Finding Federal Funding

In this guide, you will learn how to research the different grant programs offered by federal agencies. Focus on one or two agencies that are closely aligned with your interests. You will also learn how to navigate agency websites and find grants using the Federal Program Inventory, grants.gov, and SAM.gov. Regularly check these websites for new opportunities. If you search regularly, you will be better informed about application deadlines.

While finding the right federal funding opportunity takes skill and practice, it is important to understand the purpose of a federal agency and its funding priorities before you begin to write a grant application

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A. What federal agencies offer grant programs?

With a few exceptions, grant funding is offered by almost every federal agency. Figure 1 shows 23 federal agencies that offer grants.

Figure 1: Federal Agencies

Federal agencies are large, complex organizations. Within each federal agency, there are sub-agencies. Within the sub-agencies, there are different divisions. Within the divisions, there may be multiple offices or bureaus. Each level may offer its own grant programs. Learning how to navigate all these layers can be overwhelming! Learn which federal agency aligns most closely with your interests. Table 1 below lists the primary purposes of several agencies and provides links to their websites.

Table 1: Federal Agencies and Their Purpose

Federal Agency Examples	Purpose
Dept. of Agriculture	Food, nutrition, agriculture, natural resources
Dept. of Commerce	Job creation, economic growth, development
Dept. of Education	Educational opportunity
Dept. of Energy	Energy management
Dept. of Health and Human Services	Health
Dept. of Homeland Security	Emergency response, antiterrorism, cybersecurity
Dept. of Housing and Urban Development	Equal housing and community development assistance
Dept. of the Interior	Public lands, national parks, and conservation
Dept of Justice	Criminal justice
Dept. of Labor	Workforce development
Dept. of Transportation	Federal transportation and safety
Dept. of Veterans Affairs	Veterans� services
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	Protects people and the environment from health risks
U.S. Small Business Administration	Helps Americans start, build and grow businesses

USA.gov Agency Index

Another way to learn about U.S. government agencies is by using the website https://www.usa.gov/agency-index. Click on any letter to see a comprehensive listing of agency names starting with that letter. Then, click on any of the agencies to learn what the agency does. For example, select “A.” Figure 2 on the next page illustrates this.

Selecting the letter “A” results in a total of 37 agencies. Select the Administration for Native Americans (ANA.) The description is as follows:

Administration for Native Americans
The Administration for Native Americans (ANA) promotes self-sufficiency and cultural preservation for Native Americans by providing social and economic development opportunities through financial assistance, training, and technical assistance.

Website: Administration for Native Americans
Contact: Contact the Administration for Native Americans

More information about the Administration for Native Americans

Figure 2: Locating a comprehensive listing of agency names

Tip: The more familiar you are with an agency and its organizational structure, the easier it is to find its grant programs. The agency examples that follow illustrate the divisions and offices within several federal agencies: Interior, Justice, Health & Human Services, and Labor. All of them offer grants.

Figure 3: Example - U.S. Dept. of Interior and four of its subagencies.

Figure 4: Example - U.S. Dept. of Justice and six of its subagencies.

Example: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS)

HHS has thirteen operating divisions and thirteen subagencies. One subagency alone, the Administration for Children & Families (ACF), has three separate bureaus or divisions, and each division offers multiple grant programs. To illustrate the complexity of federal funding, one grant program from each division of ACF is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) – Administration for Children & Families (ACF) subagencies

Example: U.S. Dept. of Labor

Labor has twenty-five sub-agencies. Of these 25, several offer grant programs including Job Corps, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Women’s Bureau, and the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). ETA has offered as many as seventeen different grant programs, as identified below. One program, the Skills Training Grant Program, has had as many as five different funding opportunities, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: U.S. Department of Labor

B. How do you find an agency’s grant programs and funding announcements?

There are four ways to find federal grant programs. The sites are free of charge to use.

Federal agency websites
Grants.gov
SAM.gov
Federal Program Inventory

1. Federal agency websites

Almost all Federal agencies post grant programs directly to their websites. Navigate to the agency’s landing page. Look for a tab that says “funding opportunities” or “grant programs.” If you don’t see this, type the word “grants” in the search bar. The link to find available frants is https:/www.dol.gov/grants#opengrants

Figure 7 is an example from the U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) website.

Figure 7: Department of Labor Grants

Another example is the U.S. Dept. of Education as shown in Figure 8. The link to Forecast of Funding Opportunities is https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/apply-grant/available-grants

Figure 8: U.S. Department of Education

Another example is the U.S. Dept. of Interior as shown in Figure 9. The link to grant programs specific to Indian Affairs is https://www.bia.gov/topic/grants

Figure 9: U.S. Department of Interior

Another example as shown in Figure 10, is the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA,) a bureau under the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. The link to All Funding Opportunities is https://www.eda.gov/funding/funding-opportunities/all-opportunities?f%5B0%5D=funding_status%3A6565

Figure 10: U.S. Economic Development Administration

2. Grants.gov

Grants.gov is the most common database for federal funding opportunities. Navigate to https://www.grants.gov/ as shown in Figure 11, below. Watch an Intro to Grants.gov – How to Search for a Federal Grant on YouTube.

