Government Grant
How To Apply For A Government Grant?
A grant is money that is given to finance research, help businesses or pay school tuition. However, unlike a loan you do not have to repay it. If you are looking for a grant, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a web site, Grants.gov. There are more than 26 federal agencies that post their grants on Grants.gov. Now that you know where to find listings for government grants, you might be wondering how to go about applying for one. Lets review the application process for a government grant.
Why Do You Need A Grant?
Grants help people financially to pay school tuition, do research and give to charities. The first thing you need to do is decide if you actually need a grant. If the answer is yes, you need to understand that applying for grants are time consuming and that if you are awarded the grant it can take a long time.
Search For Grants
Once you have determined why you need a grant, you should start your search. You can search on Grants.gov for listings of federal grants. You can also look on the department of labor and at specific agencies that have grants and scholarships.
Understand Eligibility
Once you have found grants worth considering, you have to read the find print. All grants come with terms and conditions that an applicant has to meet. For example an applicant may have to show a part of their research, or be within a certain age. Make sure to carefully read the qualification restrictions before applying. You should only consider an apply to grants that you are eligible for because otherwise you will be wasting your time on a grant you will not receive.
Requirements
Once you have found the grants, make sure you fully understand the requirements to apply. Many of the grants have a specific scope that you need to make sure is applicable to you.
Application
Your next step is to download and print the applications to fill out. Make sure to look over each grant application before filling them out. Each grant application is different. Here are some pointers when filling out your application.
- Before you fill out your application, it is a good idea to do a practice run
- First fill out the SF-424 form
- Save your application frequently (if you are submitting a soft copy)
- Clearly state your mission
- Explain clearly how you will use the grant
- How will it affect larger communities
- Include visuals in your application
Make sure to thoroughly check your application when it is done. Some things to watch for when your proof your application are:
- Make sure that your file size is not too big. The file size limit on grants.gov is 200mb. Individual attachments need to be less than 100mb
- Keep your attachment file names within 50 characters
- Do not include special characters in your file names
- Compress video and graphic files
- Click the “check package for errors” button before you submit
Once all the errors are fixed, the submission button will be available. Click save and submit!
Submission Follow Up
In the next two business days following your submission, Grants.gov will send a number of communications:
- When you submit your application you will receive a tracking number. This tracking number will allow you to look up your application.
- An email to let you know that they received your application.
- An email to let you know if your application was validated or rejected due to technical errors
- If your application is validated, the agency will send you their internal grantor agency tracking number.
You can follow the status of your application with the help of the tracking number.
Now its the waiting game to see if your application for a grant is approved or denied!
