Federal Grants for First-Time Applicants: A Step-by-Step Guide

Federal grants distribute hundreds of billions of dollars every year to organizations working on education, public health, infrastructure, scientific research, environmental protection, and community development. That money is available to nonprofits, universities, tribal governments, municipalities, and small businesses -- not just to large institutions with dedicated grants offices.

Yet for first-time applicants, the federal grants process can feel impenetrable. The acronyms alone are enough to make someone close their browser: SAM, UEI, NOFO, CFDA, SF-424, NICRA. Add in dense solicitations, rigid formatting requirements, and the knowledge that a single missed checkbox can disqualify your application, and it is easy to understand why many organizations never apply at all.

Here is the reality: the process is detailed, but it is not mysterious. Thousands of small nonprofits, early-career researchers, and first-time applicants successfully win federal grants every year. They do it by following a structured approach, starting early, and paying close attention to what the funder is actually asking for.

This guide walks through every step, from initial registration to submission and beyond. If you have never applied for a federal grant before, this is your roadmap.

Step 1: Get Registered

Before you can apply for any federal grant, your organization needs to be registered in several government systems. This is purely administrative, but it takes time -- sometimes several weeks -- so start immediately, even if you are months away from submitting an application.

SAM.gov Registration

The System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is the federal government's central database of organizations eligible to do business with the government. Every federal grant recipient must have an active SAM.gov registration.

Here is the process:

1. Create a Login.gov account. This is the government's single sign-on service. You will use it to access SAM.gov and several other federal systems.
2. Request a Unique Entity ID (UEI). The UEI replaced the old DUNS number in 2022. It is assigned for free through SAM.gov. Do not pay any third-party service to obtain one.
3. Complete your entity registration. This involves entering your organization's legal name, address, EIN, banking information (for receiving payments), and details about your organization type and size.
4. Set a calendar reminder to renew annually. SAM.gov registrations expire after one year. If your registration lapses, you cannot receive federal funds until you renew it.

Plan for the full registration to take two to four weeks. Some organizations experience longer delays, particularly if there are discrepancies between your IRS records and your SAM.gov information. Do not wait until you have found a specific grant to start this process.

Grants.gov Account

Grants.gov is the portal where most federal agencies post their funding opportunities and where you will submit your applications. You need to create an organizational account and designate an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) -- the person who has legal authority to submit applications and bind your organization to the terms of a grant award.

The AOR designation involves an email verification process that can take several days. As with SAM.gov, get this done well in advance of any deadline.

Other Agency-Specific Systems

Some federal agencies use their own application portals in addition to or instead of Grants.gov. NIH uses eRA Commons. NSF uses Research.gov. The Department of Education uses G5. If you know which agency you will be applying to, check whether they have an additional registration requirement and complete it early.

Step 2: Understand the Funding Landscape

Federal funding comes in several forms, and understanding the differences will help you target the right opportunities.

Grants vs. Cooperative Agreements vs. Contracts

Grants provide funding for a project that you design and execute. The federal agency sets the overall priorities and eligibility criteria, but you propose the specific work plan. Once awarded, you have substantial autonomy over how the project is carried out.

Cooperative agreements are similar to grants, but the federal agency plays a more active role in the project. There is typically ongoing collaboration between the recipient and the program office. If you see a funding opportunity labeled as a cooperative agreement, expect more frequent reporting, joint decision-making, and possibly agency staff involvement in project activities.

Contracts are fundamentally different. With a contract, the government specifies exactly what it wants done and you compete to be the organization that does it. Contracts are governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and involve a different application process. This guide focuses on grants and cooperative agreements.

Formula Grants vs. Competitive Grants

Formula grants distribute funding to states or other entities based on a predetermined formula (population, poverty rate, etc.). Individual organizations typically access formula grant funds through their state or local government rather than applying directly to the federal agency.

Competitive grants are what most people think of when they hear "federal grant." You submit a proposal, it is reviewed and scored against other proposals, and funding is awarded to the highest-scoring applications. This guide covers competitive grants.

Finding Opportunities That Fit

The most productive thing a first-time applicant can do is spend time searching before writing. Use our grant finder to identify federal opportunities that match your organization's mission and capacity. You can also browse grants by category to explore what is available in your field -- for instance, grants for nonprofits or small business grants.

The goal at this stage is not to find every possible grant. It is to find one or two opportunities where your organization's work genuinely aligns with what the funder is trying to accomplish.

Step 3: Find the Right Grant

Choosing the right opportunity is arguably more important than writing a strong proposal. A well-written application to the wrong program will lose to a mediocre application that fits the funder's priorities perfectly.

