Support for Service Providers > Understanding Grants Management
Understanding Grants Management
Teleconference on "Understanding Grants Management"
October 13, 2005
Speaker: Henry Flood, president of The Institute for Grant Program Administration, Miami, FL.
I Introduction
The objective of this conference call and briefing document is simple: We want you to understand the grants process as such from a broad perspective so that this complex system becomes less intimidating.
Very often, I am asked by people and organizations to just teach me how to write a grant so I can get money. While learning about proposal writing is a critical skill, learning that skill apart from a clear understanding of the nature of the grants process is counter-productive.
Now before we talk about my vision of the grants process, certain things are assumed. Those assumptions are that at Barry University everyone has:
· A firm grasp of the mission of your organization
· The short and long-term goals and objectives for your organization
· A firm grasp of your needs as they relate to seeking funds
· At least a basic understanding of how to write a proposal narrative (or failing that, a conceptual understanding of the typical components that routinely appear in a proposal narrative).
Now, given this understanding, I am going to ask you to keep an open mind and look at the grants process from the viewpoint of what a user of that system must know to navigate its complexity and get your grant out the door successfully. So, instead of teaching about proposal writing, I am going to empower you to think a little differently about the grants system while at the same time focusing on some core skills that every executive, dean, program manager and principal investigator must know.
Incidentally, I know you’ll have questions. I’ve set aside 30-45 minutes for you to hit me with them near the end.
OK. With these preliminaries out of the way let’s now look at these core skills. Respectively they are:
- Identifying funding opportunities in the web age
- Interpreting a funding source announcement
- Conceptualizing your proposal response
- Understanding how a grant application package is assembled and submitted
II Identifying Funding Opportunities in the Web Age
Task one is simply how do I identify sources of potential funding? In two words the answer breaks down into sources and methods. The sources of grant funding are well known. The usual suspects are:
- Federal agencies and sub-agencies
- Foundations (operating, corporate, community and local)
- Corporate giving and donation sources
- State governmental programs (Florida)
- County and local government funding (usually CDBG, crime and cultural)
The usual search methods to find out about these funds are:
- Web sites (free and commercial)
- Official announcements (Federal Register, State Register, Foundation guidelines)
- Special mailings from funding sources
- Commercially produced search source books
- Free and commercially developed CD ROMS and CD ROM databases
The real question is how can I conveniently track each of these sources of funding using these various methods? Since most funding opportunities are now web-based, this will be my main focus but I will touch on the usefulness of using a tracking service to supplement these efforts.
A Federal Sources of Funding
As of October 1, 2005 virtually all Federal agencies are posting their funding opportunities on the global web site www.grants.gov . In order to track grant opportunities, this will be the site of choice from now on. However, most agencies will also post announcements on their own agency web sites as well. Both sources will need to be consulted.
Gradually, agencies are moving to institute electronic grant submissions rather than continuing to accept paper submissions. Over the next 24 months, the projection is that paper grants will cease. This will require greater familiarity with computer and software technology. The standards for electronic submission of grant proposals is evolving but the dominant formats are submission as Word and PDF documents and various versions of electronic forms in fallible PDF format.
1. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
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Source |
Go directly to . . . |
Or indirectly from . . . |
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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance |
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and many links through federal agencies. |
The Catalog of Domestic Assistance (CFDA) is just what it says. It is a catalog of every kind of assistance program that is offered by every agency of the federal government. The predominate programs of assistance are grants and loans but you will find some free programs such as counseling and technical assistance.
For more than 30 years, the CFDA was published in May and supplemented in December. Every municipality got at least one copy as did the hundreds of designated government depository libraries thus making the CFDA widely available as a printed resource. But printing and distribution costs proved to be extremely expensive compared to the CD ROM edition and the web posted edition. Technology won the day. The print edition ceased in June of 2003.
Don’t fret though because all of the features plus a little more is reflected in the web edition of the CFDA. From the CFDA main homepage you can brows the catalog, find assistance programs through various search methods and get useful tips if you are a first time user. You can also get a background briefing on proposal writing. If you are a frequent seeker of federal grants and have become familiar with federal programs based on their CFDA program numbers and titles, you can simply click on the homepage link that displays all programs listed numerically by their CFDA numbers.
Once you have called up an individual program listing, you’ll have 1-3 pages of detailed descriptive information about the program broken down into at least 17 descriptors such as types of assistance, applicant eligibility, what can and cannot be funded, deadlines if known, program contact information, appropriations data and much more.
Despite its massive size and wealth of information, there are some limitations you should keep in mind when using the CFDA:
- A program description describes an authorized program but it is not a funding announcement.
