Tracking
Once you begin tracking federal grant opportunities through the Federal Register (www.gpoaccess.gov/fr)) and Grants.Gov (www.grants.gov), you will begin finding grant announcements. To take advantage of these opportunities, you first must understand what you are reading.
Doing a Basic Search
Doing a basic search for grant announcements is straightforward. At both sites, you can use the “Basic Search” option to search by keyword, funding opportunity number, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number, agency, or grant category. Browsing by category may result in hundreds of listings, which will help you understand the kinds of programs and agencies involved in a particular category of grants, such as energy or elementary education.
Deciphering Information about Federal Grants
Familiarize yourself with the language and format of federal grant listings. Here are the key components of a typical grant listing:
• Posted date.
• Closing date for applications. This tells you when the application is due.
• Expected number of awards. This tells you how many awards will be
made through this grant program.
• Estimated total program funding. This tells you how much money
is available through this grant competition.
• Award ceiling and floor. This tells you the lowest and highest grant
budgets you can submit.
• Cost sharing or matching. This tells you whether or not you must
contribute a certain percentage of cash or in-kind resources to your
federally funded project.
• Description. This is a short summary of the grant program.
• Link to the full announcement. The URL will link you to the entire
grant application package.
Taking Your Grant Pulse
Now that you have this information, you can match up your nonprofit’s program needs to a specific federal grant competition. But before you apply, you must candidly assess your nonprofit’s readiness to apply and your chances of winning a grant.
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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, the founder and president of The Development Source, Inc. helps nonprofit organizations develop proposals to government agencies, foundations, and corporations. He can be contacted at Jayme Sokolow.