Searching For Funding Opportunities

ALASKA NATIVE RESOURCES | RESOURCES IN ALASKA | SEARCH BY AGENCY
CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE | FEDBIZOPPS.GOV | FIRSTGOV.GOV | GRANTS.GOV
PRIVATE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES | USA FREEDOM CORPS

In this section applicants will find a listing of key sites where detailed information on funding information can be accessed. Agencies announce fund availability through Notices of Fund Availability (NOFA) and through Requests for Proposals (RFP). The premier site for grant information is Grants.gov. The premier site for contract information is Fedbizopps.gov. Information on funding announcements from specific agencies can usually be directly accessed at the agency site. We have used the HUD Indian Community Development Block Grant Program NOFA as an example of what an active funding announcement looks like. Their announcement comes in three parts. It is important to read all three parts.

ALASKA NATIVE RESOURCES ...more links

Alaska Native tribes and corporations represent a tremendous resource to Alaska Native communities and people. Information on ANCSA and related laws can be accessed at the ANCSA Resource Center or at SorensenandEdwards.com. More detailed information and direct links to each corporate site can be found on the linked page.

RESOURCES IN ALASKA ...more links

Look at resources available in the State of Alaska by accessing the State of Alaska Homepage at http://www.state.ak.us/. Economic Development Resource Guide at http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/edrg/EDRG.htm.

SEARCH BY AGENCY ...more links

It is important to look through these sites since some funds are administered in a decentralized manner through allocations at the regional or state levels for further disbursement. This means that funds may be available at the regional or state levels even though there may be no notice of fund availability on the Grants.gov site. EDA grants are an example of this. They accept applications on an ongoing basis for economic development projects.

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE

The online Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance at http://12.46.245.173/cfda/cfda.html gives the researcher access to a database of all Federal programs available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally -recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi-public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals. After finding the program you want, contact the office that administers the program and find out how to apply.

FEDBIZOPPS.GOV

FedBizOpps at http://www.fedbizopps.gov is the single government point-of-entry (GPE) for Federal government procurement opportunities over $25,000. Government buyers are able to publicize their business opportunities by posting information directly to FedBizOpps via the Internet. Through one portal - FedBizOpps (FBO) - commercial vendors seeking Federal markets for their products and services can search, monitor and retrieve opportunities solicited by the entire Federal contracting community. To search the Fedbizopps site, select the first item Find Business Opportunities off the menu on the left hand side of the page. Select the kind of awards you are looking for and how far back you want to look and search.

FIRSTGOV.GOV for Businesses and Nonprofits

Firstgov.gov, the U.S. Government's official web portal at http://firstgov.gov/ , provides information on federal, state and local funding. Whatever citizens want or need from the U.S. government, it's on FirstGov.gov including online information, services and resources. It also contains a section on writing a grant proposal.

GRANTS.GOV

Grants.gov at http://grants.gov allows organizations to electronically find and apply for competitive grant opportunities from all Federal grant-making agencies. Grants.gov is THE single access point for over 1000 grant programs offered by the 26 Federal grant-making agencies. The US Department of Health and Human Services is proud to be the managing partner for Grants.gov, an initiative that will have an unparalleled impact on the grant community.

To search the Grants.gov site for open grant opportunities, select the Search for Grant Opportunities item off the Find Grant Opportunities menu in the center of the opening page. From this search page you can do a keyword search, search by funding opportunity number, or search by CFDA number. Alternatively, the researcher may select off the left hand menu and search all open opportunities or only those posted in the last 7 days.

PRIVATE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

In this day of dwindling grant resources, communities and people must be more aggressive about finding other nonfederal sources of funds. These funds can be used to provide cash or in-kind matches for federal grants. This section will link the researcher to search sites for private fund sources or directly to key foundations.

USA FREEDOM CORPS

The USA Freedom Corps Volunteer Network is the largest clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever created. Searching the Volunteer Network is a great and easy way to find existing volunteer opportunities, like mentoring, in your community. For direct access to this site use http://usafreedomcorps.gov/.