Federal Grants Monitor

You build a pipeline of federal grant opportunities matched to your organization's eligibility, capability, and capacity. The 2026 landscape: 2,200+ federal assistance programs (per SAM.gov assistance listings, which replaced CFDA). GrantMetric reports ~900+ active opportunities across NIH/NSF/DOD/USDA/EPA/etc. The discipline isn't finding grants — it's filtering them.

============================================================ === PRE-FLIGHT ===

• Organization type: 501(c)(3), 501(c)(6), educational (IHE), state/local government, tribal, for-profit small business (SBIR/STTR eligibility), individual researcher.
• Mission focus / research domain: biomedical, energy, education, environment, social services, arts, defense, agriculture.
• NAICS / discipline codes: define what the org can credibly execute.
• Past awards: prior NIH/NSF/agency grants enable continuation funding paths.
• DUNS/UEI: org must have UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) at SAM.gov to receive awards.
• Cost-share capacity: many federal programs require 10-50% match. If you can't match, filter those out.
• Indirect rate: federally negotiated rate or de minimis 10% MTDC.

Recovery:

• New org without UEI: route to SAM.gov registration first (3-5 days for new registrations).
• For SBIR/STTR: validate small-business criteria (≤ 500 employees, US-owned, primary place of business in US).

============================================================ === PHASE 1: OPPORTUNITY INGESTION ===

Pull from multiple sources daily:

Grants.gov API (open, no key required):

GET https://api.grants.gov/v1/api/search2
  ?keyword={query}
  &oppStatuses=forecasted|posted
  &eligibilities={code_list}
  &fundingCategories={cat_list}
  &agencies={agency_list}

SAM.gov Assistance Listings: 2,200+ programs with CFDA numbers (still used as program identifiers post-CFDA sunset). Use SAM.gov API.

Agency-specific portals:

• NIH Guide: parameterized RSS / API for FOAs (R01, K series, R21, R03, SBIR, STTR). https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/
• NSF Funding: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/ — programs across directorates (BIO, CSE, ENG, GEO, MPS, EHR, SBE).
• DOE OSTI: science.osti.gov for DOE Office of Science.
• USDA NIFA: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities — AFRI, BFRDP, etc.
• EPA Grants: epa.gov/grants
• NEH/NEA: humanities + arts.
• IES (Department of Education): https://ies.ed.gov/funding/

Persist all opportunities to a local DB with schema:

{
  "opp_id": "...",
  "source": "GRANTS_GOV|SAM_AL|NIH|NSF|DOE|...",
  "title": "...",
  "agency": "...",
  "cfda_number": "93.279",
  "summary": "...",
  "eligibility_codes": ["...", "..."],
  "category": ["...", "..."],
  "funding_total_estimate": 5000000,
  "award_floor": 100000,
  "award_ceiling": 500000,
  "expected_award_count": 10,
  "post_date": "2026-04-01",
  "loi_due": "2026-06-15",
  "full_app_due": "2026-08-15",
  "url": "...",
  "match_required_pct": 25,
  "indirect_cap_pct": null,
  "geographic_restriction": null,
  "performance_period_months": 36
}

VALIDATION: Daily ingestion captures > 95% of newly-posted opportunities. Diff vs previous day produces a clean "new today" list.

============================================================ === PHASE 2: ELIGIBILITY FILTER ===

Filter the universe to opportunities the user can actually apply for:

Eligibility Code	Org Types
00	Unrestricted
01	County governments
02	City or township
04	Special district
05	Independent school district
06	Public/State controlled IHE
07	Native American tribal organizations (federally recognized)
08	Public housing authorities
11	Native American tribal organizations (non-federally recognized)
12	Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status
13	Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status
20	Private institutions of higher education
21	Individuals
22	For-profit organizations (non-small businesses)
23	Small businesses
25	Others
99	Unrestricted

Map user's org type → eligibility codes → opportunities. Hide non-eligible. Surface "near eligible" (e.g., need fiscal sponsor) separately.

VALIDATION: Filter precision ≥ 95% (no false-positive "eligible" opportunities).

============================================================ === PHASE 3: CAPABILITY MATCH SCORING ===

Beyond eligibility, score each opportunity on capability fit:

Dimension	Score 1-5	Notes
Subject-matter fit	1 = adjacent, 5 = on-mission	Cosine similarity of opp summary vs org capability statement
Prior award credibility	1 = no past, 5 = active funded researcher in the program	Pull from NIH RePORTER / USAspending
Award size fit	1 = too small to bother / too big to credibly win, 5 = right size for org capacity	$25k-$1M sweet spot for small nonprofits
Deadline reality	1 = < 30 days (rushed), 5 = > 90 days	Quality proposals need 6-12 weeks
Match feasibility	1 = can't meet match, 5 = no match required	Tag opps with > 25% match if user lacks capacity
Competition density	1 = R01 (10% success rate), 5 = niche small business (40%+)	Pull historical award rate per program

Composite Pwin = weighted average. Pursue threshold: ≥ 3.5.

VALIDATION: Each opp has Pwin score with rationale per dimension.

============================================================ === PHASE 4: DEADLINE CALENDAR ===

Generate calendar with critical dates per opportunity:

• LOI (Letter of Intent) deadline — often 6-8 weeks before full app
• Full application deadline — the binding date
• Pre-application consultation window — for programs that strongly encourage agency contact (NSF program officer, NIH program contact)
• Renewal / continuation cycles — for K/R awards
• JIT (Just-In-Time) submission — NIH-specific (post-review)

Output grants_calendar.ics. Reminder: 12 weeks / 8 weeks / 4 weeks / 2 weeks / 1 week before each deadline.

VALIDATION: Calendar imports cleanly. Reminders fire at expected intervals.

============================================================ === PHASE 5: SAM.GOV + UEI READINESS ===

Before applying, verify:

• UEI exists at SAM.gov
• SAM.gov registration is ACTIVE (not expired — annual renewal required)
• Org has Federal Tax ID (EIN) on file
• If applicable: System for Award Management (SAM) Reps & Certs current
• Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) — or default to de minimis 10% MTDC
• CCR / SAM Entity Management has no exclusions / debarments
• Workspace at Grants.gov configured with the right roles (AOR, signing official, etc.)

Generate sam_uei_health_check.md flagging any gaps.

VALIDATION: SAM.gov registration verified within 30 days. Expired registration blocks federal awards.

============================================================ === PHASE 6: PROPOSAL READINESS SCAFFOLD ===

For each "pursue" opportunity, generate the proposal-prep package:

• Capability statement (org-level, agency-tailored)
• Bio sketches for key personnel (NIH biosketch format if NIH; NSF Current & Pending Support if NSF)
• Specific Aims / Research Strategy template per agency (NIH 1-page Specific Aims, 12-page Research Strategy)
• Budget template per agency rules (PHS 398, NSF FastLane / Research.gov, etc.)
• Budget justification template (personnel by % effort, equipment, supplies, travel, indirect)
• Data Management Plan (NSF DMP, NIH DMSP)
• Resource Sharing Plan (NIH model organisms, software)
• Letters of Support template (collaborators, vendors, advisors)
• Compliance: IRB / IACUC / IBC / Conflict of Interest disclosures
• Single Audit awareness: $750k+/yr federal aggregate triggers 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F single audit

Output proposal_kit/{opp_id}/ directory.

VALIDATION: Kit has all standard sections; agency-specific templates populated.

============================================================ === PHASE 7: WEEKLY DIGEST ===

Schedule weekly Monday digest:

# Grants Pipeline — Week of {date}

## New opportunities this week ({N})

{Filtered list with Pwin ≥ 2 — surface broader pool, even if below pursue threshold}

## Pursue queue ({M})

{Opps with Pwin ≥ 3.5 + LOI/app deadline within 12 weeks}

## Deadlines this month

{Calendar excerpt}

## Closed / awarded

{Recent awardees in your topic area (intelligence)}

## Recommended actions

{1-3 specific next steps — e.g., "Email NSF program officer X re: opp Y", "Begin biosketch updates for {personnel}", "Confirm NICRA covers indirect on opp Z"}

VALIDATION: Digest fits one screen; actions are concrete.

============================================================ === SELF-REVIEW ===

• Complete: Ingest + eligibility + scoring + calendar + SAM/UEI + readiness + digest?
• Robust: Handles multi-source dedup, CFDA preservation, agency-specific deadlines?
• Clean: Digest is actionable, not exhaustive?
• Grants-credible: Would a sponsored programs office or development director recognize the workflow?

Common gap: SAM.gov registration expiring mid-application cycle → reject. Verify annually with explicit reminder.

============================================================ === LEARNINGS CAPTURE ===

~/.claude/skills/grants-gov-monitor/LEARNINGS.md.

============================================================ === STRICT RULES ===

• Never apply for a grant where you're not eligible. Wasted effort + brand damage with agency.
• Never let SAM.gov registration expire. Annual renewal required; mid-cycle expiration = rejected award.
• Never skip the cost-share check. Agency match requirements are non-negotiable.
• Never pursue an opp with Pwin < 3.5 unless strategic (capability building, agency relationship).
• Always check the 2 CFR Part 200 single audit threshold ($750k/yr federal aggregate) — triggers additional compliance overhead.