In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, federal grants are economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general federal revenue. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States. Grants are

federal assistance In the United States, federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, or activity provided by the Federal government of the United States, federal government ...

to individuals, benefits or entitlements. A grant is not used to acquire property or services for the federal government's direct benefit.

Grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

may also be issued by private

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

s such as

foundations Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

, not-for-profit corporations or charitable trusts which are all collectively referred to as

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

. Outside the United States grants, subventions or subsidies are used to in similar fashion by government or private charities to subsidize programs and projects that fit within the funding criteria of the grant-giving entity or donor. Grants can be unrestricted, to be used by the recipient in any fashion within the perimeter of the recipient organization's activities or they may be restricted to a specific purpose by the benefactor.

American definition

Federal grants are defined and governed by the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977, as incorporated i
Title 31 Section 6304 of the U.S. Code
A Federal grant is a:

"...legal instrument reflecting the relationship between the United States Government and a State, a local government, or other entity when 1) the principal purpose of the relationship is to transfer a thing of value to the State or local government or other recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States instead of acquiring (by purchase, lease, or barter) property or services for the direct benefit or use of the United States Government; and 2) substantial involvement is not expected between the executive agency and the State, local government, or other recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated in the agreement."

When an awarding agency expects to be substantially involved in a project (beyond routine monitoring and technical assistance), the law requires use of a cooperative agreement instead. When the government is procuring goods or services for its own direct benefit, and not for a broader public purpose, the law requires use of a federal contract.

Types of grants

Categorical grant Categorical grants, also called conditional grants, are grants issued by the United States Congress which may be spent only for narrowly defined purposes. They are the main source of federal aid to state and local governments and can be used onl ...

s may be spent only for narrowly defined purposes and recipients often must match a portion of the federal funds. 33% of categorical grants are considered to be formula grants. About 90% of federal aid dollars are spent for categorical grants. **Project grants are grants given by the government to fund research projects, such as a research project for medical purposes. An individual must acquire certain qualifications before applying for such a grant and the normal duration for project grants is three years. ** Formula grants provide funds as dictated by a law. *

Block grant A block grant is a grant-in-aid of a specified amount from a larger government to a smaller regional government body. Block grants have less oversight from the larger government and provide flexibility to each subsidiary government body in terms ...

s are large grants provided from the federal government to state or local governments for use in a general purpose. * Earmark grants are explicitly specified in appropriations of the U.S.

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. They are not competitively awarded and have become highly controversial because of the heavy involvement of paid

political lobbyists In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

used in securing them. In FY1996 appropriations, the

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a c ...

found 3,023 earmarks totaling $19.5 billion, while in FY2006 it found 12,852 earmarks totaling $64 billion. For charitable grants and funds for schools and organizations see: Grant writing and

. There are over 900 grant programs offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies. These programs fall into 20 categories: * Agriculture * Arts * Business and Commerce * Community Development * Consumer Protection * Disaster Prevention and Relief * Education Regional Development * Employment, Labor, and Training * Energy * Environmental Quality * Food and Nutrition * Health * Housing * Humanities * Information and Statistics * Law, Justice, and Legal Services * Natural Resources * Science and Technology * Social Services and Income Security * Transportation

Information provided in grant applications

Award information in grants generally includes: * Estimated funding * Expected number of awards * Anticipated award size * Period of performance Eligibility information includes: * Eligible applicants * Cost sharing

Criticism

Federal and state grants frequently receive criticism due to what are perceived to be excessive regulations and not include opportunities for

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ap ...

, as well as for often giving more money per person to smaller states regardless of population or need. These criticisms include problems of overlap, duplication, excessive categorization, insufficient information, varying requirements, arbitrary federal decision-making, and grantsmanship (a funding bias toward entities most familiar with how to exploit the system, rather than to those most in need). Research also suggests that federal grants are often allocated politically, with more money going to areas represented by the political party commanding a majority in Congress or that controls the presidency.Napolio, Nicholas G. 2021. “Implementing Presidential Particularism: Bureaucracy and the Distribution of Federal Grants.” Political Science Research and Methods. Cambridge University Press, 1–11. doi:10.1017/psrm.2021.29.

Examples of grants by type

Block

* Community Development Block Grant * Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Services Block Grant (ADMS) **Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG or SAPT) **Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG or CMHS) *

Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG) were federal assistance block grant programs provided by the United States Department of Justice to local governments, which would then use the funds to support public safety or crime prevention efforts ...

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

for bioscience research *

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

for physical science research

Formulary

Aid to Families with Dependent Children Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was a federal assistance program in the United States in effect from 1935 to 1997, created by the Social Security Act (SSA) and administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Serv ...

* Job Training Partnership Act

Categorical

* Head Start Program *

Magnet Schools Assistance Program Magnet Schools Assistance is a Federal grants in the United States, Federal grants program administered by the United States Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education. The program is designed to help desegregate public schools. The pr ...

References

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External links

Grants.gov
Official U.S. government site for finding grants for non-profits

Find small business grants and loans from government agencies

Grants Management Line of Business
ED.gov Federal Pell Grant Program
Official site for the federal pell grant Public finance Federal assistance in the United States Grants (money) Subsidies