Grants.gov How to Find Grant Opportunities & Apply for Grants Office of Research Services & Sponsored Programs The University of Akron PowerPoint created by Sharon McWhorter, Associate Director Revision date 8/10
What is Grants.gov? The single portal through which all applications for Federal assistance must be submitted, and on which all opportunities must be announced A cross-agency initiative spanning approximately 1000 grant programs from 26 federal grant-making agencies that award over $400 billion in grant funds annually What Grants.gov is Not.. A grant making agency Involved with the review or award processes of grant making agencies Replacing existing federal sponsor electronic systems for post-award actions (FastLane( FastLane, era Commons)
In order to submit applications you must have a compatible version of Adobe Reader (free download) or Adobe Acrobat Professional software on your computer. To check if you have a compatible version, select Apply for Grants. GRANTS.GOV Home Page
Check to see if your Adobe software is compatible with grants.gov.
Open the Test Application Package. If the package opens successfully, you have a compatible version of Reader and do not need to download a newer version. If you get an error message, proceed to the download software page and download the compatible Adobe Reader. (Preferred versions are 8.1.3, 8.1.4, and 9.1)
Once you have the appropriate software, return to the grants.gov home page and Select Grant Search to view funding opportunities.
Opens to Basic Search page Can also browse by Category or Agency Fill in a Keyword, the Funding Opportunity Number, or CFDA number. The Funding Opp. No. is the # assigned by Grants.gov. Select Search
Browse by Agency Lists all agencies with announcements on grants.gov
Selecting an agency brings up a list of all announcements in chronological order. Can search in ascending or descending order, by opening or closing date Select by Opportunity Title Funding Opportunity Numbers
Selecting Opportunity Title takes you to the Synopsis page Select Application to see if grants.gov submission is an option. This Full Announcement link isn t t always active. Scroll down the page for the link to the full announcement. The following information can be found on this page: A link to provide your email address for program updates Brief program description Link to full agency announcement (scroll down the page) Links to any modifications
This screen appears when you select Application Another link to download and install software. (PureEdge is no longer used.) Scroll down to see if the application is available
If the application can be submitted through Grants.gov, you can download the instructions and application package here.
This screen appears when you select Download Provide e-mail e address to receive any updates to an announcement. Download application instructions and package from this page.
Completing the Forms in the Application Package Each agency determines which forms to include in each solicitation package. NSF and NIH use the same application instructions for all of their solicitations. IMPORTANT Anyone who opens and uploads files into an Adobe application package MUST be using a compatible version of Adobe Reader or Adobe Professional software.
Completing the Forms in the Application Package There are three basic forms sets used by the various agencies SF424 (R&R) NSF, DHHS/NIH, DOE, DOD. These are supplemented with agency specific forms. SF424 cover page + agency specific forms Depts. of Education, Justice, Commerce and NOAA. Short Organizational cover page + a variety of attachment sheets and agency specific supplemental forms NEA, NEH, IMLS
NAVIGATION PAGE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS Be sure the closing date has not passed or grants.gov will not accept the submission. The top section is pre-populated populated for each opportunity, so the same package cannot be used for multiple proposals. Check this section to confirm you have downloaded the correct solicitation. All forms to be submitted are listed in the middle section of the page. Required fields are shaded yellow. A proposal cannot be submitted d until all yellow boxes have been filled in.
Action Buttons at the top of the page allow you to Submit, Save, Print, Cancel, and Check for Errors. The Application Filing Name is for ORSSP tracking purposes. Unless the guidelines ask for specific information, we will use the PI last name and orssp #. All Mandatory and Optional forms are listed
Action Buttons Cancel When you open the application package check the top section to verify it is for the correct opportunity. If it is not, cancel to delete package. Save You can save the package at any time. It is recommended that you save frequently. Save the package after making changes to any form. Save it under the same file name each time so there is only one file on your computer. This will avoid updating the wrong file. Print Selecting print from this page will print out all forms in the package. It will not print out the files that have been uploaded and attached to the various form pages. Those must be printed separately.
Action Buttons cont. Check Package for Errors You can check the package for errors at any time, however; only one error will be listed at a time and you must correct it before the next one will show. It s best to wait until you think the application is complete. Submit This button is only activated once all mandatory elements of the grant package have been completed, including attachment forms and mandatory fields. Mandatory fields are highlighted in yellow. A password is required in order to submit to grants.gov and only ORSSP is authorized to submit. When your application is complete and ready to submit, send it to your Grants Coordinator who will check it for completeness and submit it to grants.gov.
Forms Package Save from this page after making changes or additions to any form page. In Adobe,, a form must be moved over to the Mandatory Documents for Submission box before it can be opened. Once forms are moved over you are able to open any form and scroll back and forth through all forms.
The bottom of the page contains instructions on completing and submitting the application package. Step 3 is completed by ORSSP. Save your completed application and email the entire package to your Grants Coordinator.
SF 424 (R&R) Cover Sheet (2 pages) Used by NIH, NSF, DOE Complete the cover sheet first. Information from it is transferred to other pages in the package.