- Just because a program is listed, it does not mean that a grant announcement will always be initiated.
- Agencies can only invite applications for programs that actually have new or un-obligated appropriations.
- The data contained in CFDA program descriptions is anywhere from 6 to 18 months old and is frequently superseded by agency program literature, web-posted program announcements and official documents appearing in the Federal Register.
Therefore, you should view the CFDA as a useful preliminary reference source to identify combinations of programs that do the following:
- Match up with your area of focus or interest (construction, training, research)
- Match your client population (students, elderly, disabled. low-income populations, technology)
- Match up well with your fundable activities (training, scholarships, stipends, equipment, personnel, computers, property acquisition, consultants, renovation, reference purchases, library furnishings).
- Describe range and types of previous awards.
2. The Federal Register
Only an official Federal Register funding source announcement or a web-posted agency announcement based on the Federal Register is binding in terms of what a specific grant program actually authorizes.
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Source |
Go directly to . . . |
Or indirectly from . . . |
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The Federal Register |
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|
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After October 1, 2005 |
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For all grant opportunities |
The Federal Register is published daily, Monday through Friday except for legal federal holidays. The Federal Register is the single official source for all proposed and final regulations, notices and grant announcements. Should there be any conflict between an agency web posting of a grant announcement and the Federal Register, the text of the Federal Register will prevail.
Since the Federal Register contains all official regulatory documents, how do you find the grant opportunities? The simple answer is that you browse the table of contents that is arranged alphabetically by agency. Within this agency sequence you’ll find proposed rules, final rules and various announcements and, of course grants. You’ll want to view the grant announcements.
The best way to make daily practical use of the Federal Register is to take out a free electronic subscription to the Federal Register from the GPO access web site. When you do this, a live table of contents page will be emailed to you every morning that the Federal Register is published. When it arrives, you browse it in the same way as if you had the paper edition. When you see an agency grant announcement, it will usually be preceded by the words “grants and cooperative availability notice”. Look to the right of the listing. You will have two choices to click on: HTML and PDF. I always recommend that you read the PDF version because it looks like the published original and forms and attachments will often be part of the announcement or you’ll see a hot link to the grant application kit. In the HTML version, forms and attachments usually cannot be placed in their native formats although hot-linking to the grant application kit posted at the agency web site is possible.
The Federal Register is also important to you beyond just seeking out funding opportunities. This is also the place where proposed and final grant program regulations and grant administration regulations and notices are published. When you are applying to an authorized grant program, it is important to be aware of what that program’s program regulations have to say. Program regulations tell you much about the goals and objectives of a program and frequently you’ll find information about eligible activities, ineligible activities, the program client focus and how submitted proposals are reviewed. A final reason to examine the program regulations is that a grant application kit consisting of the notice of funding opportunity plus the forms must be based on the program’s authorizing statute and program regulations.
3. Getting Only the Federal Grant Announcements
Are there easier ways to quickly read only the grant announcements from the Federal Register? Absolutely. The Grantsmanship Center does this work for you every day for free as a public service to entice you to try out their various training and paid services. Here’s how it works:
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Source |
Go to |
And do this |
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The Grantsmanship Center Federal Grant Opportunities Page |
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Click on the today’s federal register link. Scroll down to the end and register for this free daily summary of Federal Register grant opportunities. |
TGCI is the leading training and technical assistance organization devoted to proposal writing today. Located in Los Angeles, California, TGCI is on Pacific Coast time. Therefore today’s grant announcements are not posted until sometime between 11 AM to 1 PM Eastern time. The benefit of subscribing to this free service is that you only get the grant announcements each day from the Federal Register. The TGCI staff summarizes each announcement and by clicking on the embedded link, you’re led to the announcement. TGCI links you to only the HTML version. So, if you want the PDF version (which is preferable), you’ll have to link directly to the Federal Register to get it.
A word of caution is in order. TGCI does outstanding work and their summaries of grant opportunities are almost always excellent and on point. However, humans staff this effort and anyone is capable of making a mistake or overlooking something important. Therefore, when you use this or any other third party digest service, it is still important to view the officially published grant opportunity since it alone is legally binding as to its content.
Once you are registered at TGCI.com, they are likely to hit you with marketing efforts to sell their excellent training or access to their equally excellent Alumni web site. It’s a small price to pay for their professional dedication to the grant-seeking community.