Assess Alignment

Before committing weeks of work to an application, answer these questions honestly:

• Does my project directly address the funder's stated priorities? Read the program description carefully. If you have to stretch or reframe your work significantly to fit, this is probably not the right opportunity.
• Does my organization meet every eligibility criterion? Federal grants often restrict eligibility by organization type (nonprofit, government, tribal, educational institution), geography, or organizational size. If you do not meet a listed criterion, do not apply -- your application will be screened out before it reaches a reviewer.
• Is the funding amount appropriate for my project? Requesting $50,000 from a program that typically awards $500,000 signals that your project may be too small. Requesting $2 million when the ceiling is $500,000 means your application will not be considered.
• Can I realistically complete this project within the grant period? Most federal grants run one to five years. Be honest about what you can accomplish.

Start Small If You Can

Many first-time applicants benefit from targeting smaller awards for their first federal application. Programs like EPA Environmental Justice Small Grants, USDA Community Facilities Grants, and smaller set-asides within larger programs offer award amounts in the $25,000 to $150,000 range. These applications are typically less complex, and the experience of managing a smaller federal award builds the track record you will need for larger opportunities later.

Step 4: Read the NOFO Thoroughly

The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) -- sometimes called an RFP, FOA, or Program Solicitation depending on the agency -- is the single most important document in your application process. Every question you have about what to write, how to format it, what to include, and how your application will be judged is answered in the NOFO.

What to Look For

Read the NOFO at least twice. On your first pass, read it straight through to understand the program's purpose and scope. On your second pass, highlight and annotate these critical elements:

Eligibility requirements. Confirm that your organization qualifies. Check for requirements around organizational type, geographic location, matching funds, and any past performance criteria.

Evaluation criteria and point values. This is your scoring rubric. If the NOFO allocates 30 points to "organizational capacity" and 20 points to "project design," your proposal should reflect those proportions. Weight your effort accordingly.

Page limits and formatting rules. Federal agencies enforce these strictly. If the NOFO says 15 pages in 12-point Times New Roman with one-inch margins, submitting 16 pages in 11-point font will get your application flagged or rejected. Follow the instructions exactly.

Required attachments and forms. Most federal applications require a standard set of forms (SF-424, budget forms, assurances and certifications) in addition to the project narrative. Make a checklist of every required component and track your progress against it.

Deadlines. Federal deadlines are absolute. There are no extensions. If Grants.gov timestamps your submission at one second past the deadline, your application will not be reviewed.

Pre-application requirements. Some programs require a letter of intent, a pre-application, or attendance at a webinar before you can submit a full application. Miss these and you may be ineligible.

Contact the Program Officer

Most NOFOs list a program officer or point of contact. Reaching out with specific, well-informed questions is not only acceptable -- it is encouraged. Program officers will not review your proposal in advance, but they can confirm whether your project falls within the program's scope, clarify confusing language in the NOFO, and point you to relevant resources.

Do not ask questions that are already answered in the NOFO. That signals you have not done your homework.

Step 5: Build Your Proposal Team and Timeline

Writing a competitive federal proposal is not a solo activity. Even for smaller grants, you will need input from multiple people, and the logistics of assembling a complete application package take more time than most first-timers expect.

Assemble Your Team

At a minimum, you need:

• A project director or principal investigator who will lead the proposed work and can speak to the technical approach with authority.
• A budget person (this might be your finance director, accountant, or bookkeeper) who can develop a detailed, defensible budget.
• A writer or editor who can ensure the narrative is clear, responsive to the NOFO, and free of errors.
• An authorized representative who can officially submit the application through Grants.gov.

For larger proposals, you may also need co-investigators, evaluation consultants, and partner organizations that will contribute letters of support or play defined roles in the project.

Build a Timeline

Work backward from the submission deadline. A realistic timeline for a first-time applicant looks something like this:

• 8 weeks before deadline: NOFO review complete, project concept finalized, team assembled.
• 6 weeks before: First draft of project narrative underway, budget development started, partners contacted for letters of support.
• 4 weeks before: Complete draft of all narrative sections, budget draft reviewed by finance staff.
• 2 weeks before: Internal review of full application package, revisions based on feedback.
• 1 week before: Final proofreading, all attachments assembled, compliance check against NOFO requirements.
• 48 hours before deadline: Application submitted through Grants.gov.

That last point matters. Grants.gov experiences heavy traffic near deadlines, and technical issues can prevent submission. Give yourself a buffer.

Step 6: Write the Proposal

The specific sections required vary by agency and program, but most federal grant proposals include a core set of components. For a comprehensive walkthrough of each section, see our guide on how to write a grant proposal.

