Grants for Libraries
Libraries can apply for Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grants, Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds administered by state libraries, American Library Association grant programs, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for literacy and summer reading programs, and local community foundations. IMLS and LSTA are the largest federal funding sources for libraries, and most state libraries run their own LSTA subgrant programs with rolling deadlines throughout the year.
Where the money is
Where the money actually is
These are the real programs that fund libraries. Main Street Grants matches your organization against all of them, every day, and scores your fit before you spend a weekend on an application.
IMLS Grants
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary federal funder for libraries. Programs include the National Leadership Grants, the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, and the American Rescue Plan grants. Open to public, academic, and tribal libraries.
LSTA Funds (State Libraries)
Library Services and Technology Act funds are federal dollars administered by state libraries. Each state runs its own subgrant program with its own priorities and deadlines. Check your state library for open cycles.
American Library Association Grant Programs
The ALA offers several grant programs for libraries, including the Great Stories Club, Libraries Transforming Communities, and professional development grants. Smaller awards but less competitive than federal grants.
Dollar General Literacy Foundation
Funds summer reading programs, family literacy, and adult literacy. Awards range from $3,000 to $15,000. Open to libraries and nonprofits. Multiple application cycles per year.
Local Community Foundations
Community foundations in your region often have donor-advised funds that support library programs. Smaller awards, but the application is simpler and the decision is local.
The problem
The problem
Most rural and small-town libraries run on a single librarian and a thin budget. Grant work, if it happens at all, is done in the margins of an already full schedule. The librarian knows the grants exist, IMLS, LSTA, ALA, Dollar General, but finding the time to track deadlines, check eligibility, and write a competitive application is the problem. So the library misses cycles it would have qualified for, year after year.
The tracking problem is just as bad. A library that wins a grant has to track the award, the reporting deadlines, the spending, and the outcomes, often for multiple grants at once. Without a system, that work lives in a spreadsheet on one person's computer, and when that person retires or moves, the institutional knowledge goes with them.
How we help
How Main Street Grants helps
Main Street Grants was built for organizations that do not have a grant writer on staff. Here is what that looks like for libraries.
Every morning, Main Street Grants scans federal, state, and foundation grant databases for new opportunities and scores them against your library's profile, your programs, your community demographics, and your past grants. You see a ranked list of grants you actually qualify for, with a fit score, before you spend a weekend on an application.
When you pick an opportunity, Main Street Grants drafts every section from your knowledge base, your library's mission, your programs, your collection data, your community outcomes, and your past applications. You review and edit, not write from scratch. A first draft takes an afternoon.
Every grant lives in one pipeline dashboard. Deadlines, status, scores, follow-ups, and reporting requirements. The library board sees a real pipeline instead of a verbal update.
Main Street Grants tracks LSTA subgrant cycles in your state, so you do not miss a deadline because you did not know your state library had an open cycle.
Frequently asked questions
Ready to find your grants?
Start your workspace today, or book a 15 minute look at Main Street Grants first. Either way, we will walk you through it.
Start your workspace
Tell us about your organization and we will set you up. Or book a 15 minute look at Main Street Grants first.