4. Grant Information Maintained on Agency Web Sites
Today, most federal awarding agencies and sub-agencies maintain web pages that provide information on grant opportunities. Essentially what you do is visit the home page of each agency or sub-agency and look for links to “grants”, “funding opportunities”, “funds available” or similar language. Clicking on those links should take you to the available funding announcements. I have selected some examples that represent the departments that Barry University has often been known to seek funding from.
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Agency or Sub-Agency |
Main URL |
Direct Link Information for Grants |
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Department of Education |
The easiest thing to do in this case is click on “Grants & Contracts” at right sidebar. |
This link leads to sub-link menus that let you view all ED programs, look at forecasted opportunities, see current grant application packages and read all ED Federal Register notices. This is one of the best grant sites in the federal government. |
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Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) |
Click on Grants & Funding or use the direct link at right. |
This link takes you to the main HHS grants page with links to most HHS and sub-agency grant program web pages. |
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National Institutes of Health (NIH) |
Click on “Grants & Funding Opportunities or use the direct link at right. |
This link takes you directly to various NIH grant pages. |
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Administration for Children & Families (ACF) |
Click on “grant Opportunities” under working with ACF or use the direct link at right. |
This direct link takes you to a list of every AFF grant link. |
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Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) |
Click on “Grants” under funding at lower left sidebar. Notice too the HRSA “Preview” under HRSA Grant Programs in center of page. |
This direct link is the gateway to HRSA grant programs. |
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Housing & Urban Development (HUD) |
Click on “Grants” under Working With HUD at left sidebar or use direct link at right. |
This link takes you to all pre and post-award web pages on the HUD site. Just click on the sub-menu links such as “funds available” or others. |
Pictures do tell a story. For this presentation, I have printed out the main and subsidiary grant link web pages so you can relate the URL’s to their actual web pages at the time they were visited. Remember, web pages change frequently. So visit them regularly and be sure to establish an organized approach for book marking your most important grant sites.
5. Grant Information From Mega-Web Sites
With the rapid rise of the E-Grant and E-Government initiatives throughout the federal government, large mega-web sites devoted to grant funding and management are emerging. The aim of these sites is to make it possible to search many funding source opportunities at once from a single location.
The most important of these mega-websites are grants.gov and The Federal Commons initiative. These two sites are the heart and soul of federal government-wide efforts to bring grant seeking and grant administration fully into the electronic age. The twin engines that are driving these dual efforts are the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-107) and the E-Government Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-347).
Grants.gov is in its final testing and development stages and due to be fully operational in October of 2003.
6. Agency Research and Information Through First Gov
In the early days of visiting agency web pages for any purpose, you had to know the exact URL to get there. And, each site or subsidiary link needed to be bookmarked if you expected to return to the same site again frequently. Searching, finding and bookmarking are still with us as the web continues its evolutionary development.
Thanks to the concept of mega-site technology though, you can now visit all of the vast federal government (and much of the state and local governmental audiences), with a single web address: www.firstgov.gov .Whether you’re looking to link to grant programs, trying to gather background on a specific agency or just needing to do statistical research, this your true one-stop shop for interaction with the federal government and beyond. From this vast treasure trove of primary information and links, you’ll be able to relate to all things governmental in ways that were either not possible, took weeks, or were otherwise radically inefficient.
FirstGov has five main sub-components:
- We answer your questions does just that. Ask your question and you’ll get a return email response.
- For citizens is the default page of FirstGov. From here you can click on “benefits and grants” under the Information by Topic heading and you’ll be led to the grants.gov web page once you scroll down to grants. Recent attempts showed a broken link which means that you might not get through.
- For Businesses and Nonprofits is much more relevant to those seeking contracts and grants. From this page you can accomplish much if you are a business or a nonprofit organization. You can check out grants, loans and other assistance from this main dub-page and much more.
- For Federal Employees is just what the link says.
- Government-to-Government is the place to visit if you are a State, County, local government or Indian Tribe. From this sub-page of FirstGov you can learn about E-Grants and find out about federal budgets, grants and finance. There is a special link for Tribal Governments too.
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Main URL |
To Find … |
Go to or do this |
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www.firstgov.gov |
Data and statistics |
Click on “Data & Statistics” from within “Reference Center” from the left sidebar of the main home or any sub-page of FirstGov. |
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Laws and Regulations |
Click on “Laws & Regulations” link from within “Reference Center” from the left sidebar of the main home or any sub-page of FirstGov. |
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Agencies |
Click on “Agencies” and select the appropriate sub-link from the left sidebar of the main home or any sub-page of FirstGov. |
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Grants for nonprofits |
Go to “For Businesses and Nonprofits from the top of the main Firstgov home page and Click “grants, loans and other assistance” |
B Foundation and Corporate Funding in the Web Age
Foundation and corporate givers have rapidly migrated to the web and dissemination of information about foundation and corporate giving has diversified well beyond those dusty books. The sourcebooks are still very much with us but multi-media is increasingly if nor predominately evident.
