The Hidden Challenges of Federal Grants
(A.K.A. The “Gotchas”)
Even seasoned grant writers run into the unexpected roadblocks of federal funding. Here are a few common pitfalls:
SAM.gov Registration Delays – Before you can apply, your organization needs an active SAM.gov registration, which can take weeks (or longer if there are errors). Many first-time applicants don’t realize this until they’re scrambling at the last minute. I’ve heard from consultants who assumed a client's SAM registration was up to date. When they learned it wasn’t, they experienced some very stressful last-minute scrambling.
Grants.gov Confusion – The federal government loves acronyms and multi-step processes. If you’re new to Grants.gov and other federal portals, expect a learning curve—but once you get the hang of it, in my experience, it’s actually more predictable than dealing with dozens of different foundation submission portals. Some agencies have started to require a two-step submission process, first with basic information in grants.gov and later a more comprehensive proposal to an agency-specific submission portal. It reminds me of when Common Grant Applications (CGAs) seemed like they might save grant writers a ton of time, but then each funder took the CGA, added unique questions, and adapted the budget form. Sigh.
Matching Fund Requirements – Some federal grants require your organization to contribute a percentage of the funding through matching funds. If you’re not prepared for this, it can be a deal-breaker. Additionally, matching funds are talked about in two different ways - either as a percentage of the grant award or as a percentage of the total budget amount. Even program officers get tripped up on these calculations. Make sure you understand what is being asked for so you don’t accidentally commit too little (or too much!) to the project.
Compliance and Reporting – Winning a federal grant is just the beginning. You’ll need to track outcomes, meet reporting deadlines, and comply with strict financial management rules—or risk having to repay funds or not being able to reimburse work you’ve completed. There are lots of actions grant professionals can take in the pre-award phase (writing and submission) to avoid unnecessary post-award challenges. Ultimately, you’ll need to invest in compliance and reporting, and often, you can write some of these costs into your direct expenses!
You’re an Eligible Applicant. But Are You Competitive? – Similar to processes you might take in identifying if you are a fit for a foundation grant, you’ll want to look for evidence that an agency has a history of funding organizations like yours. Often, while many applicant “types” are eligible, awards are primarily made to a specific application type. In those cases, you’ll want to assess why that may be and whether you can overcome that tendency.
The Non-Negotiables for a Competitive Score – There are requirements that sometimes aren’t conveyed as requirements. For example, formatting requirements often list font type, font size, and margins. But in order to score well, you really need to do quite a bit more formatting than that. Your formatting needs to match the review criteria to make the reviewer’s job easier. Or, there are “optional” criteria that sometimes must be followed to score well. These masquerade under different sections using a variety of words, but most often are buried in project descriptions or in bonus points, using language such as competitive priority points. Points are often related to specific activities that need to be included or to a specific focus population or geography you might serve. You may have an eligible project, but will your project score competitively?
So, how do you navigate all this? Join the Federal Grants Accelerator: Fast Track Training
I spend a lot of my time consulting with organizations grappling with the challenges above. These are often nuanced conversations that rely on the internal expertise of organizations to overcome. This is an area where the expertise of grant writers is critical. And you can learn processes, tools, and skills to do this work too!
That’s precisely why I created the Federal Grants Accelerator: Fast Track Training—to help grant writers like you build confidence, understand the process, and successfully compete for federal funding. If you’re ready to take the next step, check out the course details! I’m offering beta access to this brand new training and support resources, but with limited seats. In exchange for the lowest price we will ever offer this course, you’ll be asked to complete a series of surveys to continue to improve the content and user experience. You’ll also be the first to see new services roll out; we have a really exciting plan for resources, reviews, and other add ons.