Many people think the application process for grants is really difficult to fill out and get processed, but I have found that Grants.gov makes the process relatively painless. Grants.gov pulls together all of the different government grants that are currently available into one website that makes it really easy to search through 26 different agencies worth of grants. With that being said, this is where I started in my search for a government grant that deals with library services in hopes of finding something useful for the library I work in. The first thing I did in my application process for grants was look through the many different listed here until I found the one I needed.
When you find the grant you are interested, write down the CFDA number. You are going to need it to download the grant application for that grant when you are ready for that part of the application process for grants. Once you have found the grant you want to apply for, then you will need to register with Grants.gov in order to apply. The registration process was easy as you can register as an individual or as an organization. I registered as an organization and within a week the registration process was completed and I was ready to submit our application. This part of the application process for grants can take between three days to two weeks depending on how diligent you are in getting the steps completed on a timely basis.
After I received confirmation on our registration I returned to the website and started the application process for grants by downloading the grant package for the grant I wanted. This is where you need the CFDA number. You key that number into Grants.gov’s website and you can download the package which you can complete and submit online after you receive all of the necessary approvals from your supervisor. The package is done in such a way that you can print it out for approval first. All of the information on how to fill out and use the forms in the package is with the grant package cover sheet including how to get agency specific instructions which I highly recommend. These instructions can ultimately make or break your grant application.
From here, you simply need to complete the grant application offline, get the approvals you need and then submit it. One thing to note is that you must fill all of the required fields or else the application will not be accepted for submission. The system will kick it back out to you until you do. This is probably the easiest part of the application process for grants. Check and make sure everything is filled properly on your grant application, login to the website with your user name and password and then open up your grant package. Click on the button that saves ‘Submit & Save’ and your grant application has been put in for consideration with the appropriate agency.
At this point in the application process for grants you will be given a tracking number and the official date the grant was submitted so that you can follow it through the approval process. This is one of the best ways to apply for grants and I have applied for quite a few. I wish you the best of luck and hope that your application process for grants goes smoothly.