Glossary

Grant Terms and Definitions

Grant Title

The title of the grant opportunity. 

Departmental Grant ID

The numeric or alphanumeric identifier assigned by the grantmaker to the grant opportunity. Not all agencies use Grant IDs.  

Portal ID

An numeric identifier assigned by the California Grants Portal assigned to all grants in the Grants Portal. The Portal ID is distinct from the Departmental Grant ID. 

Status

Forecasted

A grant opportunity that is planned but not yet actively accepting applications. A forecasted opportunity may appear on the Grants Portal with only a subset of grant information in order to allow prospective applicants to begin planning prior to its publication.

Active

A grant opportunity that is currently open to application submissions.

Closed

A grant opportunity that is no longer open to application submissions.

Opportunity Type

An opportunity is classified as either a grant or a loan. Grant opportunities do not require the awardee to repay any portion of the funding, while loan opportunities do.

Purpose

The grant purpose aims to answer at a high level why the grant exists  — what does the grantmaker intend for it to achieve? What are its goals and desired outcomes? 

Description

Where the grant purpose is high-level and brief, the grant description is a much more detailed summary touching on topics such as overall project scope, covered activities, eligibility exclusions, timeline, announcement mechanism, past/average awards, etc. 

Eligible Applicants

Nonprofit Organization

Any nonprofit or tax-exempt organization, including private schools and universities.  

Public Agency

Counties, cities, special districts, public K12 or higher education institutions, or any other government entity. 

Business

A for-profit sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or other type of business. 

Individual

A person applying for a funding opportunity on their own behalf (i.e., not on behalf of a company, organization, institution, or government).

Tribal Government

Federally recognized Tribes located in California and non-federally recognized Tribes located in California with an established government structure.

Other Legal Entity

This type encompasses all other legal entities that are not listed in the previous options, including but not limited to all trusts, estates, and other organizations that have legal rights and obligations.

Eligible Geographies

Certain grants require that recipients operate within specific geographic areas. This may be described by political subdivisions such as certain counties, cities, towns, special districts, etc., or in broader terms, such as entire regions, state or federal lands (e.g. the San Joaquin Valley, Sierra) or by certain features (rural/urban, proximity to water, etc.). 

Application Deadline

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight

Expected Award Announcement Date

The date on which the grantmaker expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant. 

Period of Performance

The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.

Total Estimated Available Funding 

The total projected dollar amount of the grant. Some agencies may not yet know the amount of funding available and will provide additional details. 

Expected Number of Awards

A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantmakers will determine in advance the exact number of awards to be given, while others may indicate a range and wait until the application period closes before determining the number of awards to offer. 

Estimated Amount Per Award  

Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.

Letter of Intent (LOI)

A Letter of Intent, Letter of Inquiry, Concept Paper, or similar document communicates the fundamentals of an applicant’s grant proposal in order for the grantmaker to quickly determine an applicant’s “fit” for the grant. Typically 1-3 pages long, LOIs require much less time to draft and review than a full-length application. If after reading the letter the grantmaker feels that the applicant is a viable candidate for the grant, they will invite the applicant to submit the full-length application. 

Matching Funding Requirement

Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source. 

Funding Source

The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either state, federal, or a combination of both, and tied to a budget, specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number. 

Funding Method

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantmaker) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).

Grant Guidelines

The web address at which grantseekers may access full and complete details of the grant opportunity. This may include a link to the grant’s RFP (request for proposal).  

Online Application

How and where to electronically submit grant applications and proposals to the grantmaker. 

Grantor’s Site

The web address at which applicants may learn more about the grantmaking agency or department. 

Subscribe to grant updates

The web address (if available) at which applicants may sign up to receive notifications from the grantmaker about the grant opportunity. 

Public Point of Contact Information

Grantmakers must provide a means for applicants to contact the agency or department with questions about the grant and its requirements.  An email address and phone number are required; agencies have the option not to identify a specific person to field inquiries. 

Post Award Terms and Definitions

Number of Applications Submitted

The number of applications received for this grant opportunity

Number of Grants Awarded

The number of individual grants awarded per grant opportunity   

Project Title 

The title of funded project 

Recipient Type 

The recipient type of award grantee: business, individual, nonprofit, other legal entity, public agency, or tribal government. (Refer to eligible applicant field definitions above under Grant Terms and Definitions.)

Primary Recipient Name

The name of the award grantee

Sub-Recipients

State agencies indicate if additional recipients (e.g. sub, secondary, or co-recipients/grantees) were listed in the application. The California Grants Portal does not collect additional information about sub-recipients. For more information about the names of additional recipients, please contact the administering agency.

Total Award Amount 

The total dollar amount awarded to the recipient through this grant or loan

Matching Funding

Matching amount from another funding source, if applicable. This may not comprise all additional project funding acquired by grantees. 

Beginning & End Date of the Project Funded by the Grant

The expected start and end date of grant activities

Project Abstract

An overview of project purpose, priorities, scope, and grant beneficiaries

Geographic Location Served 

The geographic region of the state served by the grant, including the designated local jurisdiction (i.e. counties)