How to apply for government grants

The how, why and wherefore

Have a bright idea? You could be a grad school student trying to get funding for your research, and education authority trying to get additional funding for schools, a nonprofit or even someone who works for a city or state. Do you want to change the world, but don’t have the available funds or technology?

This is where government grants come in. The federal government will supply individuals and institutions with grant money to accomplish a goal that will carry out a public good. There are certain things that grants are and aren’t, and the E-Grants Initiative–the website where you apply for government loans–makes that certainly clear.

Government grants are not:

1. Personal loans or financial assistance
2. Small business loans
3. 3)Student loans If you happen to be interested in those three things, then check out govbenefits.gov, Student Aid (www.studentaid.ed.gov), or the Small Business Administration (sba.gov)

Now that we’re clear on that, here’s a quick rundown of the how-to hoopla surrounding grants. 

1.  Find your focus What is it specifically you desire to fund? For instance, if you happen to be interested in scientific research grants, what is the end goal of your project? Several grants fund research towards cancer, reducing obesity or improving health. Still other grants are geographically oriented and can’t be claimed unless research is conducted in a certain region.
2. Identify good potential agencies On grants.gov, you can browse for grants through the search bar by inputting a keyword or phrase, which is all good and well but slogging through that gigantic list of grants takes time–and time is money. So, once you’ve gotten a feel for the website, identify particular agencies which are more likely to be interested in the kind of research you do and search solely through the agencies list. For instance, agencies like the NSF, CDC and NIH are usually my go-tos. The website can be a bit fickle turning up search results, in my opinion. In addition to searching by agency, you can also search by category, keyword or “advanced search,” which covers both open and close opportunities, eligibility and a whole host of other categories.
3. Put the pedal to the metal. And get started! What are the requirements of the grant? Do you qualify? You will be required to submit a detailed proposal for what you plan to do, how and in what time frame, and how your research or project fits the grants goals. The last step is the most crucial. If you show through your grant writing proposal that your project is a good fit for their grant money, you’re halfway there. Conversely, if it doesn’t… you’ll be in the ‘no’ pile no matter how good your idea is.
4. Plan for the future.
5. Plenty grant money is only awarded on a cyclical basis–quarterly or yearly. So make sure that when you are looking for particular grants that you don’t dismiss those that are a long ways off. Start looking for grants early and identify which ones you need to succeed. Also, it doesn’t hurt to diversify. Apply for as many grants as you can.