Grants.gov

Overview of Grants.gov

• https://www.grants.gov/
• Types of grants: These tend to be large grants aimed at universities and non-profit research centers, but some smaller grants do pop out here
• Agencies: All government agencies use Grants.gov
• Our two cents: Grants.gov is still rocking a 2001 vibe, but as ugly as it is, it gets the job done

Searching in Grants.gov

1. Keyword: What is sounds like, find grants related to something you care about
2. Opportunity number/CFDA: Two coding systems to find specific grants you care about
3. Status: Is the grant currently accepting proposals, is it forecasted to come out, what’s happening with it
4. Funding Instrument type: The contractual mechanism to be used (see our class on contract types for more info)
5. Eligibility: Who can apply for the grants
6. Category: The grant’s topic area
7. Agency: Who released the grant

Understanding grants on Grants.gov

1. Document Type: Typically this is a Grant notice
2. Funding Opportunity Number: This grant’s unique identifier
3. Funding Opportunity Title: Overview of the work
4. Opportunity Category: What kind of work is anticipated under the grant
5. Opportunity Category Explanation: If the category needs explanation
6. Funding Instrument Type: The contracting mechanism to be used for the grants
7. Category of Funding Activity: Similar to the Category this describes the type of work
8. Category Explanation: If an explanation is needed
9. Expected Number of Awards: How many winners there will be
10. CFDA Number(s): Another unique identifier
11. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: Does the winner have to split some of the costs of the work or will the government pay for it all
12. Version: How many versions (edits) have there been
13. Posted Date: When the grants for first published
14. Last Updated Date: Date of last modification
15. Original Closing Date for Applications: Original date applications were due
16. Current Closing Date for Applications: Current date applications are due
17. Archive Date: Like with SAM.gov I don’t know why this is included
18. Estimated Total Program Funding: The total amount of money available to fund recipients. Take this number and divide by the Expected Number of Awards to get the amount each winner is likely to receive
19. Award Ceiling: The maximum amount a winner will get under this award
20. Award Floor: The least amount a winner will get under this award
21. Version history: Allows you to see older versions of this
22. Related Documents: Typically these documents give detailed instructions about the grant and how to apply
23. Package: Instructions on how to propose a solution
24. Eligibility: What kinds of organizations can apply (e.g. nonprofits, local governments, etc)
25. Additional Information: Any additional information the government wants to provide
26. Contact information: The points of contact for this grant