A Roadmap to Federal Financial Assistance

Arlene Simpson PorterDirector, AGO/Grants Management Division

Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977• The Act clarifies the three award

instruments: grants, cooperative agreements and contracts.

• The Act directs agencies to select the appropriate instrument within the limits of their program legislation.

• Agencies are unable to make grants and cooperative agreements unless authorized by statute.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)• CFDA.gov

• Government-wide compendium of Federal programs, projects, services and activities that provide assistance or benefits to the American public.

• Each agency has their own set of CFDA numbers.

FY16 Grant Obligations*Includes Grants and Cooperative Agreements, Excludes Loans and Other Assistance

*Data provided by DOC Office of Acquisition Management

Types of Funding • Discretionary Grant or Cooperative Agreement

− Award selected by the agency from among eligible recipients based on review of the application. The agency decides the amount of funding to be awarded.

• Mandatory Grant or Cooperative Agreement− Award specified in the statute.

• Formula Grant− Allocations of federal funding to states, territories or

local units of government determined by distribution formulas in the authorizing legislation and regulations.

Types of Awards• Competitive

− Awards made with discretionary funds after proposals are reviewed and selected as a result of a program solicitation that has been published through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcement in Grants.gov.

• Non-Competitive− Awards made with discretionary funds can be

approved only in unusual and extraordinary circumstances. Proper written justification, including outlining certain criteria and selection factors, is required to issue the awards through the Grants Office.

Merit ReviewA thorough, consistent and independent examination of an application based on pre-established criteria.

Award ExecutedFederal Government issues grant or cooperative agreement to recipient.

Questions?

Arlene Simpson Porter301-628-1314

Arlene.S.Porter@noaa.gov