“What Is…?” Blog Series

What Is a Research Grant?

Posted on December 6, 2016November 30, 2016 by Grants.gov

Within the realm of federal government grants, research and development grants are some of the most numerous and diverse. What types of research grants does the Federal government support?

Well, if you search for the keyword “research” on the Catalog of Federal and Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Program page, you will receive 811 different federal financial assistance programs that include, to some degree, research. These CFDA programs that include research range from Agricultural and Food Policy Research Centers to Mental Health Research Grants to Welfare Reform Research, Evaluations, and National Studies.

Today, when you search for “research” on Grants.gov, there are over 1,500 open grant opportunities! (You will probably want to narrow your search for federal grants).

Continue reading What Is a Research Grant?

What Is a Land Grant? (Part 2): Grants to Individuals for Homesteading and Settlement

Posted on November 21, 2016November 14, 2016 by Grants.gov

A land grant is an award of land to a recipient with the requirement that a public purpose, as defined by legislation, is served through the grant. Last week, we covered land grant colleges and universities, which are great examples of land grants achieving lasting benefits in the United States of America.

Land Grants for “Homesteading”

The passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 established a land grant program that allowed individuals, both U.S. citizens and intended citizens, to apply for 160-acre plots of land. “Homesteading” was a term referring to the process of moving west onto land in unsettled territories and cultivating the land.

Continue reading What Is a Land Grant? (Part 2): Grants to Individuals for Homesteading and Settlement

What Is a Land Grant? (Part 1): Land Grant Colleges and Universities

Posted on November 15, 2016November 7, 2016 by Grants.gov

“Land grant” is a term you may have heard before, especially if you grew up near (or attended!) a state college or university that received land or funding as a result of one of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts. Before we begin our grant history lesson, let’s define what a land grant is.

First, a grant is the transfer of anything of value from the Federal government to a non-federal entity to carry out a public purpose authorized by U.S. law. So, a “land grant” is an award of land, instead of money, to a recipient with the requirement that a public purpose, as defined by legislation, is served through the grant.

Land Grant Colleges and Universities

Continue reading What Is a Land Grant? (Part 1): Land Grant Colleges and Universities

What Is the Grant Lifecycle?

Posted on September 19, 2016September 12, 2016 by Grants.gov

The grant lifecycle refers to the entire process a grant goes through—from creating the opportunity through implementation and ending with the closeout. While the grant lifecycle can be long and includes some complex elements, it also has a lot of consistency and follows a relatively linear path.

The grant lifecycle is comprised of three distinct phases: Pre-Award, Award, and Post Award. These main three phases are consistent across the different federal grant-making agencies as defined by the Uniform Guidance for Federal Awards. Continue reading What Is the Grant Lifecycle?

What Is a Government Grant and Pass-Through Funding?

Posted on August 30, 2016August 23, 2016 by Grants.gov

You can find a lot of websites about “government grants,” but not all of these sources are using this term in the same way. So, what is a government grant?

As we’ve written about before, a federal grant is one form of federal financial assistance in which the main purpose is to carry out a public purpose. In such a grant, this is typically done by transferring anything of value (typically funding) from the federal agency to a non-federal entity.

The phrase “government” grant, on the other hand, is not an official term, but rather a common way people refer to a grant that is awarded by a governmental entity to another entity. In the U.S., this generally refers to the federal, state, or local government levels. On Grants.gov, we only have federal grant postings.

Continue reading What Is a Government Grant and Pass-Through Funding?

What Is a Cooperative Agreement?

Posted on July 19, 2016July 19, 2016 by Grants.gov

On Grants.gov, we obviously have government grants, but you will also find a lot of “cooperative agreements” while searching for funding opportunities. This is because cooperative agreements and grants are very similar, but with one big distinction.

Both cooperative agreements and grants are “a legal instrument of financial assistance between a Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity and a non-Federal entity” as defined in the OMB Uniform Guidance (§200.24 for cooperative agreement and §200.51 for grant agreement).

Both cooperative agreements and grants “transfer anything of value from the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity to the non-Federal entity to carry out a public purpose.”

So, What’s the One Big Distinction?

Continue reading What Is a Cooperative Agreement?

What Is a Formula Grant?

Posted on July 13, 2016July 12, 2016 by Grants.gov

A formula grant is a type of mandatory grant that is awarded based on statistical criteria for specific types of work. The authorizing legislation and regulations define these statistical criteria and the amount of funds to be distributed. So, the term “formula” refers to the way the grant funding is allocated to recipients.

Continue reading What Is a Formula Grant?

What Is a Block Grant?

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Grants.gov

The term “block grant” refers to grant programs that provide federal assistance for broadly defined functions, such as community development or social services. Block grants allow the grant recipient more discretion than other grants in determining how to use the funds to meet a broader program goal.

Federal block grants are typically for U.S. state or territory governments and allow these government entities to determine specifically how to allocate and spend the funding. Of course, there are rules and guidelines for implementation that vary with each grant program as defined in the authorizing statute. Continue reading What Is a Block Grant?

What Is a Mandatory Grant?

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Grants.gov

Mandatory grants are a type of grant that must be awarded to each eligible applicant (generally a government entity) based on the conditions defined in the authorizing statute. Must be awarded? Authorizing statute? What does all that mean?

Let’s break it down by looking at the life of a mandatory grant:

Continue reading What Is a Mandatory Grant?

	سینک ظرفشویی on What Is a Research Grant?
	hifinajmul on New Series: What Is a Gra…
	Grants.gov on 7 Tips for Transitioning Your…
	matt7069 on 7 Tips for Transitioning Your…
	rendyandriyanto96 on Exploring Eligibility: Federal…