El Paso is blessed with many institutions, organizations, non-profits, and advocacy groups that utilize grant funding to improve the quality of life in our community. Through federal grants, we have improved our streets, undertaken complex research, brought the internet to our children’s classrooms, retrained workers, improved health care delivery, advanced the arts, and accomplished many, many other important initiatives.

Please utilize the information below to learn about federal grant opportunities and the steps necessary to apply:

Key Federal Sources

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (General Services Administration) http://www.cfda.gov

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), searchable full-text on the Web, is the primary source of information on federal grants and nonfinancial assistance programs, although actual funding depends upon annual budget appropriations. For example, some authorized federal programs may be described in the Catalog but Congress may choose not to fund them in a certain budget year. For current notices of funding availability, see Grants.gov (below). Highlights of CFDA include

• available free to the public and updated continuously on the Web;

• describes some 1,600 federal domestic assistance programs, financial and nonfinancial assistance programs administered by the departments and agencies of the federal government. Approximately 1000 of these are grants programs, primarily grants-in-aid to state and local governments, who in turn make sub-awards to state and local grant seekers;

• allows grant seekers to identify federal programs that might provide support for their projects, a few directly or more likely through formula grants to states and local governments;

• enables searching by keyword; or by other useful browsable listings, such as by subject, by department or agency, by applicant eligibility, by beneficiary, or by other category;

• for each program, describes objectives of the program, eligibility requirements, the application and award process, post assistance requirements, past fiscal year obligations and future estimates, program accomplishments and examples of funded projects, related CFDA programs, and information contacts, including regional or local offices of federal agencies if applicable;

• links to department and agency websites and to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars affecting program management and record-keeping requirements;

• includes information on Developing and Writing Grant Proposals http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.GRANT_PROPOSAL_DYN.show. Provides guidance in formulating federal grant applications, including initial proposal development, basic components of a proposal, review recommendations, and referral to federal guidelines and literature.

Although more easily searchable and continuously updated on the Internet, the printed Catalog is available to the public in local government depository libraries in every state http://www.gpoaccess.gov/libraries.html. The annual print Catalog (with no supplements or updates) is also for sale from the Government Printing Office; enter name of publication at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/.

Grants.gov (via U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) http://www.grants.gov

After identifying possible federal grant programs in CFDA, this website allows grant seekers to find and apply for current competitive funding opportunities from all 26 federal grants-making agencies. Grant seekers themselves can check on notices of funding availability, sign up to receive e-mail notification of grant opportunities, and apply for federal grants online through a unified process.

To download and submit an application from Grants.gov, registration is required. The site provides a narrated tutorial on how to complete a grant application package and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page. Once an application is submitted, grants applicants themselves can then track progress of their application using their unique ID and password. Applications can be identified by CFDA number, funding opportunity number, competition ID, or Grants.gov tracking number.

State Administering Agencies and Contacts

Many federal grants such as formula and block grants are awarded directly to state governments, which then set priorities and allocate funds within that state. For more information on how a state intends to distribute federal formula funds, grant seekers can contact the state administering agency (SAA). State government agencies are familiar with federal program requirements, can assist local governments and nonprofit organizations with proposals, and can provide other guidance.

• State 'Single Points of Contact' (U.S. Office of Management and Budget) http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html. Many states require federal grants applicants to submit a copy of their application for state government review and comment, and have designated a 'Single Point of Contact' under Executive Order 12372, listed by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) . The State offices listed here coordinate government (both federal and state) grants development and may provide guidance to grant seekers.

• Federal Agency Regional and Local Office Addresses (CFDA Appendix IV; listings by agency and by state) http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_CATALOG_DYN.show. Much of the federal grant budget moves to the states through formula and block grants -- state, regional, and local federal offices often handle grants applications and funds disbursement. Each federal agency has its own procedures -- applicants should call the department or agency in question before applying for funding to obtain the most up-to-date information.

• State and Local Agencies by Topic (USA.gov) http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/State_and_Territories/Agencies_by_Topic.shtml. Can help in identifying SAAs. Many federal executive department and agency websites include state contacts or SAAs to which grants seekers can be referred: a selection of such SAAs are given below.

Selected State Administering Agencies and Contacts

Many federal department and agency websites provide state contacts. Often the site will have an interactive U.S. map, grant seekers can click on their state and obtain program and contact information.

