Guide to Federal Grants

What are Federal Grants?

• Federal grants are monies or funds disbursed by the federal government of the United States to a recipient (typically a nonprofit entity, educational institution, company or individual). In order to obtain a federal grant, the entity in question must submit some form of “Grant Writing”—often referred to as a proposal or an application.

• The majority of federal grants are offered to the aforementioned entity classifications to fund a specific project; the projects in question typically require some form of compliance and reporting. Additionally, these funds are considered to be socially beneficial in some way; the majority of federal grants are used for educational purposes or for the formation of small businesses.


• In the United States, the federal grant writing process involves the applicant in question to submit a proposal stating why the underlying project is necessary and what the expected funds will be used for. In addition to funding such projects, federal grants may be also given to communities or individuals who have recently suffered from natural disasters or other calamities.


Specifics Associated with Federal Grants:

• In the United States, federal grants typically come from a number of Government departments. The majority of federal grants are issued to students through the completion of post-secondary educational institutions. In certain situations, a government loan may be issued as a grant; in these instances, the federal government will provide additional funding to promising students seeking financial support for educational purposes.

• The issuance of federal grants requires an adherence to the government’s reporting and compliance regulations; these rules will vary depending on the type of grant offered. For instance, in the case of research grants (offered to scientists or educational professionals aiming to conduct a study of some sort) involving living subjects, a government agency (such as the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) will attend the grant holder’s experiments or testing trials. The inclusion of these agencies is to ensure that federal grants are being used for the purpose outlined in the application.

• Federal grants are offered by a number of government departments or agencies (40 agencies offer federal grants); the issuance of federal grants is organized based on specialty. For instance, the Department of Energy will issue federal grants for projects involved with alternative energy sources.

• The United States Department of Health and Human Services maintains and updates a list of federal grants on their government website.


Who is Eligible to Receive Federal Grants?

• The majority of federal grants are available to organizations; a large percentage of federal grants are awarded to state and local government bodies or organizations as incentives to provide clean, efficient and safe services. Other federal grants will be delivered to educational institutions, public housing organizations, or nonprofit companies. The rest of federal grants are delivered to small business owners; the obtainment of this money will depend on the service or good provided by the particular small business owner.