Original PDF Flash format stakeholder-webcast  


Stakeholder Webcast








Stakeholder Webcast
Question & Answers

July 15, 2009












STAKEHOLDER WEBCAST
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

FINDING AND APPLYING FOR GRANTS
1. I am interested in applying for a sub grant opportunity for services as an occupational health
specialist, I am a qualified and experienced in this field, how do I apply?
If you are searching for federal grants, click on "Find Grant Opportunities" at the left of the page then
click on search grant opportunities. On the next screen, please click on "Advanced Search." A new
screen will open, giving you a number of different search fields:

• Keyword Search
• Search by Funding Opportunity Number
• Dates to Search
• Search by CFDA Number
• Search by Funding Activity Category
• Search by Funding Instrument Type
• Search by Eligibility
• Search by Agency and Sub Agency Search

Select any of the fields you wish to search within and then click “Search”. The “Search by Eligibility”
option is where you will be able to narrow down the grant opportunities for Individuals only.

Once you have found the grant of interest, download the grant application instructions and package for
it. You will need to be registered to submit. Animated tutorials on all Grants.gov processes can be found
on the “Applicant Resource” page, under “Animated Tutorials”:
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/resources.jsp#animated.

If you have additional questions please contact Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726.

VIEWING WEBCAST
2. With much regret, this webcast announcement was delivered to me too late to participate
today. Good Works Ministries has a proposal for a transitional employment program for women
recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction that we want to submit. Please provide me with
information regarding the next webcast session through Grants.gov. All is well... and loving it!
Due to a Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack on the listserv provider we were unable to
distribute the invitation for the July 15 Grants.gov Stakeholder Webcast in a timely manner. This
presentation has been archived on the Stakeholder Webcast page of the website:
http://www.grants.gov/help/stakeholder_communications.jsp and may be viewed by using the following
link: http://www.grants.gov/help/webcast_communications_july15_2009.jsp. Thank you for your
understanding and we apologize for any inconvenience.

The next Grants.gov Stakeholder Webcast is on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 from 1-2pm ET.

3. I am interested in viewing the webcast however; I will not be in a location that will permit me to
do so. Will it be available for me to look up from home on Wednesday?
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STAKEHOLDER WEBCAST
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
The webcast presentation is archived shortly after every Stakeholder Webcast. This presentation has
been archived on the Stakeholder Webcast page of the website:
http://www.grants.gov/help/stakeholder_communications.jsp and may be viewed by using the following
link: http://www.grants.gov/help/webcast_communications_july15_2009.jsp.

4. Will the webcast today be recorded for later access?
This presentation has been archived on the Stakeholder Webcast page of the website:
http://www.grants.gov/help/stakeholder_communications.jsp and may be viewed by using the following
link: http://www.grants.gov/help/webcast_communications_july15_2009.jsp.

LOGIN/SUBMISSION
5. I am an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and tried many times on Monday
morning but was unable to login. I am certain that my user ID and password were correct. On
Tuesday morning, I logged in without problem. Why does this happen? What should I do if it
happens on a day when I am trying to submit to meet a deadline?
In many instances the E-Business Point of Contact (grant administrator/CFO) for your organization may
unknowingly provide or deny your Authorized Organization Representative status (right to submit).

The E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) has the authority to provide or deny rights to an
Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). The E-Biz POC has the ability to:

1. View list of AORs registered at Grants.gov under specific DUNS
2. Assign AOR role
3. Revoke AOR role
4. Delete AOR login
5. View/Search list of Submissions made under that DUNS
6. View Rejected with Errors message, if any submission is rejected (similar to AOR)
7. Receive email when a new applicant registers at Grants.gov under that DUNS

If you believe that your AOR rights/login permission are being affected please contact your
organization’s E-Biz POC promptly. If the issue persists after contacting your E-Biz POC, call the
Grants.gov Contact Center at: 1-800-518-4726.

6. Are spaces included among the special characters prohibited from file names for grant submission
attachments? Many grant RFPs are not including spaces as prohibited characters when
describing Grants.gov submission.
In order to have a successful submission Grants.gov requires naming all attachments with different
names and avoid using special characters (example: &,–,*,%,/,#) in attachment file names; this includes
periods (.) and spaces. We also suggest limiting the size of the entire grant application package including
all attachments to 200MB, to ensure that the grantor agency will be able to retrieve your application
package.

