Applying for a Federal Grant
There are numerous types of grants depending on the organization that is hosting or supporting the grant opportunity, as well as on the needs of the community. Other than funding organizations, however, which are usually non-profit organizations, the federal government is also sponsoring their own grant funding opportunities.
A federal grant is money given by a certain division of the U.S. government in order to satisfy a continuously growing need in a community or to meet a specific environmental, technological, or industrial goal. Often, these grants are provided in a maximum of two years and have much specific funding and budget requirements, as well as eligibility criteria than regular and ordinary grant opportunities.
Some federal grant opportunities are announced a year before their deadline and are usually available for a maximum of two years. For first time applicants of federal grants, announcements of open funding opportunities can be found at grants.gov.
Grants.gov is the best source to find and apply for federal government grants, managed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Indeed, this initiative is creating a deep impact in the lives of grant seekers, especially for those who are applying for the first time.
On the other hand, those who have previously applied and have been funded by a certain division of the government can receive requests for proposals (RFPs) from the specific division of the government. This procedure is used by the government if they intend to limit the number of applicants for a certain funding opportunity.
Most federal grants have no geographic and budget limitation. Hence, most applicants immediately apply for a federal grant at the minute they learned about the funding announcement and assessed their qualification for the eligibility requirements.
But since the number of federal grant applicants is much greater than the number of ordinary grant applicants, the competition is much tougher and tighter. So, how can an ordinary federal grant applicant stand out and get ahead of all other federal grant applicants? Following are some useful tips:
Get registered with grants.gov (required for all first time federal grant applicants)
Prior to applying for your prospective open federal grant opportunity, you must initially get registered with grants.gov. The federal government strictly requires this procedure to enable a safe and easy way for the applicants to apply for funding and track their application.
Registration with grants.gov involves five steps: obtaining a DUNS number, registering with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), acquiring your username and password, confirmation of the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR), and tracking your AOR status. Once accomplished and after securing your DUNS number, EIN, CCR, AOR, and username and password, you can now apply for the specific open federal grant opportunity.
Keep in mind that you must do this first before applying for the actual funding announcement because acquisition of the said numbers authorizations, and certifications will probably take up 3-5 business days for each (DUNS, EIN, CCR, and AOR), if instructions are followed correctly.
Carefully read and analyze the federal grant announcement
If you have found a specific open federal grant opportunity, read every detail on its announcement carefully, with particular focus on the necessary budget requirements, instructions for writing your project narrative, and instructions for submitting your application package. Downloading their checklist for the application package can also help ensure that you have prepared everything prior to submission.
Specifically adhere to the instructions and requirements
Each federal grant opportunity announcement has a different and specific instruction and requirements. Since different divisions of the government host and conduct the open federal grant opportunity, no two grant announcements will have the same set of instructions and requirements, unless both are hosted by the same division of the federal government.
Strict compliance with all the instructions and requirements indicated in the specific federal grant funding opportunity is a must because if the reviewing committee notices a non-compliance with your application package, including application and submission processes, your application package will instantly be disqualified.
Provide all required attachments
Aside from the project narrative, there are funding announcements that require a set of attachments and supporting documents. Hence, you must be able to carefully note the necessary documents and files to attach, in the proper order and correct number of pages, as instructed on the federal grant announcement.
Submit your project narrative, other documents, and files ahead of the deadline
To achieve maximum results, submit your application package ahead of the indicated deadline. Each federal or government grant announcement has specific instructions for applying and submitting online, through e-mail, or through regular mail delivery services.
Regularly track your application
To ensure the status of your application, regularly track it on the grants.gov by logging in on their web site. Through this, you will be instantly informed if your application gets accepted, rejected, or requires revision, or if you need to submit additional requirements per instruction of the reviewing committee.
Knowing these tips will surely help you easily apply for a federal or government grant. To further secure the approval of your application, hire the services of a grant writing company. A grant writing company employs professional grant writers who can help you write the project narrative for your federal grant proposal. These professional grant writers have extensive years of experience in writing grant proposals that ultimately bring out the impressive qualities of an organization that will surely catch the attention of funding organizations including the divisions of the federal government.
