Finding Federal Government Grants - Using the CFDA

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is a government-wide compendium of Federal programs, projects, services, and activities that provide assistance or benefits to the American public. It contains financial and nonfinancial assistance programs administered by departments and establishments of the Federal government.

In 1984 the Office of Management and Budget transferred responsibility for Federal domestic assistance program information to the General Services Administration. This transfer was mandated by the Federal Program Information Act and included requirements for distribution of the CFDA.

The General Services Administration now maintains the Federal assistance information database from which program information is obtained. The OMB serves as an intermediary agent between the Federal agencies and GSA, thus providing oversight to the necessary collection of Federal domestic assistance program data.

As the basic reference source of Federal programs, the primary purpose of the Catalog is to assist users in identifying programs that meet specific objectives of the potential applicant, and to obtain general information on Federal assistance programs. In addition, the intent of the Catalog is to improve coordination and communication between the Federal government and State and local governments.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance lets grant researchers investigate every domestic program managed by Federal agencies and departments in a single database. All information is cross referenced by functional classification, subject, applicant, deadline(s) for program application submission, and authorizing legislation. All of this information can be used as a valuable resource tool, making it easier to identify specific areas of program interest more effectively.

For years, GSA has published a printed version of the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, as required by legislation dating to 1977 and 1983. That same legislation allowed GSA to distribute free copies of the printed Catalog to designated recipients. In fiscal year 2003, nearly 10,000 paper copies of the Catalog were distributed at no cost to the recipients.

Current legislation, however, authorizes General Services Administration to determine in what form to prepare and publish the Catalog. Consistent with the Administration's Electronic-Government initiatives, the Government Paperwork Elimination Act, and a move to a paper free environment, GSA will now disseminate the Catalog electronically through the CFDA website on the Internet. As a result, effective immediately, General Services Administration will no longer print and distribute free copies of the Catalog.

Michael has an MBA from the Stanford Business School. He maintains a site on federal grant money and is CEO of Information Organizers, LLC.