What Are These Grants and Contracts?

Recovery Act Grants and Contracts-- which are also known as Stimulus Grants and Obama Grants -- are grants and contracts that have been created to help jumpstart the U.S. economy. In early 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which is a law that specifies that these new funds ($787 billion) can be spent for the following purposes:



Who Gets the Stimulus Money?

Recovery Act / stimulus grant money has been allocated to 28 different U.S. Government agencies. Each agency is responsible for determining how it will spend these funds. Based on their published Recovery Act plans, Federal agencies award grants and contracts to State governments, schools, hospitals, government contractors, and non-profit organizations. State governments, in turn, may also award recovery grants and contracts to non-profit organizations, businesses and, in some cases, to individuals.


Where Can I Find Information on Each Federal Agency's Recovery Act Plans?

Below is a list of major Government Agency websites where you can find this information. Each Federal agency, and some of their sub-agencies, has a portal or web pages dedicated to providing information on that agency's Recovery Act activities.



AGENCY RECOVERY ACT WEBSITES
Department of Agriculture Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Commerce Department of Homeland Security
Department of Defense Department of Housing & Urban Development
Department of Education Department of Interior
Department of Energy Department of Justice
Environmental Protection Agency Department of Labor
Federal Aviation Administration National Aeronautics & Space Administration
Federal Communications Commission National Endowment for the Arts
Federal Emergency Management Agency National Institutes of Health
General Services Administration National Science Foundation
Department of State Department of Transportation
Department of Treasury Department of Veterans Affairs


Where Can I Find Information on State Recovery Plans and State Recovery Grant and Contract Opportunities?

Each U.S. State and Territory is required to report on their Recovery Act activities, and many states provide listings of grant and contract opportunities. To find this information, go to or search for the home page of your State Government (for example, do a Google search for "Maryland State Government.") On the State Government Home Page, you might find a link to its Recovery Act activities, or you can search for it. Here is an example for Maryland's Recovery Act page.

You can also look at this page for Summaries of State and Territory Recovery Funding, which contains information and charts on each state including major projects, funding breakdowns, estimated jobs by quarter, top cities, and top recipients.

Other sites where you can find State-specific information are:




Where Can I Find Federal Grant and Contract Opportunities Related to the Recovery Act?

Most, but possibly not all Federal recovery grant and contract opportunities are published on the two websites listed below-- grants.gov (for grants) and FedBizOpps (for contracts). Other opportunities may be listed on Federal Agency websites.



Where Can I Find Additional Resources and Information on the Recovery Act?

As you can imagine, there are lots of resources on the Web -- just do some searches. One good way to find Recovery Act information that pertains to your field of interest is to check the websites of professional associations that work in that field. Many professional associations are tracking recovery/stimulus funding and opportunities.

Below are some sites that you may find useful. They are not listed in any particular order.


Economic Stimulus Program Guide
This Special Report from Washington Technology contains information on ARRA, state and local government gains, the future of the economic stimulus programs, info on regulatory and compliance issues, and tips for making the most of stiimulus funding.

Focus on the Economic Crisis
This Foundation Center website contains reports, funding resources, and information on how foundations are dealing with the economic situation.

Recovery Act Milestone
This White House site on the Recovery Act provides information on progress to date in implementing recovery activities, including a blog, roadmap, and success stories.

Science Works for Us
This site is a joint effort of the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and The Science Coalition (TSC) to demonstrate the impact of stimulus-funded university research activities across the country. You can get the latest news on research efforts as well as information on research activities in each state.

ARRA Resource Guide
This 76-page Guide from Congressman John Tierney is in PDF format and contains loads of useful information on stimulus funding, including funding for infrastructure, energy, education, arts, employment, public safety, economic and community development, health, small business, and individual tax credits.

Special Reports on Economic Stimulus and Recovery
This excellent site from the National Council on Non-Profits has links to several Special Reports on stimulus funding and economic recovery including non-profit grant opportunities, stimulus grant tips, and sources of information on funding,

Eye on the Stimulus
A very informative blog by ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. Includes many informative articles and links to databases, graphs, charts, maps, resources and latest news on stimulus funding and the Recovery Act. Well worth your time.




Other pages related to government grants include:







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