The OpenGrants Blog

Notes From The Grant Economy

Funding programs, eligibility, and the craft of winning — written from the data in the OpenGrants database.

1,311articles and counting
Tips And ResourcesThe Application Is Not Where the Decision HappensOne Gulf Coast program runs four listings on one deadline. The money is already allocated, an earlier plan decides, and a permit picks your form.Tips And ResourcesWhen the Applicant Never Touches the MoneyThirteen records pay a lender, a bursar or a creditor instead of the applicant. That one fact empties the award field and changes who is allowed to apply.Tips And ResourcesNot Every Listing Is an ApplicationA search result is a document, and not every document is a program. Ten records show six kinds of page that read like a grant, and what each one needs.Funding FridayFunding Friday — September 25, 2026: Read the Sentence Under the NumberFour of this week's five programs hide the decisive detail behind the headline figure or date — including a December deadline that really closes in October.Tips And ResourcesThe Match Rate Is Set by Who You AreA cost share is often a property of the applicant, not the project. Nine records show the class, tier and threshold that decide your half.Tips And ResourcesThe Grant Priced by the Head, Not the ProjectSome programs size the award by headcount, wage level, and who fills the seat. Eleven records show what that does to a budget.Tips And ResourcesWhen the Maximum Award Is the Whole ProgramA listed ceiling can be the whole program budget, a minimum request, a per-category cap, or a service you never bank. Nine records show the difference.Tips And ResourcesThe Bond Passed. The Money Has Not Arrived.A climate bond passed two years ago and is still arriving in pieces. Ten conservancy records show what sits between a vote and an open application.Tips And ResourcesYou Can Miss a Grant Without Missing Its DeadlineMandatory notices and letters of intent close weeks before the published date. Eleven open records show which ones you can already no longer enter.Tips And ResourcesThe Grant You Have to Spend Before You Get ItReimbursement workforce grants pay a percentage of what you already spent. Ten records show why the ceiling on the listing is never the cash you receive.Tips And ResourcesThe Funder Is Not the One Who Approves YouTen open records where a plan, a rating, or a list held by some other office decides your eligibility — and the funder cannot pay until it exists.Tips And ResourcesTourism Grants Buy Hotel Nights, Not Good IdeasNine open lodging-tax programs where eligibility is an overnight stay or a 50-mile radius — and the binding rule sits in the tax code, not the listing.

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