BOUNTIFUL -- One of the biggest problems with grants is understanding where and how to find such available money. The Utah Nonprofits Association is helping people and businesses find grants to fit their needs.

"We are excited to help people find the grant that will best suit them," said Jen Atwood, member services director for the Utah Nonprofits Association. "We have learned the biggest problem people have is understanding how to find the grants or other money available and then how to apply for such programs."

The Utah Nonprofits Association was developed in 1990 to assist people who are looking for a more effective route in the non-profit business.

The latest step toward helping in this arena, the Utah Nonprofits Association has aligned with US Bank to offer the public free access to the Foundation Center base, the data base for more than 80,000 grants.

"People can search the database for free and can do searches in different ways," Atwood said. "People can search by topics, interests or grant types."

Atwood and the staff at UNA also assist in helping people apply for grants.

"Some people feel very intimidated by the whole process," Atwood said. "And while it is a little time consuming, it is not that hard."

"We are here to offer people that information they need to track down the grants and then apply for them."

The Bountiful Davis Arts Center is a successful member of UNA. Emma Dugal with BDAC said the information she and the board members have received from UNA has been extremely helpful.

"We've found great success by utilizing UNA," Dugal said. "By attending workshops we have been able to educate ourselves better so we can get better funding and run a more smooth operation."

Dugal also noted the follow-up assistance by the UNA staff.

"I have been able to call on them to answer questions and help educate me in areas that come up after attending a workshop."

Like other non-profit organizations, BDAC's survival is based on advocacy, working for the support of legislatures, and things like web design.

"Without some direction and experts to help navigate all of the information this can be very confusing," Dugal said.

"Our job is to do exactly what Emma is talking about," Atwood said. "To be an advocate for nonprofits and other people seeking assistance to fulfill whatever their dreams might be. The material and information is here. We just help them find it."

For more information, contact UNA at (801) 596-0180 or go to: www.utahnonprofits .org.



sschulte@davisclipper.com