Foundations are very honest and are able to share information where governmental programs often cannot because of their formal RFP processes. If you divide Robert Wood Johnson money over every area they fund across the country, it's not a huge amount of money for each program. Too often, agencies don't know what is available locally to them, and local funding sources are often where the money actually is. Be visibly successful. There's a tendency for service agencies to not want to toot their own horn, and that's a mistake.
Many foundations go out and find projects to fund.
We don't fund projects we've never heard of. Foundations can be one of your best sources of long-range funding, but that only happens if you have a relationship with them. Don't give up. Remember your goal. Don't go after grants simply as a way to get more money.