Expert advice for every grant — from EPA to DARPA

The RCORP-Planning and RCORP-Impact programs offer $100K to $750K/year for rural communities fighting substance use disorder. Applications close May 29 and June 1. A strategic guide for first-time and returning applicants.

The FY2026 SEED competition offers $1M-$6M awards for teacher and principal development. The unusual DOL-DOE partnership, AI education priority, and June 1 deadline explained.

USDA just opened the FY2026 Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant program. We break down eligibility, scoring, match requirements, and strategy for the $50K-$1M awards closing June 30.

ARPA-H selected 13 research teams for EVIDENT, a $139.4M initiative to develop objective clinical endpoints for rapid-acting behavioral health therapies including psilocybin. At least $50M will match state psychedelic research investments under a Trump executive order.

The $46M FSHARP program is creating shelf-stable synthetic blood from freeze-dried components. A new SWiFT SBIR topic opened May 6 for autonomous field transfusion devices. What grant seekers in biomedical engineering need to know.

DOE just committed $171.5M for next-gen geothermal field tests and $30M for superhot rock drilling through ARPA-E. With eight bipartisan permitting bills advancing and solar/wind credits being phased out, geothermal has become the administration's preferred clean energy bet.

NASA replaced its annual SBIR/STTR solicitation with a rolling BAA model, raised award caps 50%, and reset proposal limits per appendix. The biggest structural overhaul in the program's 40-year history reshapes how small businesses compete for space technology funding.

USDOT is accepting applications for the last funding round of the $5 billion SS4A program. With $688M for implementation and $306M for planning grants, this is the final chance for cities, counties, and tribes to access dedicated roadway safety funding before the program expires.

ARPA-H's $139.4M EVIDENT initiative selects 13 research teams to build objective biomarkers for psilocybin, neuromodulation, and rapid-acting mental health therapies.

BioMADE just funded 14 projects spanning lithium extraction, AI-driven protein engineering, and veteran workforce programs. The first-ever NSF partnership changes how basic research reaches production.

DARPA is betting that the future of quantum computing looks like classical computing — specialized processors wired together. The HARQ program funds 19 teams across two workstreams to prove it.

DOE's Genesis Mission pairs 24 tech giants — Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, NVIDIA — with national labs to apply AI to 26 grand challenges. Phase II applications close May 19.

NSF and DOL are funding 56 AI Coordination Hubs — one per state and territory — to make American workers AI-ready. Round 1 LOIs due June 16. Here's who should apply.

A $135 million commitment to commercialize fusion energy — more than the agency spent on fusion in the prior 12 years combined. Who gets the money and what it signals for researchers.

Block grants replacing public assistance, inflation-adjusted thresholds that would disqualify 29% of past disasters, and a 50% staff cut. What the FEMA overhaul means for grant seekers.

The new SAM.gov DEI certification exposes universities, nonprofits, and research institutions to treble damages under the False Claims Act. Here is how it works and what to do before the deadline hits.

S.3971 reauthorizes SBIR/STTR through 2031 with Strategic Breakthrough Awards up to $30M, expanded foreign ownership scrutiny, and a fundamental shift from research grants to acquisition-integrated innovation pipeline.

A federal court ruled the cancellations unconstitutional. Congress mandated notification for future terminations. Wright told Congress 18 projects were reinstated. The reality for hundreds of companies and researchers is far more complicated.

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund battle is the biggest grant-funding court case in US history. One year after EPA terminated the program, the full DC Circuit weighs whether agencies can unilaterally void obligated funds.

USAID closure eliminated 83% of projects and 280,000 jobs worldwide. The fallout reveals hard lessons about federal funding dependency that apply to every grant-funded organization in America.

The Working Families Tax Cuts more than doubled SCRI funding from $80M to $175M per year. For the first time, $20M is reserved for mechanization and automation R&D. Here is who qualifies and how to position.

Federal grant opportunities have contracted 33% year-over-year, NIH is awarding 66% fewer grants, and NSF output has dropped to a fifth of historical levels. A data-driven look at the drought and how to navigate it.

The AI for Economic Opportunity Fund has now backed 50 nonprofits with nearly $10 million, projecting $1.4 billion in lifetime earnings gains. Inside the model, the 16 newest grantees, and what it means for the sector.

The Trump administration tried to slash research overhead reimbursements from 50-60% to 15% across NIH, DOE, NSF, and DOD. Universities fought back in court and on Capitol Hill. Here is what happened and what it means.

The TechAccess: AI-Ready America program will fund 56 coordination hubs — one per state and territory — at $1M/year for three years. Letters of intent are due June 16. Eligibility, strategy, and what the program actually requires.

GSA's proposed SAM.gov certification forces every federal grant recipient to attest they run no "illegal DEI" programs — or face False Claims Act penalties. Legal analysis and compliance strategy.

The Trump administration froze CCDF, TANF, and SSBG funds for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York over fraud allegations. Courts intervened. What it means for grant-funded programs.

The Trump administration wants to zero out NOAA climate research and close 14 labs including the Hurricane Research Division. Bipartisan pushback is fierce — and has precedent.

All 22 National Science Board members were dismissed April 25. With no director and no deputy, NSF is governing $8.75 billion in science grants without oversight.

A federal judge forced FEMA to reopen $1 billion in BRIC disaster resilience grants after 22 states sued. Applications close July 23. Eligibility and strategy.

S.3971 reauthorizes SBIR/STTR through 2031 with strategic breakthrough funding, security screening, and proposal caps. What changed and how to compete.

The STOMP program funds measurement tools and removal therapies for microplastics in human tissue. Proposals due June 22. Eligibility, phases, and strategy.

H.R. 7567 preserves $14 billion in IRA conservation funding, launches new programs for rural childcare and forest easements, and reshapes SNAP — a grant seeker's breakdown.

The FY2027 defense budget is the largest since WWII, with $54.6B for autonomous warfare, $17.5B for Golden Dome, and record SBIR allocations. A positioning guide for defense tech startups and small contractors.

Three jurisdictions passed laws letting nonprofits get up to 25-50% of grant awards upfront instead of waiting months for reimbursement. The national implications.

NIH has obligated just $5.8 billion of $38 billion. NSF has funded 613 grants instead of 3,000. Staff losses, shutdowns, and new review hurdles have created the worst federal research funding bottleneck in modern history.