Free course · 13 modules · 50 min of video

Your members keep asking where the funding is. Build the answer.

One course, two tracks. Developers build the portal. Program teams learn to specify one their members will actually use.

I'll build it I need it built

Watch module 1

Build (or specify) a funding portal for your community: grants and contracts, federal to local, matched to each member and sent to them before deadlines.

Who it's for

This course is for

Developers and govtech engineers building funding discovery into a product or site
Economic development organizations, SBDCs, chambers and accelerators serving member businesses
Community foundations and associations that field "where is the funding?" every week

It isn't for

Anyone looking for a list of grants rather than a way to serve members
Teams that only need a single static resource page

What you'll walk away with

Track A: a working portal with hybrid search, profile matching shown as guidance, and verified webhooks
Track A: per-member deadline digests and a contracts view with NAICS and set-aside filters
Track B: a clear picture of what members need and what a good portal does for them
Track B: design rules for presenting funding without implying eligibility
Track B: metrics a board or funder will accept, and a one-page portal spec

The modules

Track A: Builders

7 modules · 26 min of video

For developers, AI builders and govtech engineers. Search, matching, webhooks, contracts and MCP, ending with a deployed portal on Cloudflare.

The data model: grants, contracts, funders and one response envelope
Learn the three OpenGrants objects, the results/pagination/meta envelope, auth and error codes, and wrap them in a typed client.
OpenVideo 3:58
Search that doesn't feel thin: search_mode, filters and paging
Choose keyword, semantic or hybrid per query, compose filters without hiding results, and page and cache search results properly.
Email requiredVideo 3:39
Matching: POST a profile, render match_score and why_it_fits responsibly
Send an organization profile to match-grants-api, know what the score is built from, and present it as guidance, never as an eligibility verdict.
Email requiredVideo 3:39
Push, not poll: webhooks, HMAC verification and per-member deadline digests
Subscribe to the eight OpenGrants webhook events, verify X-OpenGrants-Signature with Web Crypto, block replays, and send one useful digest per member.
Email requiredVideo 3:44
The contracts half: NAICS codes and set-aside filters
Use contracts-api to show small-business members solicitations in their NAICS codes and set-aside categories, decoded and labeled without implying eligibility.
Email requiredVideo 3:44
The MCP path: OpenGrants in Claude and Cursor, and agent-facing funding tools
Connect the hosted OpenGrants MCP server to Claude, Claude Code or Cursor, then build a small MCP server of your own with guardrails for your members.
Email requiredVideo 3:34
Capstone: build and deploy a branded funding portal on Cloudflare
Assemble search, matching, webhooks and weekly digests into one TypeScript Worker, keep the key server-side, and ship it on your own domain.
Email requiredVideo 3:25

Track B: Commissioners

6 modules · 24 min of video

For EDOs, SBDCs, chambers, accelerators and foundations. What members need, what good looks like, how to measure it, ending with a one-page spec.

What Your Members Actually Need From a Funding Portal
Members need federal, state, local, foundation and contract opportunities in one place. Here's why federal-only portals fail and how to find the real need.
OpenVideo 4:19
Anatomy of a Great Funding Portal
The eight parts of a funding portal members keep using: profiles, ranked matches with reasons, funding tracks, contracts, and digests nobody logs in for.
Email requiredVideo 3:50
Design That Doesn't Mislead
Present funding without implying eligibility, write plain-language program summaries, and meet WCAG 2.2 on phones and in email first.
Email requiredVideo 4:16
Three Paths: Hire, Buy, or Have It Built
Compare hiring a developer, buying a vendor front end, and subscribing to have it built, with a neutral decision matrix and the questions to ask each.
Email requiredVideo 4:08
Measuring It: Metrics a Board or Funder Will Accept
Define portal metrics from profiles to self-reported awards, collect them ethically, and report outcomes to your board and funders, including EDA.
Email requiredVideo 3:32
Capstone: Your One-Page Funding Portal Spec
Write the one-page portal spec that a developer, a vendor, or an OpenGrants Build scoping call can work from, plus the board one-pager to approve it.
Email requiredVideo 3:49

Try a sample

From module 1 of Track A: The data model: grants, contracts, funders and one response envelope

Check yourself

A response has pagination.total = 212, offset = 200, returned = 12. Is there another page? How do you know?
What is the difference between a 401 with INVALID_API_KEY and a 401 with UNAUTHORIZED_INVALID_JWT_FORMAT, and what do you do about each?
A grant has amount_min: null, amount_max: 150000. What does your card say, and will it match min_amount=100000?
Why should a member-facing list keep the default opportunity_type=open?
Name two responses that do not use the results/pagination/meta envelope.

From module 1 of Track B: What Your Members Actually Need From a Funding Portal

Check yourself

Name the five sources of funding opportunities your members need, and where each is published.
Why does a Grants.gov-only portal systematically produce false negatives for small businesses?
Your resources page has 38 links and 5 of them are open programs with deadlines shown. What is its usefulness score, and what does that tell your board?
Which of your member segments would benefit most from contract opportunities, and why?
Write your organization’s one-paragraph need statement. Does it name the sources, the members, and how they want to be notified?

Questions

Do I need to be a developer?

No. Track B is written for program and executive staff and never asks you to open a terminal. It ends with a spec any builder can work from.

Which track should I take?

Take Track A if you will write the code. Take Track B if you will decide what gets built and explain it to a board. Many teams have one person take each.

Will the portal tell members whether they qualify?

No, and the course teaches you not to. Match results are presented as guidance with stated reasons, and the funder decides eligibility.

What does it cost?

The course is free. The first lesson of each track is open to everyone; you confirm your email to continue. Building on the API requires an OpenGrants API account, covered in Track A.

Get the full course

The course is free. Enter your email and we'll send you a confirmation link. Once you confirm, every module of Build a Funding Portal opens on this device.