Instructions for applying for a grant via Grants.gov

CARES Act: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Information Link: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/caresact.html

  Registering an Organization

The instructions below are for new organizations or organizations that have never applied for a federal grant before. Most applicants work for organizations that already completed these steps to do business with the federal government.

Before your organization can apply for a federal grant, there are several steps an organization must complete outside of Grants.gov prior to submitting an application through Grants.gov. An organization is an entity that submits grant applications on behalf of the group, such as a state government, nonprofit organization, or a private business. Once you form a legal entity with a Employer Identification Number (EIN), you are ready to complete the steps below.

Below are the main steps and links to more information to complete this process. The process below can take between three business days and five weeks, so please make sure to begin early. If you do not complete these steps by the submission deadline, you are unlikely to be allowed to submit an application. Contact the federal agency point of contact listed in the grant opportunity to discuss that agency's policy.

The person that completes your SAM.gov registrations will be the person with the right access to complete the process on Grant.gov.  If that person cannot complete the process then they will need to give someone else the access by adding them to Sam.gov and then going to Grant.gov and updating the access there as well.  See screenshot below with arrow showing the link to make updates to access, ‘Login as EBiz POC’.

How to Register a Grants.gov Account  https://www.grants.gov/ 

1. Click the Register link in the top-right corner of the Grants.gov banner.
2. Click the Get Registered Now button on the Register page.
3. Complete the Contact Information and Account Details sections. All fields with a red asterisk (*) are required.
• Email Address - When entering an email address, please keep in mind that all correspondence with Grants.gov will be sent to that email address.
• Username - Enter a username to log in to Grants.gov. It may only contain alphanumeric characters, question marks, periods, dashes, underscores, and the @ symbol. Your username cannot contain a space, nor can it only include numbers. Select a username you will remember.
• Password - The password you choose must meet the following password requirements:
• Must contain at least eight (8) characters
• Must contain at least one (1) uppercase letter (A-Z)
• Must contain at least one (1) lower case letter (a-z)
• Must contain at least one (1) number (0-9)
• Must contain at least one (1) special character (e.g. ! @ # $ % ^ & *)
• Cannot be the same as the previous six (6) passwords
• Cannot contain dictionary words, names, or your Username
4. Select whether to subscribe or unsubscribe from Grants.gov Communications. The Alerts are important messages about time-sensitive or major system changes. The Newsletter features training, system enhancement updates, and other resources to help the federal grants community.
5. Click the Continue button.
6. Click the Send Temporary Code button, then access your email account to access the temporary code.
7. Enter the temporary code you received in the email from Grants.gov into the Temporary Code field and click the Continue button.
8. Decide if you would like to add a profile to your Grants.gov account or click the Continue button to log in. You need to add a profile to submit an application. After registering, review the Workspace Overview page to learn how to apply for a grant.

Add Profile to a Grants.gov Account

After registering an account with Grants.gov, you may choose to add profiles within your account. All Grants.gov users need an account to utilize subscription and application functionality. One account can contain multiple profiles. An account in Grants.gov is defined by your one unique email address, username, and password.

A profile in Grants.gov corresponds to a single applicant organization the user represents (i.e., an applicant), an individual applicant, or a single federal agency (i.e., for a grantors). If you work for or consult with multiple organizations and have a profile for each, you may log in to one Grants.gov account to access all of your workspaces.

Each profile may have different roles based on which roles have been assigned to you by the organization's point of contact, such as the E-Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC). Note that roles are not applicable to individual applicant profiles.

How to Add a Profile During the Registration Process

1. Complete the Grants.gov account registration process.
2. Under the How would you like to proceed? heading, select either the Add Organization Applicant Profile option or the Add Individual Applicant Profile option.
1. An Organization Applicant Profile is for those of you who contribute to grant applications that are submitted on behalf of an organization, such as an institution of higher learning, nonprofit organization, or state government.
2. An Individual Applicant Profile is for those who apply for a grant for themselves and not on behalf of an organization. Read more in the Variations for Individual Applicants help article.
3. Enter the DUNS Number for the organization in the UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) field if you selected the Organization Applicant Profile option. A DUNS Number is a unique nine-character identification number provided by the commercial company Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). If you need more information, read the Obtain a DUNS Number page.
4. Create a profile name that will distinguish this organization profile from any other profiles you may have within your Grants.gov account.
5. Enter your job title for this organization in the Job Title field.
6. Click the Save button to complete the profile creation process.

EBiz POC Authorizes Profile Roles

After you register with Grants.gov and creating an Organization Applicant Profile, the organization applicant's request for Grants.gov roles and access is sent to the EBiz POC. Read the Workspace Roles page to learn more about Grants.gov roles.

Purpose of EBiz POC Authorization

Prior to being able to complete or submit application packages on behalf of your organization, your organization's EBiz POC must authorize roles. This safeguards your organization from individuals who may attempt to submit grant application packages without permission.

The EBiz POC is likely to be your organization's chief financial officer or authorizing official, and there can only be one EBiz POC per DUNS number when registering with SAM. If you are not the EBiz POC, then you do not take any actions in this step. You have to await approval from the EBiz POC.

How to Authorize Grants.gov Roles (steps for the EBiz POC)

1. Log in to Grants.gov as an EBiz POC, using your DUNS number and password.
    
2. Click the Manage Applicants link, search for the new user, and assign the appropriate roles in Grants.gov. For more detailed instructions, review the Applicant Management help article.
    
3. After approval, Grants.gov automatically sends the registered applicant a notification email.

• Once you login then navigate to the search for Grant page and search for ‘041020-003’ grant number.  The grant will appear and then you can click on the grant to access the grant page.
• Once you are on the Grant page then click the APPLY button toward the top of the page.  This will take you to a screen with 3 hyperlinks,

1. Completing the Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424). 
2. Completing the Department of Education Supplemental Information Form for the SF-424.
3. Link to Upload Attachments (https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/caresheerfcertificationandagreementfinalombapprovedforissuance.pdf   When filling out the Certificate of Agreement, please remember to enter the institution’s 50% direct-to-student allocation on the certificate, not the full 100% allocation. The availability of the remaining 50% of these funds will be announced soon.)

• You should click the ‘Web Load’ link next to each of these 3 hyperlinks.  When you use this link for 1 and 2 above, it will prefill some critical information for you and lets you know which sections do not need to be completed.  When you hit this link for the attachment upload it gives you 2 options, required documents or other documents, you must choose required documents to attach your Certification and Agreement form.
• Once you complete each form then choose check for errors, once it confirms there are no errors then hit save.  This will lock the form.  You will repeat this for all 3 forms.
• Once all 3 are locked then you will sign and submit your application.
• You have the ability to check the status of your grant application after it has been submitted.