Control buttons allow you to go to next or previous pages of multi-page forms. In the Adobe set you can also scroll from one page to the next. Some pages can be printed Closing a form returns you to the package content page. Changes are temporarily saved. You must permanently save from package forms page.
Standard Information for SF424 R&R 1 Type of Submission See agency guidelines. 2 Date Submitted Use format mm/dd/yyyy. 3 Date Received by State - NA 4 Federal Identifier Leave blank for new. See agency guidelines for others. 5 Applicant Information DUNS # - 04527552 Legal name The University of Akron Dept. & Div. PI s department & college Address- 302 Buchtel Common, Akron, OH 44325-2102 Person to be contacted - ORSSP Grants Coordinator 6 EIN 34-6002924 7 Type H State controlled institution of higher education 8 Type of Application See agency Grants.gov guidelines. 9-10 Fields are pre-populated by Grants.gov.
Standard Information for SF424 R&R cont. 11 Title See agency guidelines for any restrictions. 12 Areas Affected List only largest political entity or NA. 13 Start & End Dates Use format mm/dd/yyyy. 14 Congressional Districts of- a. Applicant UA is in OH-013; b. Project if local enter OH-013; if statewide enter OH-all; if nationwide enter US-all; if outside the US enter 00-000 15 PI Contact Information Self explanatory 16 Funding List total by all sources for entire project period. 17-18 18 Completed by ORSSP. 19 Authorized Representative (use either): Kathryn Watkins, Director or Sharon McWhorter, Associate Director Research Services 302 Buchtel Common Akron, OH 44325-2102 Ph-330-972-7666 kwatkins@uakron.edu or sm48@uakron.edu
The SF 424 is the 4-page 4 cover sheet used by most other agencies, including EPA, NOAA, FDA, NIST, Education.
Standard Information for SF424 1-2 Type of Submission & Application Select one category for each. 3 Date Received Completed by Grants.gov upon submission. 4-5 Applicant Identifiers Leave blank for new applications. 6-7 State Information Leave blank. 8 Applicant Information a. Legal name The University of Akron b. Employer Identification (EIN) 34-6002924 c. Organizational DUNS - 04527552 d. Address- 302 Buchtel Common, Akron, OH 44325-2102 e. Organizational Unit PI s department & college f. Person to be contacted PI contact information 9 Type of Applicant H State controlled institution of higher education 10-13 13 Fields are pre-populated from Application Package page. 14 Areas Affected List only largest political entity affected or NA.
Standard Information for SF424 cont. 15 Descriptive Title Do not use special characters. Check guidelines for any limitations. 16 Congressional Districts of: a. Applicant UA is in district 13. Enter OH-013 b. Project if local enter OH-013; if statewide enter OH-all; if nationwide enter US-all; if outside the US enter 00-000 17 Proposed Start & End Dates Use format mm/dd/yyyy 18 Estimated Funding Funding for all years of project. Total is calculated by the system. 19-21 Completed by ORSSP. Authorized Representative (use either): Kathryn Watkins, Director or Sharon McWhorter, Associate Director Research Services 302 Buchtel Common Akron, OH 44325-2102 ph: 330-972-7666 kwatkins@uakron.edu / sm48@uakron.edu
Short Organizational cover page used by NEA, NEH & IMLS Top half of page 1 1-4 -Pre-populated by Grants.gov 5a Legal Name The University of Akron 5b UA Address 302 Buchtel Common Akron, OH 44325-2102
Short Organizational cover page Bottom half of page 1 Additional university information 5d Type - H State controlled institution of higher education 5e EIN- 34-6002924 5f DUNS- 045207552 5g- UA is in Congressional District OH-013 6-c -Proposed project period (mm/dd/yyyy) 6 a-b - Title of project and brief project description. See agency guidelines for requirements and limitations.
Short Organizational cover page Top half of page 2 7- Project Director title and contact information Use 302 Buchtel Common for street address Include department +4 zip
Short Organizational cover page Bottom half of page 2 8 Provide ORSSP Grants Coordinator contact information Street 302 Buchtel Common / Zip 44325-2102
Short Organizational cover page Page3 9 ORSSP Authorized Official Sharon McWhorter, Associate Director, Research Services / Email: sm48@uakron.edu ph: 330-972-8311
Guidelines for Uploaded Files Do not use any special characters or spaces in file names. Make file names reflective of the content. Do not use duplicate file names. Check guidelines for requirements for attachments. All NSF and NIH attached files must be in pdf format.
Coordinator ORSSP Grants Coordinators Contact Information Phone Email Colleges Rebecca Campbell Vacant contact Sharon McWhorter X 8073 X 8311 Valerie Boaz X 7694 rac2@uakron.edu sm48@uakron.edu vboaz@uakron.edu Arts & Sciences Nursing Business Administration Summit College University College Education HSHS Creative & Prof. Arts Law, Student Affairs, and Wayne College Engineering Polymer Science Polymer Engineering