A Notice of Funding Opportunity, or NOFO, is the formal announcement a federal agency publishes when it has grant or cooperative agreement money available. It tells potential applicants who can apply, how much funding is on the table, what the agency wants the money to accomplish, and exactly how to submit a proposal. Federal regulations define a NOFO as the document an agency uses to announce a funding opportunity, whatever the agency happens to call it internally — “program announcement,” “solicitation,” or something else.1eCFR. 2 CFR 200.1 – Definitions Nearly every federal funding opportunity you’ll encounter starts with one.
What’s Inside a NOFO
Federal regulations require every NOFO to include a specific set of information, and agencies must post them on Grants.gov.2eCFR. 2 CFR 200.204 – Notices of Funding Opportunities A summary section sits at the top of each announcement, followed by the full-text details.
The summary identifies the agency and the funding opportunity title, states the total amount the agency expects to award, the anticipated number of awards, and the expected dollar range per award, and lists key dates: application deadlines, any letter-of-intent due dates, and when awards will be announced. It also includes a plain-language executive summary of the program’s goals, target audience, and eligible applicants, capped at 500 words.2eCFR. 2 CFR 200.204 – Notices of Funding Opportunities
The full text covers eligibility, a detailed program description, application instructions with required forms, the evaluation criteria reviewers will use to score proposals, reporting requirements after an award is made, and agency contact information. Agencies are required to write NOFOs in plain language, particularly for opportunities aimed at inexperienced applicants or underserved communities.2eCFR. 2 CFR 200.204 – Notices of Funding Opportunities
Grant or Cooperative Agreement
Every NOFO identifies its funding type, and the difference between a grant and a cooperative agreement matters more than the label suggests. Both transfer federal money to carry out a public purpose. The difference lies in how involved the agency stays after the award is made. With a standard grant, the agency funds the work and largely steps back, expecting the recipient to execute the project independently. A cooperative agreement means the agency will be substantially involved in the work itself — co-directing research, reviewing milestones, or participating in project activities alongside your team.3National Institute of Justice. Comparing Grants and Cooperative Agreements
That translates to more federal oversight, more check-ins, and sometimes agency staff embedded in the project. If autonomy matters to your organization, knowing the funding type upfront helps you decide whether the application is worth the effort.
How Proposals Get Scored
One of the most useful parts of a NOFO is the evaluation criteria section, and it’s also the part applicants most often skim. Agencies are required to disclose how they’ll evaluate proposals, and most assign specific point values to different sections of your application. A Department of Education NOFO, for example, might allocate 40 points to scaling strategy, 30 to evaluation plan, 15 to project design, and 15 to significance.
Those point breakdowns are effectively a scoring guide. A section worth 40 out of 100 points deserves the largest share of your writing effort and the strongest evidence. Applicants who spread their energy evenly across all sections, treating a 15-point criterion the same as a 40-point one, leave points on the table. Read the evaluation criteria before you outline the proposal, not after.
Some NOFOs also include competitive preference priorities that offer bonus points for addressing specific policy goals, such as promoting equity or serving rural communities. They aren’t required, but ignoring them when your project naturally aligns is an easy mistake to avoid.
Where to Find NOFOs
Grants.gov is the central federal portal for finding funding opportunities. You can search by keyword, agency, funding category, or opportunity number.4Grants.gov. Search Grants Tab Filters let you narrow results by status: forecasted opportunities that haven’t officially opened yet, currently posted NOFOs accepting applications, closed opportunities, and archived past funding.
Starting in fiscal year 2026, agencies that previously ran separate listings have consolidated onto Grants.gov. NIH, for example, stopped posting NOFOs in its own NIH Guide and now treats Grants.gov as its single official source for grant and cooperative agreement funding opportunities.5National Institutes of Health. Updates to Finding NIH Funding Opportunities and Information NIH still maintains its own search tools with NIH-specific filters like institute and activity code, but those tools link back to Grants.gov for the official posting.
If you’re tracking a specific funding area over time, Grants.gov lets you save searches and get email notifications when new opportunities matching your criteria are posted. You need a Grants.gov account to use the feature.6Grants.gov. Manage Subscriptions Setting up alerts is worth a few minutes, because competitive NOFOs sometimes have application windows as short as 30 days.
The term “NOFO” is a federal convention. State governments, local agencies, and private foundations announce their own funding opportunities under different terminology on different platforms. For non-federal funding, check the specific funder’s website directly.
Register Before You Apply
This is where the process trips up first-time applicants. You cannot submit a federal grant application without completing two separate registrations beforehand, and one of them takes up to 10 business days to process.7SAM.gov. Entity Registration Waiting until you find a NOFO to start registering can mean missing the deadline entirely.
SAM.gov
Every organization applying for federal funding as a prime recipient must register in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). During registration your organization receives a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), which replaces the old DUNS number. You can obtain a UEI without completing the full registration, but without a full SAM.gov registration you cannot submit applications for federal awards.7SAM.gov. Entity Registration SAM.gov registrations must be renewed annually, so even organizations that registered previously should verify their status is active before applying.