Need Statement

What problem does your project address? Ground your need statement in data -- census statistics, published research, community assessments, public health data. Reviewers need to understand the scope and severity of the problem, and they need evidence, not anecdotes. Connect the problem specifically to the population and geography you propose to serve.

Project Design and Methods

What exactly will you do? Describe your approach step by step. Include the activities you will carry out, the populations you will reach, the timeline for implementation, and the staff or partners responsible for each component. Be specific enough that a reviewer can picture the project unfolding.

If you are proposing a program model, explain why you chose this approach. Reference evidence from similar projects, pilot data, or established frameworks. If you are not familiar with logic models, our logic models guide can help you structure the relationship between your activities, outputs, and outcomes.

Organizational Capacity

Why should the funder trust your organization to carry out this project? Describe your relevant experience, your staff qualifications, your track record of managing projects of similar scope, and any infrastructure or partnerships that strengthen your ability to deliver.

First-time federal applicants often worry about this section. You may not have federal grant experience, but you have organizational experience. Highlight successful projects funded by state agencies, foundations, or local government. Show that you can manage budgets, meet deadlines, report on outcomes, and deliver results.

Evaluation Plan

How will you measure whether your project succeeds? Define clear, measurable outcomes and describe the methods you will use to track them. Federal reviewers want to see that you have thought critically about what success looks like and that you have a plan to document it.

Strong evaluation plans include both process measures (did you carry out the planned activities?) and outcome measures (did those activities produce the intended results?). If your grant is large enough to warrant it, consider bringing on an external evaluator to add credibility.

Step 7: Develop the Budget

The budget is where many first-time applicants lose points unnecessarily. A strong budget is detailed, realistic, internally consistent with the project narrative, and fully justified. For a detailed breakdown of how to build each line item, see our grant budget justification template.

Key Budget Components

Personnel. List every person who will work on the project, their role, their annual salary or hourly rate, and the percentage of their time dedicated to the project. If you are requesting partial salary support, show the calculation.

Fringe benefits. Calculate benefits as a percentage of salary. Use your organization's actual fringe rate, which includes items like health insurance, retirement contributions, and payroll taxes.

Travel. Itemize each trip with destination, purpose, number of travelers, and estimated costs for airfare, lodging, meals, and ground transportation. Federal per diem rates (available at GSA.gov) are the standard benchmark.

Equipment. Items costing $5,000 or more per unit. List each item individually with a justification for why it is needed.

Supplies. Items under $5,000. You can group similar items (office supplies, lab supplies) but provide enough detail that a reviewer understands what you are purchasing and why.

Contractual. Subcontracts, consultants, or services procured from outside your organization. Describe the scope of work and how you determined the cost.

Other direct costs. This is a catch-all for costs that do not fit other categories: participant support, printing, software licenses, fees.

Indirect costs. If you have a federally negotiated indirect cost rate, apply it according to your agreement. If you do not have a negotiated rate, you can elect the de minimis rate of 15% of modified total direct costs under the updated Uniform Guidance.

The Budget Justification

Every line item in your budget needs a corresponding narrative explanation in the budget justification. This is not optional. Reviewers use the justification to determine whether your costs are reasonable, allowable, and necessary for the proposed project. Vague justifications -- or worse, missing ones -- will cost you points.

Step 8: Secure Letters of Support and Partnerships

Letters of support demonstrate that your project has community backing, that partners are committed to their stated roles, and that the proposed work fills a recognized need. Our letters of support guide covers this in detail, including templates you can adapt.

Who Should Write Them

Request letters from:

• Partner organizations that will play a defined role in the project. Their letters should specify what they will contribute (staff time, facilities, data, referrals) and affirm their commitment.
• Community leaders and elected officials who can speak to the need your project addresses and its importance to the community.
• Beneficiaries or stakeholders who can describe the problem from a lived-experience perspective.
• Subject matter experts who can validate your approach.

What Makes a Strong Letter

Generic letters that say "we support this project" add almost no value. Strong letters are specific: they describe the partner's role, quantify their contribution, reference the particular project being proposed, and explain why the partnership matters. Provide each letter writer with a one-page summary of your project and clear guidance on what their letter should address.

Request letters at least four weeks before your submission deadline. Chasing down letters in the final days before a deadline is one of the most common sources of last-minute stress for grant applicants.

Step 9: Review, Revise, and Submit

The final stage of your application process should be dedicated to quality control. A strong proposal can fail because of formatting errors, missing attachments, or inconsistencies between the narrative and the budget.

