The government issues grants or financial aid to certain establishments to fund specific projects. Such projects usually focus on public services. There are other purposes for which there are government grants are issued by the federal government; it could involve supporting initiatives revolving around critical recovery or innovative research. Let us take a look at grants funded by the government, what they are, the eligibility conditions, and how to get them.

What are grants?
A grant is a form of federal financial assistance funded by the federal government for projects of different types and scales. Certain examples could be critical recovery programs and initiatives. The funding could be idea-based, like for research work required for innovations.   

The overall purpose of such grants is to ensure that the community at large benefits from such funding. It could also be for a particular section of society that is in need of such funding. Two primary objectives of grants are to boost economic growth and provide public services.  

It is vital to understand that grants, often termed “free money,” are not for individuals, their dependents, or families. This is especially true when financial help covers their personal expenditures and helps them become financially independent. These are covered under personal financial assistance or federal benefit programs run by the government.

Who is eligible for a government grant 
As mentioned earlier, individuals are not eligible for grants. Federal grants are awarded only to organizations. This includes primarily:   

• The state governments and local governments like counties, cities, towns, special district governments, and Native American tribal governments 
• Law enforcement agencies, like the police  
• Independent schools, universities, private institutes of higher education, state-controlled institutes of higher education, and research labs   
• Business organizations or for-profit organizations, especially small businesses that meet the standards as mentioned by the US Small Business Administration  
• Non-profit entities, both organizations with 501(c)(3) and without  
• Public housing organizations, including the United States Housing Authority  
• Foreign applicants, including individuals or organizations who have their TIN or EIN  

Note: Individuals cannot usually apply for grants on the Grants.gov site. For individual applicant profiles, the details are available in the Grants Program section.  

What is the federal grant process?
Details of ongoing grants (posted/forecasted/closed/archived) can be found on the Grants.gov website. The process starts with the creation of the funding opportunity. Eligible parties/organizations need to apply, after which a decision to award the grant is taken at the federal level. Once the award decision is made, the organization that granted the funds needs to ensure successful implementation. The linear lifecycle includes three phases: pre-award, award, and post-award.  

The application process for government grants takes place in the pre-award phase. 

It covers the following steps:  

• The grant-making agency plans the opportunity or funding program. The opportunity is announced and advertised on Grants.gov.   
• Applicants who fit the program requirements with a mission match must search for and apply for the grants.   
• They need to register first at Grants.gov. If there are other registration requirements that the applicants need to fulfill, they must do so.  
• After registration, the applicant needs to complete the grant application. This is a time-consuming process, and the application form should be downloaded directly from the website.   
• The form must be meticulously filled up, providing minute details like the organizational setup.   
• To add to it, there are fields related to financial data, and the applicants need to explain how they intend to carry out the proposed work.   
• Care should be taken to fill up the form as per the instructions provided by the grant-making agency.  
• The completed application needs to be submitted at the Grants.gov site.  The grant-making agency retrieves the filled application forms from the Grants.gov site. Once they do so, the applicants are notified via email.  
• The applicant must write to the concerned agency to know the application’s status.  

Keep in mind to scrutinize the application thoroughly before submitting it. The first thing that the agency checks is compliance with the given instructions and requirements. Only the applications that pass the initial screening get considered for the program. But there are multiple stakeholders reviewing the application, which is why it takes time.   

Reporting status
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act mandate that organizations receiving the grants must divulge information regarding the funds on the central site. The grant-making agency makes all details public on the site. Details like grant amount, location, and organization’s name must be disclosed. Applicants must only trust the information available about federal grants on the US Government website. Any other website is unreliable and could be fraudulent.