Grants.gov Account
Each individual who will work on or submit an application needs a personal Grants.gov account linked to a Login.gov account. Beyond individual accounts, your organization needs an organizational profile tied to the UEI from SAM.gov. At least one person must hold the role of Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) to actually submit a completed application.8Grants.gov. Quick Start Guide for Applicants If your Grants.gov email matches the electronic business point of contact registered in SAM.gov, the system automatically grants you expanded AOR privileges, including the ability to assign roles to other team members.
The practical takeaway: register in SAM.gov and set up your Grants.gov accounts well before you spot a NOFO you want to pursue. Treat it as organizational infrastructure, not a step in any particular application.
Eligibility, Formatting, and Deadlines
A NOFO isn’t just an announcement; it’s the instruction manual for the application. Every element of your submission, from eligibility to formatting to submission method, follows from the specific NOFO you’re responding to.
Who Can Apply
NOFOs specify exactly which types of organizations or individuals may apply. Eligible entities commonly include nonprofits, educational institutions, state and local governments, tribal organizations, and sometimes for-profit businesses. Some NOFOs restrict eligibility further by geographic area, organizational capacity, or prior experience.9Health Resources & Services Administration. Who Can Apply Individuals rarely apply directly for federal grants, though some health professions programs offer scholarships or loan repayment to individual applicants. Check eligibility before investing time in a proposal; applying for a grant you don’t qualify for won’t produce a workaround.
Formatting
Federal agencies enforce formatting rules strictly, and violations can get an application withdrawn before anyone reads the substance. NIH, for instance, requires text of at least 11-point font, minimum half-inch margins on all sides, no more than six lines per vertical inch, and strict adherence to page limits, which count all text on the page including headers.10National Institutes of Health. Format Attachments Rules vary by agency and sometimes by individual NOFO, so reusing formatting from a previous application without checking the current NOFO is a common and avoidable mistake.
How to Submit
Most federal applications are submitted through Grants.gov Workspace, which lets your team access and edit different forms within an application at the same time.11Grants.gov. Workspace Overview Some agencies offer alternatives — NIH applications, for example, can be submitted through ASSIST, which pre-populates data from existing NIH profiles and validates business rules before submission.12National Institutes of Health. Submission Options The NOFO will tell you which method to use.
Deadlines
Late applications are almost never reviewed. NIH has a narrow two-week grace period after the due date during which it may consider a late submission, but only if the applicant provides a compelling explanation in a cover letter. Applications submitted without that letter, or outside the grace window, are not processed at all.13NIAID. Late Applications and Post-Submission Materials Many NOFOs state explicitly that no late applications will be accepted under any circumstances. Incomplete or non-compliant applications face the same fate.
Cost Sharing and Indirect Costs
Some NOFOs require applicants to contribute their own resources toward the project, a requirement known as cost sharing or matching. The federal grant won’t cover 100% of project costs, and your organization commits to funding a defined share. The NOFO must state whether cost sharing is required, and if voluntary cost sharing will factor into evaluation, the NOFO must explain how.14eCFR. 2 CFR 200.306 – Cost Sharing For federal research grants specifically, agencies cannot use voluntary cost sharing as a merit review factor unless a statute or regulation authorizes it.
Cost sharing can take the form of direct cash contributions, staff time, donated equipment, or third-party in-kind contributions. Whatever you commit must be documented in your financial records and cannot be counted toward cost sharing on any other federal award.14eCFR. 2 CFR 200.306 – Cost Sharing
Indirect costs are overhead expenses like utilities, administrative staff, and facilities that support the project but aren’t tied to a specific activity. If your organization has never negotiated an indirect cost rate with a federal agency, you can elect a de minimis rate of up to 15% of modified total direct costs. That rate requires no supporting documentation and can be used indefinitely until you choose to negotiate a formal rate.15eCFR. 2 CFR 200.414 – Indirect (F&A) Costs
What Happens After You Win
Winning an award isn’t the finish line. Every federal grant carries ongoing reporting obligations spelled out in the NOFO’s award administration section.
Financial reporting typically uses the Federal Financial Report (Standard Form 425), submitted quarterly. These reports track cumulative expenditures from the start of the grant through each reporting period. Missing a quarterly filing can block your ability to draw down funds. A final SF-425 is due no later than 120 days after the grant period ends, and failing to submit it means forfeiting any remaining balance.16COPS Office. Helpful Hints Guide for Completing the Federal Financial Report SF-425
Organizations that spend $1,000,000 or more in federal awards during their fiscal year must undergo a Single Audit, an independent review of financial statements and compliance with federal requirements.17eCFR. 2 CFR 200.501 – Audit Requirements The threshold was raised from $750,000 for audit periods beginning on or after October 1, 2024, so it applies to current fiscal years. Even organizations below the threshold must keep records available for review by the awarding agency or the Government Accountability Office.
These compliance obligations are worth factoring into your budget and staffing plans before you apply. A small organization landing its first major federal grant sometimes underestimates the administrative infrastructure needed to track expenditures, file quarterly reports, and prepare for audits. Building those costs into your proposal is not only allowed but expected.