Start by exploring the federal grant-making agencies. Click on the linked text of “Grant Agencies.”

The agencies in the federal government will appear in the lefthand navigation bar and the logos of the agencies along with a brief explanation of what that agency does will appear in the middle of the page. Examples of some of the federal grantmaking agencies are shown in Figure 12, below. Find an agency that interests you.

Figure 11: Search for Grant Agencies

Figure 12: Grantmaking Agencies

Ready to practice? Navigate to the grants.gov home page and click on the magnifying glass to begin your search of current, forecasted, and closed grant opportunities.

How to use search filters on grants.gov

Basic Search Criteria

Enter keywords that are pertinent to your funding needs. Search example: Workforce Development

Opportunity Number

If you don’t know, skip this step.

Assistance Listing

If you don’t know, skip this step.

Opportunity Status

Check Grant and Cooperative Agreement.

Eligibility

This is an important step. Choose carefully.

Agency

Note that almost all the agencies have a + symbol. Click on the + symbol to see the agency’s subagencies.

The example shown in Figure 14 illustrates a search for workforce development grants under the U.S. Dept. of Labor Employment and Training Administration.

Figure 14: Search for workforce development grants

Keep in mind that the results of your searches will vary day to day, week to week, and month to month. Note the option for forecasted opportunities as shown in Figure 15, below. Some agencies will announce grant funding that is expected to post in the future. This can be very helpful with your planning efforts.

Figure 15: Select opportunity status

Multiple search results
Expect multiple results from your search. Some searches may be pages long while others may result in no funding identified. As shown in Figure 16, below, a DOL-ETA agency search resulted in nine workforce development funding opportunities.

To determine if a grant program fits your interests, click on an Opportunity Number to get more information about the opportunity.

Figure 16: Opportunity Number

The Grant Opportunity page summarizes key core elements of the grant program:

The information displaying under “View Grant Opportunity” summarizes Funding Opportunity Number FOA-ETA-24-23. This synopsis allows you to determine if the funding opportunity is of possible interest before you start to read through an entire Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

Program Description

The purpose of this grant program is to build community colleges’ capacity to meet the skill development needs of employers and equitably support students in obtaining good jobs in in-demand industries. Grantees will enhance sector-based career pathways programs using strategies rooted in evidence and designed to build further evidence on the effectiveness of sector-based career pathways programs in leading to positive employment outcomes. Successful applicants will use the diverse strengths of their SCC Partnership members to accomplish and sustain systems change.

An illustration of how the page was displayed in grants.gov is shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17: Opportunity Number

New feature in grants.gov!

Searching for similar funding opportunities is now much easier. Grants.gov is leveraging artificial intelligence to improve your searches by suggesting opportunities similar to those you typed in key search words.

Scroll down to the bottom of any "View Grant Opportunity" page and find similar opportunities as shown in Figure 18. These suggestions are based on keywords and other parameters within the opportunity that you are already exploring. Consider all your options. Click on any link to find out more.

Figure 18: View similar grant opportunities

Where to find the full text of the Funding Opportunity Announcement

To find the full text of the Funding Opportunity Announcement on the View Grant Opportunity page, select Related Documents as shown in Figure 19.

A new webpage will display that should look like the example in Figure 20.

Figure 19: Related Document of the Funding Opportunity Announcement

Figure 20: Full Announcement to Download

Click on the Full Announcement to download the full text of the funding opportunity. If multiple announcements are posted, be sure you open each zip file to determine which is the most current.

Note: An agency may also publish other important documents in addition to the funding announcement. Be sure to download and read through all the posted documents.

An example of important related documents is shown in Figure 21, below.

Figure 21: Example of list of related documents

Version History

Don’t overlook the Version History tab for important updates as shown in Figure 22, below. Keep informed about the latest information for this grant program.

Figure 22: Version History

Once you find a grant program that interests you, your next step is to read the full text of the funding announcement. Navigating a funding announcement can be very challenging, even frustrating, because of its length and complexity. This topic is covered in another guidance, Understanding the Funding Announcement.

3. SAM.gov

Another way to find out about a federal agency’s grant programs and funding announcements is through SAM.gov. SAM is short for System for Award Management. You do not need a login and password to use this search tool.

Navigate to SAM and click on Assistance Listings as shown in Figure 23, below.

What is an Assistance Listing?

Assistance listings are detailed descriptions of federal grant programs including authorizing legislation, objectives, eligibility, and compliance requirements. Browse SAM.gov for assistance listings across all government agencies to learn about potential funding sources. Assistance Listings at SAM.gov link to available funding opportunities on grants.gov.

