The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance – Where to Begin to Look for Federal Grant Money

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is a government-wide compendium of Federal programs, projects, services, and activities that provide assistance or benefits to the American public. It contains financial and nonfinancial assistance programs administered by departments and establishments of the Federal government.

The catalog had its genesis in 1984. The federal government transferred the responsibilities of the Federal Program Information Act from the Office of Management and Budget to the General Services Administration. Included in this transfer was the responsibility for the distribution of all Federal domestic assistance program information through the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

Responsibility for the database of Federal assistance lies with the GSA. The Office of Management and Budget interfaces with the range of Federal agencies on behalf of the General Services Administration delivering the required oversight to the program data related to domestic assistance.

As the basic reference source of Federal programs, the primary purpose of the Catalog is to assist users in identifying programs that meet specific objectives of the potential applicant, and to obtain general information on Federal assistance programs. In addition, the intent of the Catalog is to improve coordination and communication between the Federal government and State and local governments.

The Catalog lets grant seekers access all domestic programs managed by Federal agencies and departments in a single resource. All information is cross referenced by functional classification, subject, Applicant Index, Deadlines Index, and authorizing legislation. All of this information is invaluable as resource tools that can make it easier to identify specific areas of program interest more efficiently.

Since its inception the General Services Administration has produced a printed edition of the Catalog. Legislation dating back to 1977 required free dissemination of the Catalog to designated recipients. In 2003 the General Services Administration distributed almost 10,000 copies of the Catalog.

New federal legislation provides discretion to the GSA on how to maintain and distribute the CFDA. In keeping with the GSA’s Electronic-Government initiatives, the Government Paperwork Elimination Act the GSA now disseminates the Catalog electronically through the CFDA Website on the World Wide Web. As a result the GSA no longer prints or distributes free copies of the Catalog.

Michael has an MBA from the Stanford Business School. He maintains a site on federal grant money and is president of Information Organizers, LLC.