The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009....

(prevalently known as “the stimulus package”), provides opportunities to nonprofits through government grants, contracts, support of public programs, and more. Information about these opportunities seems to be evolving almost daily.

We've broken resources down by subsector to ensure that the programs government agencies are funding are easily reviewable as it relates to your specific field of service. This will also give us an opportunity to route policy updates, new opportunities and deadlines that are specific to a certain area, right to you, without the need for you to search through pages upon pages of information!

The Latest News on Federal Opportunities through the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

All competitive national grants are listed at http://www.grants.gov

• Click on “Recovery Act Grant Opportunities”.
• Click on “Close Date” in order to see the list in descending order (that is, to see at the top of the list, the deadlines that have not yet passed)

There are currently 96 competitive Grants listed at this site...

• 60 grant deadlines have passed as of September 14, 2009
• 15 grant deadlines will be passed by September 30
• 9 more deadlines will be passed in October.

Of the 36 grants programs that are still active...

• In 23 of them Arkansas nonprofits are ineligible to apply or are unlikely to be considered for reasons including geography, supplemental grants limited to  current grantees, major facility construction, and other.
• Five (5) grant programs are limited to certain applicants (the state, city or Workforce Investment Boards) but nonprofits may play a partnership role with the successful funded entity.
• Eight grant programs may be worth a look by Arkansas nonprofits. 

 Click here to view a listing of competitive grants, which includes 8 possible nonprofit grant programs and the 5 possible partnership opportunities.

Caveat: Review of the grants and eligibility is somewhat subjective. This analysis is offered in an attempt to help Arkansas nonprofits focus in on likely opportunities.  Through careful consideration and using contacts and relationships, nonprofits may be able to partner in stimulus programs that we have deemed unlikely for most nonprofits.

Practical Tips When Seeking Recovery Act Funding Opportunities

1. Plan ahead when applying for a federal grant on http://www.grants.gov/.

• You must first register for, and receive a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number. It may take several days to receive this number. You must also register with Central Contractor Registration to receive a CCR number. For more information on how to obtain a DUNS and/or CCR number, click here. You can also follow this link to get more information on the significance of having a DUNS and CCR number.
• Don't wait until the last minute to file your grant application. Due to processing backlogs, allow for at least 72 hours before the due date deadline when submitting your application.
• Try to file your application during off-hours (night or early morning) when the site is not as busy.

2. Find grant opportunities and updates from the State of Arkansas’ Recovery page .

3. Many contracting opportunities may be available through county or municipal governments or school districts. Know and contact your local elected officials or local government departments. A directory of state, city, county, and municipal governments may be found under the Government section of the Arkansas government website. 

4. Contracting and some grant opportunities with the state government agencies are announced by the Division of Purchasing, Department of Personnel and Administration. To respond to a contract solicitation, you must be registered on BIDS.

More information coming soon! For general questions, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .