Applying for a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration grant can be a great way to fund your agency’s ideas or projects related to enhancing commercial motor vehicle safety. FMCSA is now accepting applications for five federal grant opportunities. Applications are due by April 19 at 5 p.m.
Before submitting, start the process by reviewing all the pertinent information and requirements outlined in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) such as eligibility. How do you find these opportunities? That’s where Grants.gov comes in.
You, a prospective applicant, can use the Search Grants function to navigate through opportunities and settle on the right FMCSA grant for you.
Once you select the funding opportunity to apply for, there are two steps, in addition to your own application development processes, to work on before submitting your application in Grants.gov:
- Register to apply for grants.
- Complete your application.
Registering to Apply
Registering to apply for grants on Grants.gov includes several steps and types of registration, including SAM.gov, and Grants.gov accounts. There are pages dedicated to walking you through the Applicant Registration process.
Completing Your Application
Before jumping into the process of filling out the application, you (on behalf of your organization) should spend time analyzing your own capabilities as compared to the specific eligibility and technical requirements detailed in the NOFO instructions. The application planning process is lengthy, but it is critical when considering the importance of carrying out government-related work and the competition you may face for funding.
While the specific steps vary widely depending on the type of grant you are applying for, major components of the planning process includes developing your ideas, conducting research, writing your proposal, and completing the application in Grants.gov.
FMCSA offers more specific information and training on the development of an effective application. Below are three tips to help during the application process.
Tip 1: Think like a reviewer when you are discussing the impact of your proposed project.
When preparing your federal grant application, you would do well to put yourself — and your team — in the shoes of the people who will be evaluating it.
Tip 2: Make your discussion of impact and outcomes as concrete as possible.
Sometimes using concrete language will mean getting specific about the number of beneficiaries that the project will be designed to reach or need to provide a target statistic.
Tip 3: Be realistic when discussing impact.
There will surely be a temptation to present best-case scenarios that read like works of fiction. Remember, though, that the agency funding your project has been around for a long time; they know the track records of prior projects, and they will sense when a project’s impact is being over-sold.
Don’t wait until the final day to apply. It can take days or weeks to compile and complete the application process. It’s important to take your time and focus on how your company or school’s project can help lead to safer highways, reduced crashes, and developing a more secure transportation system. Together, we can significantly reduce serious injuries and fatalities on our nation’s roadways.
