Guides For Every Kind Of Grant Seeker
30 guides to federal programs, state funding, and the mechanics of winning — with live program counts drawn from the OpenGrants database on every build.
DOD SBIR Grants
The Defense route into SBIR is topic-driven, not open-call — you answer published topics through DSIP on a BAA cycle, and Direct to Phase II lets qualifying companies skip Phase I entirely.
Read the guideHow Grant Funding Works
The mechanics — process, eligibility, budgets, and what reviewers score.
Federal Grants
How federal grant funding actually works — from appropriation to NOFO to merit review to closeout, with the registration gates, cost rules and audit thresholds that decide eligibility before you write a word.
1,204 open programsReadGrant Budgets, Indirect Rates & Cost Share
The 2024 Uniform Guidance raised the de minimis indirect rate to 15% and the MTDC subaward threshold to $50,000 — changes worth real money that most applicants are still not budgeting for.
ReadGrant Eligibility & Registration
SAM.gov, the UEI, NAICS size standards and the agency systems that gate every federal application — the paperwork that decides eligibility weeks before a deadline you cannot move.
ReadHow To Write A Grant Proposal
What reviewers actually score — NSF's two criteria, NIH's three-factor framework, and how published point weights should decide where your writing effort goes.
ReadNSF SBIR Grants
NSF is the open-call route into SBIR — no government topics, up to $305,000 for Phase I and $1.25M for Phase II, but a mandatory Project Pitch gate before you may submit a full proposal.
ReadSBIR Grants
SBIR and STTR lapsed for six months and were reauthorized through 2031 in April 2026 — with new $30M breakthrough awards, per-company proposal caps from FY2027, and mandatory national security screening.
10 open programsReadWho Can Apply
Guides by applicant type, and an honest read on what each one qualifies for.
Business Grants
Grant, loan, tax credit, contract or equity — most businesses chase the wrong instrument. A decision guide to which kind of funding you are actually eligible for, and what each one really costs.
99 open programsReadGrants For Individuals
There is no federal grant that pays your personal bills. There is real help — LIHEAP, TANF, rental assistance and hardship funds. Here is the difference, and how to spot the scam.
ReadGrants for Veterans
The largest veteran business opportunity is not a grant — it is the federal contracting set-aside. Plus the real private grant programs, free VBOC advising, and what the VA does and does not fund.
25 open programsReadGrants For Women
What exists for women-owned businesses — the Amber Grant's monthly $10,000 awards, free Women's Business Center advising, and why WOSB certification is a contracting tool rather than a grant.
5 open programsReadMinority Small Business Grants
Race-conscious grant programs have been under sustained legal challenge since 2023, and several have closed. What still exists, what changed, and where the durable opportunities are.
99 open programsReadNonprofit Grants
Where nonprofit funding actually comes from — federal, foundation, corporate and government contracts — plus the 990 research method that beats any grant list.
1,204 open programsReadsmall business grants
The SBA says plainly that it does not provide grants to start or expand a business. Here is what actually exists for small businesses, and how to tell a real program from a list-seller.
99 open programsReadStartup Business Grants
Startups have one genuinely large non-dilutive funding route — SBIR and STTR — plus accelerators, state programs and contests. What each is worth, and what disqualifies you.
27 open programsReadBy Sector
Where the money is concentrated, by field.
Economic Development Grants
EDA and CDBG money goes to governments, tribes, nonprofits and universities — not to businesses. Understanding who the applicant is changes where a business should actually be looking.
1,062 open programsReadEmergency Services Grants
FEMA put $648 million into its three fire grant programs in the most recent cycle — AFG, SAFER and Fire Prevention & Safety. What each funds, who is eligible, and how the population-based caps work.
1,204 open programsReadEnergy and Mobility Grants
The clean energy grant landscape is in active litigation — $30 billion of EPA's IRA awards were terminated in 2025 and are being challenged in court. What survived, what to verify, and where state money still is.
793 open programsReadGrants for Faith-Based Organizations
Faith-based organizations compete for federal grants on equal footing, keep their religious character, and may select board members by religious tenets — but cannot fund explicitly religious activity or discriminate against beneficiaries.
620 open programsReadGrants for Rural Communities
USDA Rural Development is the largest rural funder most applicants never check — and "rural" has a precise, checkable definition that decides eligibility before anything else.
1,062 open programsReadGrants for Youth & Young Entrepreneurs
The largest federal youth programmes flow through state education agencies rather than being competed nationally — which means the application you should be writing is usually a state one.
351 open programsReadHospital and Healthcare Grant Funding
Most federal healthcare grant money is restricted to specific facility designations — FQHC, Critical Access, rural. Whether you hold one decides your eligibility before anything else.
324 open programsReadMental Health Grants
Most federal behavioral health money never reaches providers directly — it goes to states as block grants and is subawarded from there. Applying to SAMHSA when you should be applying to your state is the classic mistake.
324 open programsReadBy Region
State and regional funding ecosystems.
Featured Funders
Individual funders — thesis, eligibility, and how to actually reach them.
Blue Meridian Partners Grant Funding
Investments of up to $200 million over a decade, paid against performance milestones — with no application process, though Blue Meridian does publish six selection criteria and an interest survey.
ReadCo-Impact Grant Funding
A pooled collaborative that has mobilized over $870 million to 140+ initiatives across Africa, Asia and Latin America — sourced regionally, with no unsolicited proposals accepted.
ReadDraper Richards Kaplan Foundation (DRK) Grant Funding
DRK takes applications year-round for up to $300,000 over three years plus board-level support — with a published funnel showing roughly 20% reach interview and under 10% reach diligence.
ReadMulago Foundation Grant Funding
Mulago refuses proposals outright and funds almost entirely through its fellowships — $100,000 unrestricted, about 20 fellows a year, and a demand that you state your mission in eight words.
ReadO'Shaughnessy Ventures Fellowships & Grants
One of the few funders you can apply to directly — $100,000 equity-free fellowships open to anyone, anywhere. OSV received 11,812 applications in the 2026 cycle for roughly thirty awards.
ReadPatrick J. McGovern Foundation Grant Funding
A $1.5 billion AI-and-data foundation paying out roughly $66 million a year — invitation-only, but with a public grants database that tells you exactly what it funds and at what size.
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