The portal directs grant seekers to more than 800 programs at 26 grant-making agencies and streamlines the process of awarding more than $360 billion annually to state and local governments, academia, not-for-profits and other organizations. The apply-for-grants feature, which includes a simple application for all grants, went live Oct. 31 following a pilot that included 20 agencies and 100 grant applicants.
Agencies can post a grant application package and start receiving applications the same day, said Charles Havekost, Grants.gov program manager. Organizations may also receive e-mail notification of grants.
Since October, Grants.gov has received 500,000 hits per week to find grant opportunities and 100,000 hits on the application feature, Havekost said. More than 300 organizations have expressed interest, set up a profile, or received user identifications and passwords, he said.
Northrop Grumman Corp. provides systems integration and IBM Corp. the content, software applications and customer service. Organizations will use e-forms from PureEdge Solutions Inc., of Victoria, British Columbia, to apply for grants.
Quelle: Government Computer News, 22.01.2004