Figure 23: SAM.gov

Assistance Listing Numbers (“ALNs”)

Assistance listings are organized by a five-digit numbering system to identify and sort some 2,000+ federal programs. Previously, ALNs were called Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance or “CFDA” numbers. The first two digits of the Assistance Listing Number reflect the federal grantor agency, followed by a decimal point. The final three digits following the decimal) indicate the federal program funding the project within the agency. Learn to navigate SAM.gov assistance listings at https://sam.gov/content/assistance-listings. Watch the 8-minute Assistance Listings Overview video on that page. Examples of Assistance Listing Numbers are illustrated in Table 2, below.

Table 2: Assistance Listing Numbers

Federal Agency	Federal Agency Number ID	Federal Program	Federal Program Number	Assistance Listing Number
U.S. Dept of Agriculture	10	Student Internship Programs	467	10.467
U.S. Dept of Agriculture	10	Tribal Youth & Workforce Development	49	10.049
U.S. Dept of Agriculture	10	Rural Health and Safety Education	516	10.516
U.S. Dept. of Commerce	11	Tribal Broadband Connectivity	29	11.029
U.S. Dept. of Commerce	11	Economic Development Technical Assistance	303	11.303
U.S. Dept. of Labor	17	Reentry Employment Opportunities
U.S. Dept. of Labor	17	Women in Apprenticeship	701	17.701
U.S. Dept. of Labor	17	YouthBuild	274	17.274
U.S. Dept. of Education	84	Traditionally Underserved Populations	315	84.315
U.S. Dept. of Education	84	Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers	287	84.287

Search Assistance Listings by keyword (s) or use an advanced search, as shown in Figure 24.

Figure 24: Search Assistance Listings

As shown in Figure 25, use the Advanced Search option for “workforce development.” Select U.S. Dept. of Labor.

Figure 25: Search “workforce development”

Multiple workforce development programs display, as shown in Figure 26, below.

Figure 26: Multiple workforce development programs

Tip: Using SAM.gov in conjunction with Grants.gov will provide a comprehensive listing of available grant programs across many federal agencies that may support your funding interests. Try different words or word combinations on both websites. Check back often to learn about new funding opportunities.

4. Federal Program Inventory

The Federal Program Inventory is another search engine that allows users to filter various grant programs by category, types of assistance, agency types, eligible applicants, and award recipients. Click on the link to explore the Inventory. As shown in Figure 27, you may explore options by category. There are other options to choose from, as shown in Figure 28.

Figure 27: Federal Program Inventory

Figure 28: Categories Agency Search

As shown in Figure 29, select the category most closely aligned with the type of Federal programs you are seeking funding for.

For example: Employment, Labor, and Training.

Figure 29: List of Categories

Ten results from searching the Federal Program Inventory for Employment, Labor, and Training programs are illustrated in Figure 30.

Figure 30: Federal Program Inventory

One of the results is the Native American Employment and Training program, ALN 17.265. Read through the information provided to learn as much as you can about the program’s purpose and previous funding history. This information should guide your decision about whether to apply.

Figure 31: Department of Labor: Native American Employment and Training

Program objective: To support employment and training services for Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian individuals in order to develop more fully the academic, occupational, and literacy skills of such individuals; to make such individuals more competitive in the workforce and to equip them with the entrepreneurial skills necessary for successful self-employment; and to promote the economic and social development of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian communities in accordance with the goals and values of such communities.

Important Links: Links are provided to the recipients of this program’s awards and to currently available grant opportunities at Grants.gov

Program funding results: In FY 2022, funding was allocated to 99 entities providing assistance with tuition and books; resume writing and interviewing techniques; job referrals; assistance with work-related expenses such as necessary tools or uniforms; and work-based learning such as on-the-job training and work experience.

Search by Federal Program Type

Another search option in the Federal Program Inventory is by Federal Program Type. The program type search allows you to search by categories and sub-categories, agencies and sub-agencies, type of federal assistance, and applicant eligibility.

Example of federal program type

Category ► Employment, Labor, and Training

Sub-Category ► Program Development

Agency ► U.S. Dept. of Commerce

Sub-Agency ► Economic Development Administration

Assistance Type ► Project Grants

Eligible Applicants ► Public nonprofit institutions (includes institutions of higher education)

Results:

Economic Development Technical Assistance Grant Program
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Challenge Grant Program

Awarded recipients by Federal fiscal year and the amount of their grant award is displayed. This information is useful when considering how much funding you are applying for. If the average award size is between $150,000 and $300,000, you are unlikely to be awarded if you apply for $1,000,000. Stay within the guidelines!

Summary

Learning to navigate the federal funding landscape is the first step towards finding a grant opportunity that interests you. Locating the right opportunity takes time and patience. You will need to understand the purpose of a federal agency and its funding priorities before you begin to write a grant application. Focus on one or two agencies that are closely aligned with your interests. Reference the agency’s website as well as grants.gov and SAM.gov for current and forecasted funding notices. Regularly check all these places for updated opportunities. If you make these search practices regular habits, you will be in a better position to be informed of application deadlines.