Each agency has its own restrictions on the type of attachments (.pdf, .xls, .doc, .jpeg, .mpeg, .mov) and
the file sizes allowed for a particular grant opportunity application package, this is why it is very
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STAKEHOLDER WEBCAST
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
important to read the agency instructions for the particular RFP and grant application package (agency
instructions are available for download with the application package).

PERSONAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
7. I am looking for a personal grant. I have a lot of debts, are there grants on Grants.gov for me?
If you are looking for government benefits, such as financial assistance for debt, you should visit
www.govbenefits.gov. Grants.gov does NOT offer personal financial assistance.

GRANT AWARD NOTIFICATION
8. How is the organization notified when the grant is awarded? If the grant is not awarded is the
organization also notified?
Award notification protocol may vary amongst different grantor agencies, it is best to contact the
Agency Point of Contact (listed on the grant opportunity synopsis or application cover page) to
determine if and how you will be notified of an award.
9. I am a first-time grant applicant and am totally new to Grants.gov. Do you offer online free grant
writing seminars?
Grants.gov offers an array of information to get you started with applying for federal grants on
Grants.gov. Visit the “Applicant Resource” page: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/resources.jsp to
view FAQs, user guides, checklists, animated tutorials, newsletters, webcasts, brochures, download
software and find additional resources.

CONTACTS FOR ASSISTANCE
10. At various points, I’ve contacted Grants.gov support for assistance with questions regarding my
submissions. When it comes to the submission being generated in eRA Commons, it seems to be
unclear which support/help contact is the right place to go (Grants.gov support or eRA Commons
Helpdesk). Can you clarify what issues are covered by which group?
The Grants.gov Contact Center should be contacted for questions pertaining to technical issues or
questions specific to the Grants.gov website and submission process.

Grants.gov Contact Center Information:
Phone: 1-800-518-4726
Email: support@grants.gov

If you have questions pertaining to a submission being generated in eRA Commons, you must contact
the eRA Commons Helpdesk.

eRA Commons Help Desk Contact Information:
Web: http://ithelpdesk.nih.gov/eRA/ (Preferred method of contact)
Toll-free: 1-866-504-9552 Phone: 301-402-7469.




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STAKEHOLDER WEBCAST
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
RECOVERY ACT OPPORTUNITIES
11. In the height of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) submissions OMB
authorized agencies to pursue alternative mechanisms for receiving grant applications. Is there
any intention to force these agencies to come back and use Grants.gov as the required mechanism
for receiving grant applications or will agencies be allowed to continue to use alternative
mechanisms?
Most agencies are currently posting grant opportunities on Grants.gov. Only select agencies opted to use
alternative methods to post ARRA opportunities and application packages during the height of ARRA
submissions. For more information on which agencies are utilizing alternative means for submission
please see the notice listed on the homepage of Grants.gov: http://grants.gov/applicants/bulletin.jsp

Please refer to the instructions listed on the grant opportunity for direction on how to apply.

The height of ARRA submissions has since past and Grants.gov has undergone many efforts to ease the
return of these select grantor agencies to Grants.gov for posting of all their opportunities and
applications.

12. I wish to assist some municipalities in submitting grants for energy efficiency available as part of
the federal economic stimulus program, how might I do this?
The federal economic stimulus program also referred to as the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA) funding is easily recognizable by their standard naming convention; which requires
“Recovery Act”, “ARRA” or “RA” to be included in the title of the opportunity. Information on
Recovery Act funding can be found on the “Recovery Act and Grants.gov” page:
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/recovery.jsp.

13. It's quite frustrating that there seem to be more and more government agencies requiring
Principle Investigators (Authorized Organization Representatives (AORs)) to submit via portals
other than Grants.gov. Is this going to continue or will agencies start using Grants.gov again for
submissions?
Most agencies are currently posting grant opportunities on Grants.gov. Only select agencies opted to use
alternative methods to post ARRA opportunities and application packages during the height of ARRA
submissions.

The height of ARRA submissions has since past and Grants.gov has undergone many efforts to ease the
return of these select grantor agencies to Grants.gov for posting of all their opportunities and
applications.

SYSTEM-TO-SYSTEM (S2S)
14. Where can people find a list of S2S vendors? Is there a list on your site?
Grants.gov does not recommend S2S vendors. To utilize S2S you will need a certificate. The following
vendor certificates are approved for use with Grants.gov: Verisign, Entrust, ACES, Thawte or GoDaddy.
You will need a 1024 or 2048 bit RSA SSL certificate. More information on S2S can be found on the
“Applicant S2S FAQ” page of the website: http://www.grants.gov/applicant_s2s/applicants2s_faqs.jsp.

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