Finding ARRA Grants & Contracts

• Who Is Eligible?
• How do I Prepare to Apply for ARRA Funds?
• How do I Apply for ARRA Grants directly from the Federal Government?
• How do I Find Non-ARRA Opportunities?
  
  

Who is Eligible?

ARRA funds are mostly divided between grants and contracts.  Typically state and local governments, non-profits, and higher education institutions will be eligible to apply for grants, and private companies and contractors will be eligible to apply for contracts which involve selling goods and services.  Given the large number of ARRA programs, there will be exceptions to these generalities.  Individuals will occasionally be eligible to apply for both grants and contracts.  There will also be a few loan programs that are supported by ARRA funds. It is important to read the detailed information on who is eligible to apply for each specific program.

How do I Prepare to Apply for ARRA Funds?

Many grantees and first-tier sub-grantees seeking federal grants will need to obtain both a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number and register with Central Contracting Registration (CCR).  The same will apply for most bidders for contracts.   

Because it can take some time to receive a DUNS number and to register in the CCR, if you are considering applying for recovery act funding and do not already have a DUNS number and are not registered in the CCR, you should begin both of these processes immediately.

Note for Individuals: If you are an individual applying for a grant on your own behalf and not on behalf of a company, academic or research institution, state, local or tribal government, not-for-profit, or other type of organization, refer to the Individual Registration at Grants.gov. If you apply as an individual to a grant application package designated for organizations, your application will be rejected.

Central Contractor Registration (CCR)

All applicants for federal grants and contracts must maintain current registrations in the CCR database. This is a repository for standard information about federal financial assistance applicants, recipients, and sub-recipients.  Learn more about CCR registration procedures.

Obtaining a DUNS number

An application for a federal grant or contract is not complete unless it has a DUNS number.  A DUNS number is a unique nine-digit sequence recognized as the universal standard for identifying and keeping track of entities receiving federal funds.  Obtaining a DUNS number is a free, simple, one-time activity; however, obtaining a DUNS number can take some time. Obtain a DUNS number by calling 1-866-705-5711 or by applying online here.

How do I apply for ARRA grants directly from the federal government?

• Comprehensive information about applying for direct federal grant
• a step-by-step registration guide from Grants.gov

The Governor’s Grants Office also conducts a number of grants trainings throughout the year covering a wide range of topics that stretch well beyond ARRA issues.  All information from past trainings is posted at their website: http://www.grants.maryland.gov/arra.asp   AND http://www.gov.state.md.us/grants/grants_made_easy.html  

Grants.gov

Grants.gov is meant to be the single portal for all competitive grant activity and until recently all new federal grant applications had to be made on Grants.gov. Due to anticipated increases in system activity resulting from application traffic, some federal grant applications will now be processed outside of Grants.gov. 

This change does means that applicants should carefully read over the application instructions for their grant opportunity posted on Grants.gov even if the applicant has already applied before.  These instructions will indicate whether the grant will be processed by Grants.gov or another federal agency and will also include steps for how to proceed through the application process.   

Read the full Recovery Act and System Alleviation Notice which includes a list of federal agencies that are now processing grant applications.

How do I find non-ARRA opportunities?

Many programs funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are competitive grants and contracts.  The Governor’s Grants Office uses four sources to identify the competitive grant and contract opportunities that use ARRA funds and then posts this information on the Maryland recovery/opportunity website.  When the closing date or deadline passes these opportunities are removed. 

The four core sources of information used by the Grants Office also include information on non-ARRA funded grants and contracts and could be of value to any person or organization developing a strategy to identify all federal funding resources.

1. Federal Contracts (direct from federal agencies) are posted on FedBizops https://www.fbo.gov/  All competitive contract opportunities are posted with the site identifying those that are ARRA funded (a small percentage of total contracts).
2. Federal Grants (direct from federal agencies) are posted at Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/  All competitive grant opportunities are posted with site identifying those that are ARRA funded.
3. State Contracts (direct from state agencies) are posted on eMarylandMarketplace https://ebidmarketplace.com/ .  The site has just begun to differentiate between ARRA funded and other “regular” (non-ARRA funded) contract opportunities.
4. State Grants (direct from state agencies) that use ARRA funds are collected by individual state agency staff and placed on the recovery/opportunity website.  Research can be conducted on all state agency grants at Red Book Online http://www.mdredbookonline.com/