News

September 13, 2005

HHS led E-gov Program Milestone Surpassed - 15,000 Federal Grant Applications Processed at Grants.gov

Grants.gov, the single secure Web site to find and apply for more than $400 billion in Federal grants, has received its 15,000th electronic grant application, reaching a core program goal - less than one year after the receipt of its 1,000th application. This accomplishment signals the adoption of a change in doing business more efficiently, moving from an 80% paper-based grants management process to a potentially 100% electronic process.

Managed by HHS, Grants.gov is one of 24 E-government initiatives operating under the governance of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The award-winning, free Web site centralizes grant information and electronic applications for more than 1,000 grant programs across the Federal government. A public sector model, the Grants.gov E-government initiative, successfully met its customer usage and operational goals.

OMB established specific operational objectives for the program that helped Grants.gov meet the 15,000th application goal, including that Federal agencies post all grant opportunity notices and receive at least 25% of their grant applications via Grants.gov.

“The agencies have been working hard to post grant application packages on the site,” said Rebecca Spitzgo, Grants.gov program manager. “Their hard work posting and getting the word out to their applicant communities has made this achievement possible.”

Ten agencies, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Energy, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Interior, and Labor, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Small Business Administration, and the Social Security Administration, have already achieved their goal for grant application submissions. HUD alone accounted for over 5,700 application submissions with the recent release of the 2005 Super NOFA.

“This electronic application process is clearly how government will do business in the future and I’m proud HUD is leading the way,” said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. “While we’re already seeing the tremendous benefits of e-government, we are also continuing to work with the Grants.gov team to reach out to the small number of applicants experiencing difficulty adjusting to this new way of doing business so they have the greatest possible opportunity to access funding.”

Grants.gov is anticipating an influx of many new users as more agencies reach their electronic submission goals. To ease the transition for new grant applicants adjusting to electronic submissions, Grants.gov is ramping up its online user support tools, user aides, and personalized support through a dedicated Customer Service team.

Additionally, many users are learning about Grants.gov via word of mouth from a variety of sources including other applicants and members of the local congressional offices.

“With literally thousands of non-profits in Northern Virginia, I’m often asked where people can go to get the necessary federal grant money. The resource I always mention first is Grants.gov.” said Congressman James P. Moran, representing District number 8 of Virginia. “Their capable staff, extensive knowledge of the grants process and ability to match worthy organizations with federal grants is unparalleled. They should be the first stop for every non-profit financial officer.”

Veteran grant applicant Jane Lopez, of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, seconds the Congressman’s statement, and continues that, “the grant submission interface with the Federal government is greatly improved by Grants.gov. It’s simple to understand and use, and the electronic submission has brought significant reductions in submission costs - both in time and shipping.”

Reaching the 15,000 submission milestone indicates that Congressman Moran’s non-profit constituents, Ms. Lopez, and a diverse cross section of state, local, and tribal governments, colleges and universities, non-profits, research institutions, and other organizations, are indeed using Grants.gov to find and apply for Federal grant funds.

“We have proven the concept and the value Grants.gov delivers. Now we are continuing the focus on increasing usage,” said Spitzgo. “Leveraging our current momentum, Grants.gov is launching its second marketing and advertising campaign to spread the word and build usage across the grant community.”

Grants.gov is poised to exceed its next target milestone of 45,000 grant application submissions by the end of fiscal year 2006, due to growing usage of the site by Federal agencies and the grant community as a whole. Looking ahead, the Grants.gov program goals for fiscal year 2006 are expected to represent more than a 100% increase in activity and results.

About Grants.gov
Grants.gov is the single website unifying Federal grants. Through Grants.gov, state, local, and tribal governments, colleges and universities, non-profits, research institutions, and other organizations can access, find, and apply for all Federal grants. The award winning website has received eight major honors and awards recognizing the impact, technology and innovation of the site including the FOSE Showcase of Excellence-two years in a row, plus selections as an Innovations in American Government Award top 50 finalist and an American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) best-practice partner.

As a collaborative cross-government program, Grants.gov is focused on streamlining grants management for the Federal grant community. Collaborative partners include the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, the Agency for International Development, Corporation for National and Community Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, Small Business Administration, the Social Security Administration and 11 Federal grant-making commissions.

For more information about Grants.gov, please visit http://www.grants.gov/aboutgrants/about_grants_gov.jsp

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