Agriculture Rural Development State Contacts http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_map.html

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Partners
[http://www.arts.gov/partner/state/SAA_RAO_list.html

Commerce Offices and Services
http://www.commerce.gov/statemap2.html

Education (ED) State Contacts
http://www.ed.gov/about/contacts/state/index.html

Energy (DOE) State Contacts
http://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy_program/seo_contacts.cfm

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Grant Regional Office
http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/regional.htm

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) State Offices and Agencies
http://www.fema.gov/about/contact/statedr.shtm

Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration on Children and Families: State Contacts
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/acf_contact_us.html#state

Homeland Security (DHS) State Contacts and Grant Award Information
http://www.dhs.gov/xgovt/grants/index.shtm

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) State/Local Offices
http://www.hud.gov/localoffices.cfm

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEA) State Councils
http://www.neh.gov/whoweare/statecouncils.html

Office of Justice Programs (OJP) State Administering Agencies
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/saa/

Labor (DOL)Education and Training Administration, State and Regional Contacts
http://www.doleta.gov/regions/statecontacts/

Small Business Administration
http://www.sba.gov/localresources/index.html

Transportation, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Regional Offices
http://www.fta.dot.gov/regional_offices.html

Veterans Affairs State/Territory Offices
http://www.va.gov/statedva.htm

Related Federal Sources

A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies

(General Services Administration)
http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml

To better develop a grant proposal, search a department or agency's homepage to learn more about its programs and objectives. The site USA.gov http://www.usa.gov also includes

• Government Benefits, Grants and Financial Aid for citizens http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Benefits.shtml;

• Government-to-Government for state and local governments http://www.usa.gov/Government/State_Local/Grants.shtml. Covers grants management, federal assistance programs, resources about acquisition and procurement, financial management, and taxes;

• Grants, Loans, and Other Assistance for nonprofit organizations http://www.usa.gov/Business/Nonprofit.shtml. Links to federal department and agency information and services, fundraising and outreach, grants, loans and other assistance, laws and regulations, management and operations, registration and licensing, and taxes;

• Information by Topic for business financial assistance http://www.usa.gov/Business/Business_Gateway.shtml. Useful sites for small business, government contractors, and foreign business in the United States.

Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (Office of the President) http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/centers.html

The Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, and Labor have programs to serve Americans in need for which faith-based and community organizations may apply. Two publications can be of help:

• Guidance to Faith-Based and Community Organizations on Partnering with the Federal Government http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/guidance_document_01-06.pdf; and

• Federal Funds for Organizations That Help Those in Need http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/grants-catalog-05-2006.pdf. Describes some 170 federal programs, many of which can be applied for directly. Some, however, are "formula grants" made available to states and local governments, which in turn award funds to grassroots and local organizations. For those, grant seekers must contact local and state agencies responsible for managing the programs.

Homeland Security State Contacts & Grants Award Information

(U.S. Department of Homeland Security) http://www.dhs.gov/xgovt/grants/index.shtm

Information on federal homeland security and public safety grants. Includes Urban Area Security Initiative Grant Program (UASI), Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP), and Assistance to Firefighters http://www.firegrantsupport.com/.

Federal Register (National Archives)
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html

Search current year for updates and notices affecting federal assistance programs: enter specific CFDA program number, or subject/keyword AND CFDA. A weekly compilation of notices affecting CFDA programs, Federal Funding Report, is compiled at http://www.house.gov/ffr/federal_funding_reports.shtml by the U.S. House of Representatives. The summary consists of three parts: (1) Federal Register Summary, (2) Early Warning Grants Report, and (3) Disaster Loan Applications.

Grants Management Website (U.S. Office of Management and Budget)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/index.html

OMB establishes government-wide grants management policies and guidelines through circulars and common rules. OMB Circulars are cited in CFDA program descriptions.

Private, Corporate, and Additional Funding Sources

Foundation Center
http://www.foundationcenter.org/

Information gateway to the grant seeking process, private funding sources (including national, state, community, and corporate foundations), guidelines on writing a grants proposal, addresses of libraries in every state with grants reference collections, and links to other useful Internet websites. The Center maintains a comprehensive database on foundation grantsmanship, publishes print and CD-ROM directories and guides, conducts research and publishes studies in the field, and offers a variety of training and educational seminars. Free information on the website includes:

• Guide to Funding Research http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/gfr/index.html

• Foundation Finder http://lnp.foundationcenter.org/finder.html Search for information about more than 70,000 private and community foundations.

• Proposal Writing Short Course http://fdncenter.org/learn/shortcourse/prop1.html Free tutorial on developing a good grant proposal; also in Spanish, French, and other languages.

• Foundation Center Cooperating Collections http://foundationcenter.org/collections/ Libraries in every state providing free funding information for grant seekers.