Glosssary of Grant Terminology

Finding a grant for your business or project is difficult enough but grantors also have their own "language" of grant terms that you may not be familiar with, that can make the whole process even more confusing.

If you don't have a clear understanding of Grant Terminology - it will often be virtually impossible to comeplete the Grant Application Package correctly!

Applicant is the entity requesting a grant.

Application notice is usually the formal public posting by a grantmaker of a new grant application period and invites applications for one or more discretionary grant competitions. It provides basic program and fiscal information on each competition, informs potential applicants when and where they can obtain applications, and cites the deadline date for a particular competition. An Application Notice may be made by mail, email, press release or a web posting. The method of posting used is at the discretion of the Grantor

Application Package contains the application notice for one or more programs, and all the information and forms needed to apply for a discretionary grant.

Appropriations legislation is a law passed by Congress to provide a certain level of funding for a grant program in a given year.

Authorized Representative is the official within an applicant organization with the legal authority to give assurances, make commitments, enter into contracts, and execute such documents on behalf of the applicant as may be required by a grant maker. Note that the Authorized Representative is not necessarily the Project Director.

Block Grants
formula funds that are not allocated to a specific category and are more flexibly distributed. The grant seeker applies directly to state for these funds, and state sets up procedures for their disbursement.

Boilerplate Materials - a mass produced proposal or one that is copied from another grant application. This is a MAJOR NO-NO in the grant world, and will get your application bounced 99.99% of the time!