Opportunities by deadline.