Category: Grants and Contracts
Contracts
HHS does not require any special business-related certifications. The Small Business Administration (SBA) certifies firms under their 8(a) Business Development Program, the Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Program and the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program.
Participants in the SBA 8(a) Business Development Program can receive sole-source contracts and are able to form joint ventures and teams to bid on contracts. The program status lasts for 9 years. To learn more and to apply for the program at SBA, visit: http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/8a-business-development-program
Information technology (IT) is the area where we receive the most small business inquiries, so the competition is substantial. When presenting your capabilities to potential customers, we suggest that you tailor your IT capabilities to specific functions, i.e., IT relating to medical analysis, data base management, or IT related to security.
HHS does not provide grants or loans to start small businesses. If you are seeking financial assistance to start a business or expand an existing business, please contact your local Small Business Administration office or visit the SBA.gov Web site.
Grants
The U. S. Supreme Court decided that faith-based organizations may not use direct government funds to support religious activity.
Indirect funding is funding that an organization receives as the result of the genuine and independent private choice of a beneficiary through a voucher, certificate, coupon, or other similar mechanism. Direct funding is funding that is provided to an organization directly by a governmental entity or intermediate organization that has the same duties as a government entity.
Discretionary grants are awarded competitively, typically for projects such as Hospital Preparedness Program, the Global AIDS program, and Cardiovascular Diseases Research. Formula/block grants are distributed based on authorizing legislation and are typically awarded to states or local agencies for specific services such as Medicaid, Medicare Services, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
No. The only official access point for all federal grants is to apply online at Grants.gov. Some scam artists advertise “free grants” in the classifieds, inviting readers to call a toll-free number for more information. Others are bolder: they call you out of the blue. They lie about where they’re calling from, claiming that you will receive a grant that you don’t have to pay back.
To make sure that grant funds are used properly, organizations that receive Federal funds must file regular financial status reports. These forms should not take long to complete, but they are important. The basic financial report form is the Standard Form 269.