Grants Work in a Congressional Office

Publication Date: September 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

Type:

Abstract:

Members of Congress receive continuous requests from grantseekers to find funds for projects in districts and states. The congressional office should first determine its priorities about how much assistance to provide constituents, from referral to sources to active advocacy of projects. Congressional grants staff can best help grantseekers when they understand the entire grants process.

Each office handles grants requests in its own way, depending upon the Member's legislative agenda, and overall organization and workload. There may be a full-time grants specialist or several staff members under the supervision of a grants coordinator working solely in the area of grants and projects. In some offices, all grants requests are handled in the district or state office; in others, they are answered by the Washington, DC staff.

To assist constituents applying for federal funds, congressional offices can develop working relationships with grants officers in federal departments and agencies, including their state and regional offices. A congressional office may sometimes choose to communicate with a selected constituency by targeted mailings or sponsoring seminars on federal and private assistance. Member Web sites can link to grants/Internet sources such as the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance so that constituents themselves can search for grants and funding programs. The CRS Grants Web page at [http://www.crs.gov/reference/general/grantsinfo.shtml] links to key CRS products and Internet sources, including a ready-made Grants and Federal Domestic Assistance Web page which CRS can customize for Member Home pages.

The congressional office can use the CRS InfoPack Grants and Foundation Support to provide information on government and private funding. The packet includes guidance on developing a good grants proposal, which should describe the need for the proposed project, methods to accomplish these objectives, the means of monitoring and evaluating, plans for continuing the project beyond the period covered by the grant, and a detailed budget.

An internal grants manual is a valuable tool for grants staff to develop. It can outline office policies and procedures. With reductions in federal programs, grants specialists may suggest other funding sources to their constituents, such as private or corporate foundations, as alternatives or supplements to federal grants.

This report will be updated periodically.