In FY2020, the federal government spent $6.6 trillion in Medicare, Social Security, defense and veterans, debt interest, support to businesses, health, education, social services, and assistance like stimulus and unemployment plus assistance to States.

Did you know, $600 billion is awarded each year in federal grants?? The new OMB Uniform Guidance Administrative Requirements place tremendous emphasis on grantee internal controls. So, what are they? Why should you care? How do they impact your grants and your organization?

President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 was signed into law on March 11, 2021, which provides $1.9 trillion funding state and local governments to respond to the public health and economic crisis.

Many grant applications are stronger when a team is working together. There are two

primary types of grant teams:

1. A team of internal individuals working on the same project together. They all work for

the same institution and each fulfill different roles.

Each grant funder will have its own calendar; however, you will also likely get some flexibility with the timeline you want to use for your proposed project.

Many grant applications are often stronger when there is a partnership among organizations. Partners can bring unique skills and knowledge to a grant project and they can provide access to an expanded audience for your project.

In my last post, I shared about where to locate library grants. In this post, I want to discuss topics that may be of interest to funding agencies. Now, one of my grant-writing friends has always said we should not chase the money. I agree with this statement. Grants we write need to be good fits for the mission and visions of our libraries.

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” This quote comes from one of my favorite books by Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. If you read one book on the art of writing, I suggest this one. Banned Books Week was September 27 to October 3, 2020 and is conducted by the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom.