Grants Works Consulting provides a detailed breakdown of the Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking Executive Order (EO) released by the White House on August 7, 2025.
60 Universities’ Federal Grants Are At Risk
This post was originally published on April 12, 2025 by Grants Works for its Federal Grant Insights newsletter on LinkedIn.
We will explore what happened at Columbia University and feature some of the other universities that have been notified by the current administration that their funding has been frozen pending investigations into alleged violations.
Unpacking the DOGE Team’s Role in Federal Government Systems
This post was originally published on February 25, 2025 by Grants Works for its Federal Grant Insights newsletter on LinkedIn.
As the country learns more about the DOGE team’s access to government systems, we may find ourselves faced with many questions. Here are three questions.
Is USAID Gone?
This post was originally published on February 18, 2025 by Grants Works for its Federal Grant Insights newsletter on LinkedIn.
USAID is becoming more and more of a household name these days because it is the first agency that has been significantly restructured by the current administration. In just two weeks it has gone from having over 10,000 employees and contractors to approximately 611 employees.
How Some Federal Grantees Are Impacted by the Unleashing American Energy Executive Order
This post was originally published on January 23, 2025 by Grants Works for its Federal Grant Insights newsletter on LinkedIn.
In the Unleashing American Energy executive order (EO), the current president orders all agencies to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
5 Mistakes New Federal Grantees Should Avoid
As a new federal grantee, there are certain pitfalls you must avoid. Here are five of several mistakes some new federal grantees make.
Grant Management Policies and Procedures Are Required
If you did not know that your organization must have written grant management policies and procedures if it has federal grants, you’re not alone. There are up to seven required general procedural documents.
OMB’s Proposed Changes That Are Likely To Impact Your Federal Grant
On October 5, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget released proposed changes to revise several sections of OMB Guidance for Grants and Agreements to integrate statutory requirements and administration priorities, reduce agency and recipient burden, clarify and...
Navigating Federal Grants With the Right Crew on Board
An experienced and effective federal grant manager or grant consultant with post-award expertise is the light you follow, the lighthouse that beams the light miles away, and the lightkeeper that lights the beacon.
Your Role as a Passthrough Entity of Federal Grants
A passthrough entity (PTE) is a non-federal entity that provides a subaward to a recipient to carry out part of a federal program. If you are a PTE of a federal grant, there are prescribed requirements you must adhere to.
Simplifying Subawards
If you are a federal grantee and you have subawardees, you may have questions about how to select, manage, and monitor subawardees. If you are a subawardee of a federal grant, you may want to know more about your responsibilities. What is a subaward? According to...
Let’s Explore the Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law on August 16, 2022 and it was written with the intended goals of reducing the federal deficit, lowering prescription drug, health care, and energy costs, and making significant investments in clean energy and environmental programs
Let’s Explore the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Build.gov
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 (P.L. 117-58), commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will provide $973 billion in funding over the next five years from fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
Federal Growth Accelerator and Catalyst Funds Support Small Businesses
As it aims to support inclusive entrepreneurship in the innovation ecosystem, the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Investment and Innovation (OII) coordinates an annual competition for the nation’s most innovative and promising small business accelerators, incubators, and business catalysts.
Let’s Get Grant Ready
Grant readiness is more than an exercise in checking items on a checklist. It is the organization’s readiness to competitively apply for grants, finalize the awarding process, and manage the grant. Instead of you having to peruse multiple sources to determine if the...
An Overview of SAM
While there may currently be flexibilities for this requirement, an organization typically must be registered in SAM to apply for and receive local, state, or federal government grants.
Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund
To address the gap in revenue and shore up “on the ground” services, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 allocates $350 billion in emergency funding directly to each eligible state, county, city, territorial, and Tribal government and to non-entitlement units of local government.
Exploring Direct Economic Assistance Programs Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) is responsible for administering over $1 trillion of American Rescue Plan (2021) funds.
