Government Loan Grants

The first step in obtaining a federal government grant is determining eligibility. Most organizations within the United States are eligible for government grant funding. The only exclusion applies to small business for-profit organizations. These organizations are better served through the U.S. Small Business Administration. Otherwise, local, state and government agencies are eligible to submit an application for federal government grant funding. In addition, many organizations, non-for-profit and for-profit alike, are also eligible for funding.

Once eligibility has been determined, the next step is reviewing what federal grant opportunities are available. To do this, an organization can register with the www.grants.gov website. Registration on the website takes three to five business days. If all areas of the initial application are not completed correctly, the registration process could take up to two weeks. Registration is only required to apply and obtain the federal grant funds. Just a review of grants available does not require registration.

There are various agencies that an organization must be registered with first before following through with registration on the website. These include having a Dunn and Bradstreet financial number from that particular agency. In addition, the organization must be registered with the Central Contractor Registry. Once these registration requirements have been met, the organization must select an authorized organization representative. This person must remain the same throughout the federal government grant application process.

Once registered, access will be given to a database of over 1,000 federal government grant programs. These programs are funded by 26 different agencies. Most funding agencies are Departments found within the federal government system. These include the Department of Defense, Department of Labor and the Department of Justice. Among these, is a selection of National Endowment agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Science Foundation. The next step in the process is to record the funding opportunity number and the CFDA number for a desired grant. Once recorded, download the application package from the website. Complete the application offline. Instructions on how to do so are provided on the website. When the application is complete, upload to the computer and submit on the website. After an application has been submitted, the progress can be checked at any time by going online and using the funding opportunity number or CFDA number recorded earlier.

Written by Justin Maeston. Find the latest information on Government Grants as well as Free Government Grants