For tribes
Federal grants for tribal governments and organizations
Find federal opportunities that list tribal governments and organizations as eligible, track deadlines, and keep applications organized across your staff.
Independent platform. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. Data from public federal sources.
Tribal applicant categories
Grants.gov uses specific applicant categories for tribal applicants, and each notice lists the ones it accepts:
- Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
- Native American tribal governments (other than federally recognized)
- Indian housing authorities
Some opportunities also accept tribal organizations or tribally controlled colleges and universities. Opportunities open to tribes are posted by many agencies and range from health and housing to public safety, environment, education and economic development. Some are limited to tribal applicants and many list tribes among several eligible types.
Reading a notice
- Eligibility. Whether federally recognized status is required, and whether tribal organizations or consortia may apply.
- Cost sharing. Whether a match is required, and whether it may be waived.
- Submission method and deadline. Where and when the application is due.
- Review criteria. How applications will be scored.
Registrations to start early
Most organizations need these before they can apply through Grants.gov. Registration is a step you take with each government system directly; GovGrantsUSA cannot do it for you.
- SAM.gov entity registration and UEI. Register your organization in SAM.gov to receive a Unique Entity ID. A UEI on its own, without a full registration, is not enough to apply directly for federal awards. Grants.gov notes activation can take up to 10 business days, and registration must be renewed every year.
- Login.gov. You sign in to SAM.gov with a Login.gov account.
- Grants.gov account and roles. Your organization's E-Business Point of Contact (named in SAM.gov) creates a Grants.gov organization profile with your UEI and assigns roles such as Authorized Organization Representative, the person allowed to submit.
Use the free Federal Grant Readiness Checklist to track what you have and what is missing.
How GovGrantsUSA helps
- Eligibility page. Browse open opportunities that list tribal governments and organizations as eligible.
- Grant alerts. Follow the agencies and topics you care about, with a daily check for new postings.
- Deadline reminders. Saved opportunities trigger reminders at 30, 14, 7 and 1 days.
- Shared workspace. Keep drafts, budgets and supporting documents in one place for your grants team.
One honest note: the matching engine gives applicant-type points only to business and nonprofit organization types today. Tribal governments should set their organization type to Other and rely mainly on the eligibility page and alerts.
Browse open opportunities
Free planning tools
- Federal Grant Readiness Checklist : Track the registrations every federal applicant needs and print a list of what is still missing.
- Application Timeline Planner : Work backwards from a deadline and download every milestone to your calendar.
- Grant Budget & Indirect Cost Calculator : Build a draft budget, apply a negotiated or de minimis indirect rate, and export it in SF-424A categories.
- Federal Awards Explorer : See which programs at each agency made the largest grant awards, from USASpending.gov data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other organization types
See which federal grants fit your organization
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