How to Set Up Your First Grant Search on GrantMine
Five Minutes and You'll Know What's Out There
Most people searching for grants for the first time spend too much time on setup and too little time on search. This guide is the opposite — we'll get you searching in under five minutes and show you how to make the results actually useful.
Step 1: Go to Search Grants
Head to grantmine.com/grants. You'll see a search bar at the top and a list of active opportunities below it. If you're not logged in, you're seeing grants closing in the next 30 days — plenty to start with.
Step 2: Start With Your Mission Area
Type the core of what your organization does into the search bar. Don't overthink this. Try one phrase:
- "rural broadband"
- "substance abuse treatment"
- "arts education"
- "small business development"
- "food security"
- "clean energy"
See what comes back. If results are too broad, add a second keyword. If results are too narrow, simplify.
Step 3: Use the Filters
Once you have a search that's returning relevant results, use the filters to narrow it down:
- Agency — If you already know who funds your work (HHS, USDA, DOE), filter to that agency
- Sort — Switch to "Closing Soonest" to see what needs attention now, or "Largest Award" to find the biggest opportunities
Step 4: Save a Search
When you find a search configuration that returns useful results — say, "workforce development" filtered to the Department of Labor — save it. Click "Save Search," give it a name, and it'll appear in your dashboard. Next time you log in, one click runs the search again with any new opportunities that have appeared.
Step 5: Enable Email Alerts (Business Plan)
If you're on the Business plan, you can enable daily email alerts on any saved search. When a new grant appears that matches your search, you get an email the next morning. This is the single most valuable feature for organizations with active grant programs — you stop chasing the database and the database starts chasing you.
The Right Expectation
A single search session won't find your next grant. Consistent searching will. Build a habit: check GrantMine weekly, keep your saved searches updated as your priorities evolve, and read the full announcements for anything that looks promising. The organizations that win grants are the ones who find opportunities early, before the deadline pressure hits.