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Applying for a Grant: Where and How
Applying for a grant used to be a difficult and tedious process.
The applications were long and often difficult to obtain. Even
worse, loans used to be difficult to locate. Unless you were
extremely familiar with government loan programs, in all
likelihood, finding a grand and applying for a grant meeting
your specific needs may have been nearly impossible to find.
Fortunately, that has changed in recent years. Grants.gov, a web
site listing all available government grants, was created as
part of the President's Management Agenda (PMA) and related
e-Government Strategy. Grants.gov is one of 24 PMA initiatives
devoted to improving services offered by the government over the
Internet. According to Grants.gov, the site was created as a
partnership with the 26 Federal agencies that offer grant
programs. It is organized by the United States Department of
Health and Human Services, which is also the largest
grant-making agency.
By visiting Grants.gov, it's easy to see how simple it is to
apply for a grant. Gone are the days of preparing extensive
paperwork and printed documentation, as well as mailing the
paperwork to the agency awarding the grant. Instead, applying
for a grant is now done electronically through the site,
offering individuals and businesses the opportunity to
flawlessly submit a grant application online.
There are five steps involved at Grants.gov in applying for a
grant.
1. Find an appropriate grant opportunity in which you'd like to
apply. Visit Grants.gov/search/searchHome.do for specific
information on grants available to you. Be sure you meet all
criteria, or your time spent will be wasted because your
application will be voided in that instance. Jot down the
grant's CFDA Number or Funding Opportunity Number, which will be
needed for Step 2, below.
2. Download the application package. Once you've determined
which grant or grants you'll apply for, you're ready to download
your grant application package. Visit
http://apply.grants.gov/forms_apps_idx.html for information.
Your first step is to download PureEdge Viewer, which is a free
software package required for filling out the application. The
software is available to both Macintosh and PC users.
Instructions are included as to how to install and use the
software. After installing PureEdge Viewer, you're ready to
download your specific application package. Have the grant's
CFDA Number or Funding Opportunity Number for this step, which
should have been obtained in Step 1, above.
3. Register with Central Contractor Registry (CCR). Grant
applicants need to be registered with CRR prior to submitting a
grant application through Grants.gov. By registering with the
CCR, the organization is required to designate an e-Business
Point of Contact (EPOC) According to Grants.gov, the EPOC is the
sole authority of the organization capable of designating or
revoking an individual's ability to submit a grant application
on behalf of their organization through Grants.gov. The CCR also
provides organizational information that Grants.gov uses to
verify an applicant's identity and to pre-fill repetitive
information on grant application, which will ultimately save you
time in applying for a grant.
4. Register with Credential Provider. Grants.gov employs the use
of e-Authentication to ensure the security of your information
that is submitted electronically in an application.
e-Authentication is done through the use of Credential
Providers. It is the process of determining, with certainty,
that the person applying for the grant is who they are claiming
to be in the application. The Credential Provider for Grants.gov
is an organization called Operational Research Consultants
(ORC). When you, as a grant applicant, are applying for a grant,
you'll receive a username and password, which is then used to
register with Grants.gov as an authorized organization
representative, or in other words, as an individual designated
as authorized to submit grant applications for your business or
organization through Grants.gov. Once you've registered as an
authorized organization representative, your EPOC is asked to
validate the registration. Once your EPOC validates the request,
the individual requesting authorized organization
representative's status for your organization will receive a
notification via email confirming that you're not able to submit
grant applications electronically through Grants.gov, which is
the fastest and easiest way to expedite your grant application.
5. Register with Grants.gov. As mentioned, when applying for a
grant, it is necessary to register with Grants.gov as an
authorized organization representative in order to submit a
grant application electronically. According to Grants.gov and
their instructions file, the E-Business Point of Contact (EPOC)
listed on an organization's Central Contact Registry (CCR)
registration will receive email notification stating that the
grant applicant has registered to submit grants. The EPOC will
then need to log onto the EBiz section of Grants.gov and assign
the "Authorized Applicant" role to the grant applicant. Once the
EPOC does this, the applicant will receive email notification
stating that they have been designated as an AOR and will be
able to submit applications through Grants.gov.
While there are many steps involved in applying for a grant,
doing so online will move the process along much smoother and
quicker than through traditional paperwork applications. The
site offers user-friendly instructions and support tools,
including a tutorial, a help section, a user guide, a quick
reference section, and a frequent questions and answers section.
Through this information, most questions and problems are
addressed, and where something unusual occurs, personalized
support is also available through the Grants.gov contact center.
About the author:
Rebecca Game is the founder of Digital Women ®, an online
community for women in business. A 30 year entrepreneur and
dedicated to helping other women find business loans and
business grants. Visit her site: Business Grants
for Women
http://grants.digital-women.com