Grants.gov allows electronic access to more than 1,000 grant programs offered by all Federal grant-making agencies. Grants.gov replaces paper applications with electronic forms and requires electronic submission of all applications. It is the central portal for grant announcements and submissions.

All federal granting agencies now post their funding opportunities on Grants.gov (many also post on their own funding websites, and you can have opportunities sent to you via the RSS feed).

Due to the expected increase in system activity resulting from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has authorized steps to alleviate system strain and quickly increase system capacity. As part of this strategy, select programs may choose to use alternate systems to process grant applications during this heightened period of demand. As a result, once you have identified your grant opportunity, be sure to carefully read the instructions to ensure you are following proper submission procedures for that application, even if you have applied before. Note that Grants.gov will still be the one place to find all available federal grant opportunities. All opportunities posted on Grants.gov will include specific application instructions, including as appropriate, instructions for submitting applications outside of Grants.gov.

The following agencies will be accepting some or all applications outside of Grants.gov, Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Education (DOED), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Treasury, Department of Transportation (DOT), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Air and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Please pay close attention to the grant announcements and application instructions for these agencies. Applicants for grant announcements offered by agencies using alternate systems should note that the Grants.gov Contact Center cannot address questions or issues relating to an alternate processing system. For assistance, applicants for these announcements should contact the designated official specified in the grant announcement and application instructions for the agency issuing the opportunity.

Adobe seems to be updating their Reader monthly. Make sure you have the most current version compatible with Grants.gov and your computer.

Grants.gov has a lot of information on their Adobe Reader FAQ page.