There are many sources available for seeking out foundation grants and corporate giving opportunities. The vast network and resources of the Foundation Center still holds pride of place despite encroaching competition from web-based competitors like the Charity Channel, Grant Smart, Grant Station and others. The foundations and corporations themselves are embracing the web to announce funding opportunities and many are turning to E-Grant submission.
The Foundation Center remains the most comprehensive combination of resources available when it comes to foundation funding. These resources break down into:
- National collection libraries and staffed centers in New York and Washington, DC with field offices in Atlanta, Cleveland and San Francisco
- A superior web-based presence covering every aspect of foundation and corporate giving
- A national and international distribution of publications in book and multi-media formats
- A CD ROM and web-based subscription to its flagship Foundation Directory and FC Search—the most comprehensive integrated foundation funding resource available today
- A network of “cooperating libraries” located throughout the United States and in major foreign countries.
If you can afford a single user or network version of FC Search ($1,195 and $1,995 respectively), this is the best way to search 80% of the operating foundations throughout the country.
Key Features of FC Search
ü 72,000 foundations, corporate givers and charities profiled
ü Direct links to IRS PF-990 filings
ü 324,000 grants linked to top US funders
ü Trustees, officers and donors searchable
ü Links to 3,000 granting foundation web sites and 1,900 corporate giving web sites
ü 21 search fields
ü Print and save options |
FC Search can be combined with the Foundation Center’s web-based subscription access too. Even if you cannot afford FC Search or the web subscription service, there is still an enormous amount of free content at www.fdncenter.org .
You can gain a better understanding of what lies behind the Foundation Center’s web-based and CD ROM projects through a basic understanding of how its key print publication content is accessed and used. Table 1 profiles the six major publications of the Foundation Center and table 2 compares the features of these publications.
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Publication |
Coverage |
Published |
Arrangement |
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Guide to US Foundations, Their Trustees, Officers and Donors |
1. 38,000 private foundations; 2. 400 community foundations; 3. 1,865 non-grant operating foundations; 4. 4,158 foundations who earmark their giving. |
Annually |
Volume 1 by state, then in descending order by grants paid; operating foundations by state, then in descending order by total assets. Volume 2 alphabetical by individual’s name; alphabetical by foundation’s name. |
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Foundation Directory |
7,549 foundations with assets of 2 million or more or total grants of $200,000 |
Annually |
By state and then alphabetically by foundation name |
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Foundation Directory Part 2 |
5,075 smaller foundations with assets of 1-2 million or total giving of $50-200,000. |
Annually |
By state and then alphabetically by foundation name |
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Foundation 1000 |
Profiles the largest 1,000 foundations based on total giving |
Annually |
Alphabetical by foundation name |
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Foundation Grants Index |
Lists grants of $10,000 or more awarded by 1,000 major foundations |
Annually with quarterly updates |
By broad subject area, then by state, then alphabetically by name |
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National Directory of Corporate Giving |
Profiles non-foundation charitable and direct giving and company sponsored foundations. |
Annually |
Alphabetically by company name |
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Content Entry |
GUS |
FD |
FD2 |
F1000 |
FGI |
CORP |
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Address |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
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ü |
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Application information |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
|
Contact person |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
|
Donors |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
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Employer Identification # |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
|
Establishment data |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
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Fiscal information |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
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ü |
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Former name, if any |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
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Grantmaker’s publications |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
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ü |
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Limitations statement |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
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Officers and trustees |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
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ü |
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Purpose and activities statement |
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ü |
ü |
ü |
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ü |
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Selected grants list |
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ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
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Staff (number only) |
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ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
|
Telephone number |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
|
Types of support |
|
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
|
Indexes |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
Donors, officers, and trustees |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
|
Geographic |
|
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
Grantmaker name |
ü |
ü |
ü |
|
ü |
ü |
|
International giving |
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ü |
ü |
ü |
|
|
|
Subject |
|
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
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Types of support |
|
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
ü |
III The Notice of Funding Availability
Federal agencies announce the availability of federal funding through a “Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) in the daily Federal Register. Many of these announcements together with their respective application kits are web posted at the agency web sites. Just go to one of the web sites mentioned above and find a grant announcement.