Internal Review Checklist

Before you submit, verify the following:

• Every required section is present. Compare your application package against the NOFO's checklist of required components. Check twice.
• The narrative stays within page limits. If you are even one line over, cut. Do not try to shrink the font or reduce margins.
• Budget figures match the narrative. If your narrative says you will hire two full-time staff but your budget only includes salary for one, a reviewer will notice.
• All forms are signed and dated. The SF-424 and other standard forms require authorized signatures.
• Attachments are in the correct format. Most agencies require PDF. Some specify naming conventions for uploaded files.
• The application has been proofread. Typos and grammatical errors do not automatically disqualify you, but they undermine your credibility. Have at least two people read the final version.

Have Someone Else Read It

Find someone outside your project team -- ideally someone unfamiliar with the details of your work -- and ask them to read the proposal. Can they explain back to you what the project is, why it matters, and how it will work? If not, your narrative needs revision. Federal reviewers are often reading dozens of proposals across multiple topic areas. Clarity is not optional.

Submit Early

Submit your application through Grants.gov at least 48 hours before the deadline. The system can experience slowdowns and technical errors during peak submission periods. If something goes wrong on the day of the deadline, you will have no recourse. An early submission also gives you time to confirm that Grants.gov has accepted your application -- the system sends a series of confirmation emails over the hours following submission, and any validation errors will require you to resubmit.

What Happens After Submission

Once your application is submitted, the timeline varies by agency, but the general process follows a predictable pattern.

Validation and acceptance. Grants.gov checks your application for completeness and technical compliance. You will receive emails confirming that your application was received, validated, and forwarded to the funding agency. This can take 24 to 48 hours.

Agency review. The funding agency conducts its own administrative review to verify eligibility and compliance with the NOFO requirements.

Peer review. For competitive grants, a panel of reviewers reads and scores your application against the published evaluation criteria. Depending on the agency, this may take anywhere from two to six months.

Funding decisions. After peer review, the agency makes final award decisions, which may take into account reviewer scores, geographic distribution, portfolio balance, and available funding. You will receive official notification of whether you were selected or not.

Award negotiation. If selected, you may go through a negotiation phase where the agency requests budget modifications, scope adjustments, or additional documentation before finalizing the award.

The entire process from submission to award can take six to twelve months. Plan your organization's cash flow and operations accordingly.

Common First-Timer Mistakes to Avoid

Having worked with hundreds of first-time applicants, certain patterns emerge repeatedly. Avoid these and you will be ahead of most of the competition.

Applying to the wrong opportunity. This is the most common and most costly mistake. If your project does not genuinely fit the funder's priorities, no amount of good writing will save it. Spend more time searching and evaluating fit, and less time forcing a square peg into a round hole.

Starting too late. A competitive federal proposal takes six to eight weeks of focused work. Starting three weeks before the deadline almost always produces a weaker application. Begin the process as soon as the NOFO is published.

Ignoring the scoring criteria. The NOFO tells you exactly how your proposal will be evaluated. Structure your narrative to address each criterion directly and proportionally. If 30 out of 100 points are allocated to "project significance," that section deserves 30 percent of your narrative effort.

Writing for insiders. Your reviewers are knowledgeable, but they may not be specialists in your exact niche. Write clearly. Avoid jargon. Define technical terms. A reviewer who has to work to understand your proposal will not score it highly.

Submitting a budget that does not match the narrative. If your narrative describes five community workshops but your budget only funds materials for three, reviewers will question either your planning or your attention to detail. These documents must tell the same story.

Skipping the budget justification. The budget justification is not a formality. It is a scored component of your application. Every line item needs a clear, specific explanation of why the cost is necessary and how you determined the amount.

Neglecting indirect costs. If you are eligible for indirect cost recovery, include it. Leaving it out means your organization absorbs overhead costs that the federal government is willing to pay. Under the current Uniform Guidance, organizations without a negotiated rate can elect the 15% de minimis rate.

Not requesting feedback on rejected proposals. If your application is not funded, contact the program officer and request your reviewer comments. This feedback is invaluable for improving future submissions. Most agencies provide written reviews, and understanding why you were not selected is the fastest way to improve.

Treating the first application as all or nothing. Many successful federal grant recipients did not win their first application. The process itself teaches you how the system works, how reviewers think, and what your proposal needs. A strong resubmission that addresses reviewer feedback has a significantly higher success rate than a first-time application.

Federal grants are not reserved for organizations with dedicated grants offices and decades of experience. They are designed to fund good work, and the application process, while detailed, is a learnable skill. Start with the right opportunity, follow the instructions precisely, give yourself enough time, and do not be discouraged if your first attempt does not result in an award. The organizations that succeed at federal grants are the ones that keep applying.