Beta Sam.gov (formerly Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance)   | "Identifies and describes specific government assistance opportunities such as loans, grants, counseling, and procurement contracts available under many agencies and programs." A paper version (less up-to-date than the online version) is available in the ASU Library Reference at REF HC 110 .P63 U53a

Federal money retriever
Useful keywords to search include recreation, disadvantaged, homeless, volunteers, women, youth programs.

Grants.gov  | "Grants.gov allows those seeking grants to electronically find and apply for competitive grant opportunities from all Federal grant-making agencies. Grants.gov is THE single access point for over 1000 grant programs offered by the 26 Federal grant-making agencies."

GuideStar   | Produced by Philanthropic Research, Inc.: searchable directory of over 850,000 nonprofit organizations. Free profiles of IRS 990 filings. Makes researching and comparing public charitable organizations easier.

GrantsWeb.   | Produced by the Society of Research Administrators, this site provides information on grants and funding in four categories; 1) Government Resources, 2) General Resources, 3) Policy Information & Regulations, and 4) Private Funding.

Pamela's Grant Writing Blog | Billed as the "Ultimate nonprofit newbie resource" Pamela's blog provides information and ideas on all aspects of fundraising.  Great for the "one person shop."

North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation

Corporate & Foundation Relations - Website provided by the Appalachian State University Office of University Advancement.  "This site is designed to provide you with information related to researching potential external private funding sources for campus programs and initiatives. The role of the CFR Director is to match prospective corporate and foundation funding sources with campus programs, and to work with faculty and staff to secure the needed resources to support new and ongoing initiatives that are consistent with the overall funding objectives established by the University." Contact CFR to discuss your ideas and how University Advancement might support your work.

Candid -- The Foundation Center - "Your Gateway to Philanthropy on the World Wide Web" - an independent national service organization that provides an authoritative source of information on foundation and corporate giving for nonprofit organizations.  Contact Appalachian State University's Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, ext. 2130 about accessing the Foundation Center Directory Online.  

Foundation Directory Online

1. At the top of the screen, in the grey border, click on Learning Lab to find the following useful guides. You'll see them under "Virtual Classroom," on the left border of the page. Under Learning Lab, click on Proposal Writing Short Course. Or, use the Guide to Funding Research, Proposal Budgeting Basics, Glossary, or FAQs (the latter includes links to examples of grant proposals, letters of inquiry, proposal cover letters, and budgets).
    
2. Look at the left border of the page. When you have the names of some foundations to which you're thinking of submitting proposals, use the Foundation Finder to link to the foundation's Web site or (if corporate) recent tax return. You can search by name and, if necessary, limit to a particular state.
    
3. Look at the left border of the page. Click on SearchZone. Then, under Sector Search, click on Advanced. The Sector Search is very imprecise for recreation and leisure topics, but you can give it a try. Use the Advanced search form. Leave al l types of sites checked except government resources (the latter introduces a lot of irrelevant information). Check: updated within last year. Ask that search words must contain (recreation or recreational) or whatever words are relevant for you. If you want to search a phrase, enclose it in quotation marks.