The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was created over 35 years ago to “open up the workings of government to public scrutiny” (Fielding v. CIA, 1983). This system allows any US citizen to request information about the daily activities and spending of their government agencies. And while many folks are aware of news organizations leveraging FOIA for investigative journalism, the media makes up less than 8% of all FOIA petitions annually (Schouten 2017). More often, individuals, law firms, and private businesses leverage this system to gain valuable information for their own daily operations at little to no-cost.

The 2020 budget includes almost $185 billion in domestic discretionary spending. Over half of these discretionary dollars ($94.9 billion) have been appropriated to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), making it the largest federal grantmaker. This represents a $4.4 billion increase over 2019 funding levels for HHS and a staggering $16.8 billion more than requested in the President’s Budget. The following is a brief primer on the appropriations included in the 2020 HHS budget and its impact on grant programming.

The 2020 federal fiscal year started on October 1 and once again we are operating under a continuing resolution instead of a budget. Fortunately, federal agencies (as well as experienced grant professionals) can look to the recent past to navigate the situation. Take a deep breath and relax because the grants landscape is much more predictable than it seems, even in the absence of a federal budget. The following Q&A is intended to help grant-seekers “read the tea leaves” when it comes to grant programming in 2020.

Sadly, many unwitting citizens as well as organizations are not as fortunate and end up losing their hard-earned funds as a result. It’s for this reason, that we want to dedicate a few pages out of this issue to offer a few simple reminders and tips related to grants and grant scammers.

As more and more school districts and institutions of higher education gain interest in the possibilities of Esports, many wonder how they will be able to finance the often expensive equipment needed for start-up and eventual tournament success in these new arenas.  Following we’ll look at some of the biggest challenges to finding external funding for your Esports initiative, as well as offer guidance on potential solutions

Along with the changing colors of the leaves, Autumn brings with it the release of several health professional education grants. These grants, offered through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), are meant to overcome health professional shortages in urban, rural and medically underserved areas. These grants are usually led by an appropriate institution of higher education (IHE) in partnership with healthcare facilities that serve as clinical rotation sites for students. The following is a primer on what funding opportunities we are expecting to open soon as well as a few tips for developing a competitive proposal.

n reality, nearly 95% of all law enforcement agencies in the US have less than 100 full-time officers on staff (Reaves 2015). Three quarters serve communities of less than 10,000 residents. These small, usually rural, jurisdictions face the same crime problems as their counterparts in urban locations, but they must do so with lower budgets, less staff, and insufficient equipment 

Not surprisingly, demand for the pilot round of SVPP funding in Summer 2018 far exceeded the available supply of grant dollars. Only 45% of the 200+ submitted applications were funded, and competition for the 2019 grant cycle (applications due May 31st) is anticipated to be even more fierce. These steep odds have districts across the US asking – What is the Department of Justice looking for? How can we stand out from the pack? In searching for answers to these questions, it is beneficial to review previous awards.

Traditionally, government grantmaking agencies have only focused supporting projects directly within their strictly defined functional area. The ever-expanding field of healthcare, however, has forced many of these agencies to go beyond the confines of such thinking. Thus, the biggest mistake that novice grantseekers can make is limiting their funder prospecting research to only those federal or state authorities primarily responsible for healthcare regulations. To help you make sure that no stone is left unturned the next time you go grant-seeking, following the three primary sources for healthcare grants (federal, state and foundation funders) are explored.

Interested agencies can anticipate seeing two full years’ worth of funding (2018 and 2019 allocations) combined into the same solicitation – potentially offering upwards of $200M for US law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire officers. It is unclear at this point if the COPS Office plans to include similar priority considerations for this new funding cycle as they had in 2017. As it currently stands, however, the courts have determined that any repeat attempt to give preference for applicants that address illegal immigration will be permitted.