Grant.gov

testimonials frequent questions find an event near you host a workshop contact alumni

Grants.gov Gains Steam

1. What is Grants.gov?

Grants.gov is the official Federal government website where applicants may find and apply to funding opportunities from all 26 Federal grant-making agencies.

.:: Get Trained ::.

If you're serious about getting grants, then you're well advised to get serious grants training. That's what we do here at Grant Writing USA. View our nationwide event schedule here. Coast to coast, our workshops are hosted by America's finest government and nonprofit agencies.

2. Why was Grants.gov developed?

There are over 900 individual grant programs from 26 Federal grant-making agencies that issue over $350 billion in annual awards. Many of these programs operate independent, paper-based processes, which makes finding and applying for Federal grants difficult. Grants.gov centralizes information on grant opportunities and provides the ability to apply for those grants in one convenient online location!

3. Who is responsible for developing Grants.gov?

Grants.gov was developed as part of the President's Management Agenda (PMA) and related E-Government Strategy. It is one of 24 PMA initiatives dedicated to improving government services via the Internet. Grants.gov is a collaborative initiative, developed in partnership by 11 Federal agencies. The Program is led the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is the largest grant-making agency. The partner agencies include the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, Transportation and the National Science Foundation.

4. What steps are necessary to Find and Apply for grants on Grants.gov?

Getting started with Grants.gov is easy! While you can begin searching for grant opportunities immediately, it is recommended that you complete all Get Started steps sooner rather than later, so that when you find an opportunity for which you would like to apply, you are ready to go. More information on each can be found on the Grants.gov site.

Step 1 - Find Grant Opportunity For Which You Would Like to Apply
Step 2 - Download Application Package
Step 3 - Register with Central Contractor Registry
Step 4 - Register with Credential Provider
Step 5 - Register with Grants.gov

4. Why do grant applicants have to register with the Central Contractor Registry to use Grants.gov?

Grant applicant organizations need to be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) before being able to submit a grant application through Grants.gov. When an organization registers with the CCR, they are required to designate an E-Business Point of Contact (EPOC). The EPOC is the sole authority of the organization capable of designating, or revoking, an individual's ability to submit grant applications on behalf of their organization via Grants.gov. The CCR also houses organizational information that Grants.gov uses to verify applicant organization identity and to pre-fill repetitive information on grant applications.

5. Why do grant applicants have to register with a Credential Provider?

In order to safeguard the security of electronic information, Grants.gov utilizes E-Authentication, the Federal program that ensures secure transactions. E-Authentication defines the level of trust or trustworthiness of the parties involved in a transaction through the use of Credential Providers. It is the process of determining, with certainty, that someone really is who they claim to be. The Credential Provider for Grants.gov is Operational Research Consultants (ORC). When a grant applicant registers with ORC, they receive a username and password, which is then used to Register with Grants.gov as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). AORs are individuals designated as authorized to submit grant applications for their organization via Grants.gov. Once an individual has registered with Grants.gov as an AOR, their EPOC is asked to validate the registration. Once the EPOC validates the request, the individual requesting AOR status for their organization will receive notification via email confirming they are able to submit grant applications through Grants.gov.

6. Why do grant applicants have to Register with Grants.gov?

Grant applicants must register with Grants.gov as an Authorized Organization Representative, (AOR), in order to submit grant applications electronically through Grants.gov on behalf of their organization. The E-Business Point of Contact (EPOC) listed on an organization's Central Contact Registry (CCR) registration will receive email notification stating that the grant applicant has registered to submit grants. The EPOC will then need to log onto the EBiz section of Grants.gov and assign the "Authorized Applicant" role to the grant applicant. Once the EPOC does this, the applicant will receive email notification stating that they have been designated as an AOR and will be able to submit applications through Grants.gov.

7. What resources are available to learn more about Grants.gov and how to use it?

Grants.gov is designed to be user friendly and offers a range of online user support tools, including:

Tutorial: A computer-based training tool
Context-Sensitive Help: Information specific to the web page being viewed
User Guide: An indexed comprehensive guide to reference information on Grants.gov: Viewable online and downloadable in PDF and Word formats
Quick Reference: Reference support likely to be used most often
Frequent Questions and Answers

These tools should provide grantors and the grant community with everything needed to know to use the site. These links can be found by clicking on the Customer Support tab on the site.

Personalized support is also available through the Grants.gov Contact Center (support@grants.gov).

8. Who should grantors and grant applicants contact if they have technical problems with Grants.gov?

All technical issues should be addressed with the Grants.gov Contact Center (support@grants.gov).

9. Who should grant applicants contact if they have questions about the grant program they would like to apply for via Grants.gov?

All grant program specific questions should be addressed to the appropriate agency contact listed within the grant opportunity listings, found in the Search Grant Synopses page in Find Grant Opportunities section of the site.

10. What are the hours of the Grants.gov Contact Center?

The Grants.gov Contact Center is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. eastern standard time, Monday-Friday, excluding major Federal holidays.

11. I am an individual, where can I find information on government benefits that I personally may be eligible to receive?

If you are an individual looking for information on government benefits, refer to GovBenefits.gov , the official government benefits website. It is a free, confidential tool that helps individuals find government benefits they may be eligible to receive.

Source: Grants.gov