Discovering, applying for, and reporting on Federal Grants: small communities share their barriers in the grant-seeking journey

We interviewed organizations representing over 350 local governments in every geographic region in the United States on their experiences with federal grants.

By understanding the unique barriers that small cities, townships, counties, and villages encounter when pursuing a grant, we can expand grant access through transparency, simplicity, and ease of use.

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"Small communities and businesses are frustrated when there is no ‘front door’... They need an easy way to navigate to opportunities available to them."

Research participant

Midwest Director, National Small Business Advocacy Organization

What's inside

U.S. Digital Response (USDR) conducted a survey and follow-up interviews with organizations representing over 350 local governments across the United States on their current experiences discovering, applying for, and reporting on federal grants. Too many small cities opt out of pursuing a grant because the journey is so complex. This study seeks to shed light on the barriers small communities face, showcase promising practices and tools to make the grants journey easier on small communities, and provide insights on new tools that could be developed and make grants more accessible to all. Alongside the study, we release the report findings in a webinar in August 2023.

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Understanding the grant-seeking journey

Grants to states and local governments by 93% from fiscal year 2008 to 2020, with many of the federal programs designed with the intent to reach smaller municipalities and local governments. However, the journey a grant applicant takes before an application is often invisible to grantors, and the grant-seeking journey itself is often inscrutable to the grant applicant.
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A deep understanding of the grant-seeking journey from the user's point of view shows there are key opportunities for reform and simplification and new ways for government needs to be met at scale.

Takeaways you can implement

In this report, we identified key opportunities for reform and simplification and new ways for government needs to be met at scale. We share examples from states that are scaling solutions, like Nevada deploying USDR’s Federal Grant Finder tool across the state and solutions from other countries that are serving their users well.

Clarify and communicate

Right-size and rationalize

Simplify and streamline

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Press Mentions

StateScoop: U.S. Digital Response calls for federal grant ‘Common App’
RouteFifty: How communities can navigate the tangled web of federal grants

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