An Overview of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
While much has been written about the broad scope and unprecedented nature of ARP, it is important to keep in mind that it is the sixth law that funded pandemic relief programs.
Exploring the Roles of the Grant Writer and the Grant Manager
What some people may not know is that grant writing is much more than writing. In fact, before any writing begins, and if the organization is “grant ready,” the grant writer will gather a wide range of information and data about the organization.
A Summary of OMB Memorandum M-21-20
OMB Memorandum M-21-20 was broken into five sections that either underscore the federal government’s need for a swift response to the public health crisis, outline its commitment to accountability and transparency of ARP spending, or ensure that all Americans are supported through the advancement of racial equity and that underserved communities are supported.
A Summary of Appendix 3 of OMB Memorandum M-21-20
On March 19, 2021, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published Memorandum M-21-20 to outline the Administration’s approach to “effective implementation and stewardship of American Rescue Plan funds.” This post will summarize the twelve flexibilities outlined in Appendix 3.
The New Made in America Requirements for Federal Grants and Contracts
President Biden’s “Executive Order on Ensuring the Future is Made in America by All Americans” is crafted to help American businesses compete in “strategic industries,” help American workers thrive, and promote accountable and transparent procurement policies.
Local and State Government Grants
Read Grants Works overview of city, county and state government grants and how to find them. The post includes links to several localities’ grants pages.
Learn About Federal SBIR/STTR Funding
Do you own a business in the US with a technological innovation that could use an infusion of research and development (R&D) investment to meet its commercial potential? If you do or know someone who may be, continue reading to learn about federal SBIR and STTR...
A PEPFAR Primer
PEPFAR has been described as the US government’s global effort to fight HIV.” Read Grants Works brief overview to learn the basics of this US-funded program.
Uniform Guidance – The Final 2020 Edition
The August 13, 2020 issue of the Federal Register included the final guidance for the revision of 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). All revisions except amendments to two...
A Primer on the Continuum of Care Program That Helps Address Homelessness
If you operate or plan to operate a permanent or transitional housing program and you are not familiar with the Continuum of Care program, keep reading to learn more about the community-driven collaborative process that steers HUD funding to organizations that serve...
The Great Timing of COVID-19 Relief Grants from Regional Funding Collaboratives
Grants Works has been sharing details on social media about COVID-19 funding relief being offered by regional funding collaboratives. Funding collaboratives are not new. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the impressive speed, efficiency, and...
Grant Reporting Dos and Don’ts
Let’s face it—grant management is often undervalued. The focus tends to center on acquiring new grants with little thought on carefully managing an existing grant portfolio as one way to increase funding from current funders and sustain grant-funded projects year...
600+ Foundations Pledge to Increase Grant Funding
Over 600 US and international foundations pledged to increase their grants and loosen restrictions on current grants. Read to learn more about the eight shared principles.
(Updated) – A Summary of OMB M-20-17: Administrative Relief for Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance Impacted by COVID-19
This post was updated on June 23, 2020 to include the extension of expiration dates for two areas of administrative relief as outlined in M-20-26 released on June 18, 2020. On March 19, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget released M-20-17, Administrative Relief...
Proposed Changes to Uniform Guidance
What is Uniform Guidance? Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) is the culmination of extensive collaboration between the Office of Management and Budget and federal awarding agencies to improve the transparency, oversight and performance of federal awards to non-federal...
What is the GREAT Act?
The GREAT Act & Its Impact On Your Federal Grants The Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act was signed into law on December 30, 2019. It calls for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to partner with the federal agency that awards the...
HUD HOME Investment Partnerships Fund
Recently, an executive director who runs a two-person nonprofit that goes to motels to help homeless and economically disadvantaged people shared that she was at her wits end trying to get additional funding for her program. Someone suggested she look into whether her...
(Updated) – The UEI is Coming
What is the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)? The federal government's transition from the D-U-N-S number to the Unique Entity Identifier will now be effective in April 2022 instead of December 2020. Organizations that plan to apply for a grant will need a Unique Entity...
