For state and local government
Competitive federal grants for states, counties and cities
Track the discretionary federal opportunities open to your government, keep applications organized across departments, and prepare files for submission.
Independent platform. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. Data from public federal sources.
Formula funds and competitive grants
Governments receive federal money in two broad ways. Formula grants are allocations to states, territories or local governments based on distribution formulas set in law. Discretionary grants are competitive: the agency generally selects recipients from among all eligible applicants. GovGrantsUSA focuses on the competitive opportunities posted on Grants.gov, where preparation makes the difference.
Applicant categories for governments
Grants.gov lists several government categories, and each notice says which ones may apply:
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Special district governments
- Independent school districts
- Public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities
For background on any program, SAM.gov Assistance Listings (formerly the CFDA) is the authoritative source of program information.
Registrations to start early
Most organizations need these before they can apply through Grants.gov. Registration is a step you take with each government system directly; GovGrantsUSA cannot do it for you.
- SAM.gov entity registration and UEI. Register your organization in SAM.gov to receive a Unique Entity ID. A UEI on its own, without a full registration, is not enough to apply directly for federal awards. Grants.gov notes activation can take up to 10 business days, and registration must be renewed every year.
- Login.gov. You sign in to SAM.gov with a Login.gov account.
- Grants.gov account and roles. Your organization's E-Business Point of Contact (named in SAM.gov) creates a Grants.gov organization profile with your UEI and assigns roles such as Authorized Organization Representative, the person allowed to submit.
Use the free Federal Grant Readiness Checklist to track what you have and what is missing.
How GovGrantsUSA helps government teams
- Eligibility pages. Browse open opportunities that list state or local governments as eligible.
- Grant alerts. Follow specific agencies, keywords and funding ranges, with a daily check for new postings.
- Shared workspace. Invite staff from different departments with roles that fit their part.
- Award history. See how many awards an agency has made and their average size, from USASpending.gov data.
- Submission checks. Package validation flags budget mismatches and requests outside the award range.
One honest note: the matching engine gives applicant-type points only to business and nonprofit organization types today. Government teams should set their organization type to Other and rely mainly on the eligibility pages and alerts.
Browse open opportunities
- Open federal grants for State Governments
- Open federal grants for Cities, Counties and Special Districts
Free planning tools
- Federal Awards Explorer : See which programs at each agency made the largest grant awards, from USASpending.gov data.
- Grant Budget & Indirect Cost Calculator : Build a draft budget, apply a negotiated or de minimis indirect rate, and export it in SF-424A categories.
- Application Timeline Planner : Work backwards from a deadline and download every milestone to your calendar.
- Federal Grant Readiness Checklist : Track the registrations every federal applicant needs and print a list of what is still missing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other organization types
See which federal grants fit your organization
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