Open federal grants and NOFOs

How federal agencies announce a competitive grant, what to read in the notice, and where to look on FedGrantFinder. Applications are still submitted on Grants.gov.

What is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)?

A notice of funding opportunity is the document an agency publishes when it plans to award a discretionary grant or a cooperative agreement, usually by competition. Grants.gov tells applicants to read that notice for eligibility before they spend time on an application they cannot receive.

The same kind of document is defined in the Grants.gov glossary as a funding opportunity announcement: a public notice of an agency’s intention to award discretionary grants or cooperative agreements. Agencies also call it a program announcement, a notice of funding availability, or a solicitation.

NOFO vs FOA: are they the same thing?

NOFO and FOA are two names for that announcement, not two different awards. On April 21, 2023, NIH said it would use “notice of funding opportunity (NOFO)” for what it had called a funding opportunity announcement (FOA), to line up with the wording in 2 CFR Part 200 (NOT-OD-23-109). Grants.gov’s systems page describes itself as the single point of entry for publishing discretionary FOAs/NOFOs. If a notice uses one of the other names in the glossary, treat it as the same task: read the official document, then apply where it says to apply.

Anatomy of a NOFO

Agencies do not all use the same outline. These are the parts that change whether you can apply and how.

Overview and key dates

The funding opportunity number, the agency, the posted date, when applications open, and the close date. Some notices are forecasts and are not open for applications yet. A rolling notice may not have a single deadline. FedGrantFinder shows the dates that came through on the Grants.gov record.

Eligibility

Who may apply: the applicant types Grants.gov lists, such as state and local governments, nonprofits, tribes, education institutions, small businesses, and individuals. The notice can narrow that further. A filter on this site only hides listings that do not name your applicant type. It does not decide that you qualify.

Application and submission

Where the file goes, which forms are required, and whether the agency uses Grants.gov Workspace or its own system. The checklist below is the registration path Grants.gov describes for organizations. The notice can add agency steps on top of that.

Review criteria

How the agency scores a complete application. Write to those criteria. FedGrantFinder does not score applications and does not see review notes.

Award information

The award floor and ceiling, whether cost sharing is required, and how many awards the agency expects, when it published those figures. If a number was not in the feed, the listing leaves it out rather than showing zero.

Where NOFOs are published

Grants.gov is the government-wide site for discretionary grant and cooperative agreement announcements. The full text is sometimes only on the agency site, linked from the Grants.gov posting.

NIH is one example. Beginning in fiscal year 2026, NIH stopped posting grant and cooperative agreement NOFOs in the NIH Guide and named Grants.gov as its single official source for those announcements (NOT-OD-25-143). The NIH Guide still carries policy notices. Other agencies keep their own pages as well. Use the link on the listing.

How to find open NOFOs on FedGrantFinder

FedGrantFinder searches the open Grants.gov catalogue. It does not replace Search Grants on Grants.gov. Narrow the same open set by who can apply, which agency posted it, or which state page includes it.

These listings are open in the catalogue at the time this page is rendered. A later sync can close them. The directories above stay current either way.

Checklist before you apply

Deadlines in the notice do not move because registration is unfinished. Grants.gov’s organization instructions say to allow up to 10 business days for SAM.gov to become active, and longer when information cannot be verified.

  1. Register the organization in SAM.gov. The Unique Entity ID (UEI) is assigned in that process. Grants.gov says registration is free, must be renewed every year, and that you cannot start an organization application on Grants.gov until SAM.gov registration is active.
  2. The Electronic Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC) named in SAM.gov creates a Grants.gov account with that same email address and adds an organization applicant profile using the UEI.
  3. The EBiz POC can give other people roles, such as Authorized Organization Representative, so they can work on the application.
  4. Someone applying only for themselves, not for an organization, creates a Grants.gov account and adds an Individual Applicant profile. Grants.gov says that path does not use SAM.gov registration, participant roles, or an AOR. It also says most opportunities are for organizations, and that Grants.gov opportunities are not personal financial assistance, student loans, or startup funding. See the individual applicant instructions.
  5. Download the full announcement from the listing and submit before the close date printed there.

FAQ

What is a NOFO?
A notice of funding opportunity is the public announcement a federal agency uses to say it intends to award a discretionary grant or cooperative agreement, usually through a competition. Grants.gov also describes that document as a funding opportunity announcement.
What is the difference between a NOFO and an FOA?
For finding and applying, they are the same kind of announcement. NIH adopted “notice of funding opportunity (NOFO)” in April 2023 for what it had called a funding opportunity announcement (FOA), to align with 2 CFR Part 200. Other agencies still say program announcement, notice of funding availability, or solicitation.
Where do I find open federal NOFOs?
Grants.gov is the government-wide site where agencies publish discretionary grant and cooperative agreement announcements. Agencies may also post the full text on their own sites. On FedGrantFinder, filter the open Grants.gov catalogue by who can apply, by agency, or by state.
Do I need to register before applying for a federal grant?
An organization must register in SAM.gov, receive a Unique Entity ID (UEI), and have an active registration before it can apply on Grants.gov. Registration is free and must be renewed every year. Someone applying only as an individual adds an Individual Applicant profile on Grants.gov and, for that path, does not register the application in SAM.gov. Read the NOFO: most announcements are for organizations.
Does FedGrantFinder replace Grants.gov?
No. FedGrantFinder is an independent search of open announcements from the public Grants.gov feed. Applications are submitted on Grants.gov or at the agency URL the notice names. FedGrantFinder does not register applicants, accept applications, or make awards.

Official sources