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It has been suggested that Revenue Sharing Grants be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

In the United States Federal grants are economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general federal revenue. Grants may also be issued by private non-profit organizations such as foundations, not-for-profit corporations or charitable trusts which are all collectively referred to as charities. Outside the United States grants, subventions or subsidies are used to in similar fashion by government or private charities to subsidize programs and projects that fit within the funding criteria of the grant-giving entity or donor. Grants can be unrestricted, to be used by the recipient in any fashion within the perimeter of the recipient organization's activities or they may be restricted to a specific purpose by the benefactor.

Federal grants are defined and governed by the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977, as incorporated in Title 31 Section 6304 of the U.S. Code. A Federal grant is a:

"...legal instrument reflecting the relationship between the United States Government and a State, a local government, or other entity when 1) the principal purpose of the relationship is to transfer a thing of value to the State or local government or other recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States instead of acquiring (by purchase, lease, or barter) property or services for the direct benefit or use of the United States Government; and 2) substantial involvement is not expected between the executive agency and the State, local government, or other recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated in the agreement."

When an awarding agency expects to be substantially involved in a project (beyond routine monitoring and technical assistance), the law requires use of a cooperative agreement instead. When the government is procuring goods or services for its own direct benefit, and not for a broader public purpose, the law requires use of a federal contract [1]

• Project grants

• Formula Grants provide funds as dictated by a law. See: Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Job Training Partnership Act, Work Incentive Program
  • Categorical grants may be spent only for narrowly defined purposes and recipients often must match a portion of the federal funds. 33% of categorical grants are considered to be formula grants. See: Head Start, Urban Forestry Assistance, Asbestos School Hazards Abatement. About 90% of federal aid dollars are spent for categorical grants.
  • Block grants combine categorical grants into a single program. See: Community Development Block Grant, Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Services Block Grant. Recipients of block grants have more leeway in using funds than recipients of individual categorical grants. All block grants are considered to be formula grants.

• Earmark grants are explicitly specified in appropriations of the U.S. Congress. They are not competitively awarded and have become highly controversial because of the heavy involvement of paid political lobbyists used in securing them. In FY1996 appropriations, the Congressional Research Service found 3,023 earmarks totalling $19.5 billion, while in FY2006 it found 12,852 earmarks totalling $64 billion.^[1]

Federal and State grants frequently receive criticism due to what are perceived to be excessive regulations. These criticisms include problems of overlap, duplication, excessive categorization, insufficient information, varying requirements, arbitrary federal decision-making, and grantsmanship (a funding bias towards entities most familiar with how to exploit the system, rather than to those most in need).

There are over 900 grant programs offered by the 26 Federal grant-making agencies. These programs fall into 21 categories:

• Agriculture
• Arts
• Business and Commerce
• Community Development
• Consumer Protection
• Disaster Prevention and Relief
• Education Regional Development
• Employment, Labor, and Training
• Energy
• Environmental Quality
• Food and Nutrition
• Health
• Housing
• Humanities
• Information and Statistics
• Law, Justice, and Legal Services
• Natural Resources
• Science and Technology
• Social Services and Income Security
• Transportation

• Economics
• Political science

• Grants.gov
• Presidential Initiative: Grants Management Line of Business

1. ^ Jonathan Weisman (Mar 27 2006). Proposals Call For Disclosure of Ties to Lobbyists. Washington Post.