Choosing a Grant

• Women can select grants based on their financial needs for completing a project. As writer John Goldman points out, the amount of money received can vary between $100 and $50,000. For women engaged in long-term projects, money can be paid out over the course of years. If a writer explores topics of interest to a particular group, like minority women or environmental studies, she might want to contact a non-profit group that specializes in that area.
  
  

Federal Grants

• Most writers may start by seeking a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Although not gender-specific, the NEA does give generous funding for poets, prose writers, and translators. A woman who writes about educational and humanitarian issues should consider using the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as a resource. Goldman also recommends looking to the National Park Service when writing about outdoor activities.
  
  

State Grants

• Big federal grants such as those rewarded by the NEA and the NEH can be difficult to come by because of heavy competition. Women writers might want to look within their own states' arts commissions or councils. The state of New York alone contains several alliances, each with their own cultural or topical concerns. Even some of the larger cities in the United States have organizations in place to support the literary arts.
  
  

Foundations and Non-Profits

• Foundations are often the best places for women to find grants. Because of a smaller pool of people looking for funds, women enjoy less competition and a greater chance of receiving aid. Grants exclusively rewarded to women include the Amy Award for New York poets under 30, the Leeway Foundation for Pittsburgh women who focus on social change, the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and the $50,000 Gift of Freedom award from the A Room of Her Own Foundation.
  
  

Application Process

• In general, the difficulty of the application process intensifies with the amount of money at stake. For instance, the application for the $50,000 Gift of Freedom Award is quite extensive, requiring an essay, a strictly formatted writing sample, personal and financial information, and a $35 application fee. In contrast, judges for the much smaller Amy Award only ask that applicants send three poems, a brief bio, and a self-addressed stamped envelope for responses.