A NOFA does several things besides merely announcing that money is available. The funding announcement will tell you several other things including:
· When the proposal is due and where it must be officially received
· Total funding available and maximum amount of funding you can request
· Average awards and number of applications that might be funded
· Program goals and invitational priorities
· How your proposal must be organized, assembled and submitted
· Elements that are mandatory for inclusion in your application response
· Proposal evaluation criteria
· The legal and regulatory basis for making the grants
What I want you to remember is that agencies offer grants because they want to advance a national policy objective or address a particular national problem. These “agency” needs lead to a program focus or design which you must take into account if your proposal is to be competitive. A winning proposal must be technically acceptable and respond fully to the program focus or priorities of the funding source.
As you read through the notice of funding opportunity there are certain key things you will want to look for. In order to properly interpret the grant announcement you will need answers to two major types of questions: Business questions and program questions.
Key business questions are:
· Who is eligible to apply?
· What is the total available funding?
· How much funding may you request?
· Are indirect costs allowable?
· Are indirect costs capped?
· What are the match requirements?
· Are partners encouraged or required?
Key program questions are:
· Why is the agency issuing the grant announcement?
· What problems or issues does the grant announcement seek to address?
· What group or sector of society is targeted by the grant announcement?
· What kinds of costs are eligible for funding?
· What kinds of activities can be carried out with the grant funding?
· Is the program design structured or unstructured?
· Do the proposal evaluation criteria slant the program design in any particular manner?
The answers to the business questions will help you determine eligibility and whether you should apply or pass on the funding opportunity. The answers to the various program questions will help you determine if the agency’s rationale for offering the grant opportunity are aligned with your needs and desired activities.
IV The Standard Federal Application Kit
Most federal agencies use a standard application kit together with narrative development guidance as the basis for putting together a proposal. Briefly these forms are:
· Standard Form 424 Application for Federal Assistance (1 page)
· Standard Form 424-A Non-Construction Budget Form (2 pages)
· Standard Form 424-B Assurance Non-construction Programs (2 pages)
· Standard Form 424-C Budget Information Construction Programs (2 pages)
· Standard Form 424-D Assurances Construction Programs
· Standard Form LLL- Lobbying Activities (1996 version).
Other forms that make up the kit are agency issued and include:
- Various assurances and certifications about lobbying, debarment & suspension, supplanting, maintenance of effort, drug-free workplace and language discrimination.
- Other assurances and certifications that may be unique to the funding source.
V Typical Proposal Assembly and Submission Requirement
Although these requirements vary widely there are some typical norms that are emerging throughout the federal government. The typical order of an assembled federal proposal might be as follows:
1. Your Cover or transmittal letter
2. Your Outside Title Page (if permitted)
3. Your Table of Contents (if requested)
4. Standard Form424
5. Standard Form 424-A Non-Construction or C Construction Budget pages
6. Your Detailed Line item budget and Budget Justification
7. The Formal Proposal Narrative
8. Assurances and Certifications
9. Key Staff Resumes
10. Letters of Commitment and Support
11. Proof of Exempt Status (may be part of assurances and Certifications)
12. Other required submissions.
There are some important things to keep in mind about the narrative. The trend now is firmly heading in this direction with these requirements:
· Double-Spaced Text
· 1” margins on all sides
· Font size of 12 preferred and sometimes no smaller than 10 points
· Firm page limits on narrative minus any exclusions that do not count against your page limit.
· Staple or binder clip in top left corner
· Always one original and usually 3-5 copies
Regardless of these typical norms, agencies love their requirements. So, you must follow the proposal assembly, narrative development and submission requirements as stated in the NOFA. You must do this even if the instructions are illogical or irrational.
When submitting your proposal double check the place, date and time of submission. Note the address carefully. Also check carefully to see if the date due says RECEIVED ON OR BY, or simply MAILED BY. This distinction is critical. Mailed by means you can mail or use a next day courier in the late afternoon of the due date and you will be timely. But in a received by date, your submission must arrive at the agency on or before the due date.
VI The Proposal Narrative
· The instructions for preparing your narrative vary from agency to agency and also with the complexity of the project and funding sought. It is quite typical for a federal proposal narrative to be organized as follows:
· Executive Summary or Proposal Abstract (1-2 pages maximum)
· Your Organization(1-3 pages)
· Description of your Need or Problem( 3-5 pages)
· Project Objectives(2-5 pages)
· Proposed Project Activities (2-4 pages)
· Organization Experience, Management and Team Qualifications (2-6 pages)
· Sources of Support( 1-2 pages)
· Project Budget (1-5 pages)
Average proposal length 12-30 pages and usually exclusive of SF 424 and budget forms. Complex proposals may be 50-75 pages.
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