grants-gov-monitor

name	grants-gov-monitor
description	Monitor federal grant opportunities across Grants.gov (Simpler.grants.gov is the modern UX), SAM.gov assistance listings (the post-CFDA replacement that preserves CFDA program numbers), and direct agency portals — NIH RePORTER + NIH Guide, NSF Funding, DOE OSTI, USDA NIFA, EPA Grants, NEH/NEA, IES (Education), CDC, FEMA, HUD CPD, ACF. Generates a daily pipeline with eligibility filtering (501(c)(3), educational, state/local gov, tribal, individual, for-profit), CFDA program number tagging, deadline tracking (LOI vs full app), match-requirement detection (cost-share %), single-audit threshold awareness ($750k+/yr triggers 2 CFR Part 200), capability-statement match scoring, and proposal-readiness scaffold. TRIGGER on "Grants.gov", "federal grants", "NIH funding", "NSF funding", "DOE grant", "USDA grant", "CFDA", "grant monitoring", "nonprofit grants", "research grants", "Notice of Funding Opportunity", "NOFO", "Funding Opportunity Announcement", "FOA", "K award", "R01", "SBIR", "STTR".
version	1.0.0
category	analysis
platforms	["CLAUDE_CODE"]

Federal Grants Monitor

You build a pipeline of federal grant opportunities matched to your organization's eligibility, capability, and capacity. The 2026 landscape: 2,200+ federal assistance programs (per SAM.gov assistance listings, which replaced CFDA). GrantMetric reports ~900+ active opportunities across NIH/NSF/DOD/USDA/EPA/etc. The discipline isn't finding grants — it's filtering them.

============================================================ === PRE-FLIGHT ===

• Organization type: 501(c)(3), 501(c)(6), educational (IHE), state/local government, tribal, for-profit small business (SBIR/STTR eligibility), individual researcher.
• Mission focus / research domain: biomedical, energy, education, environment, social services, arts, defense, agriculture.
• NAICS / discipline codes: define what the org can credibly execute.
• Past awards: prior NIH/NSF/agency grants enable continuation funding paths.
• DUNS/UEI: org must have UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) at SAM.gov to receive awards.
• Cost-share capacity: many federal programs require 10-50% match. If you can't match, filter those out.
• Indirect rate: federally negotiated rate or de minimis 10% MTDC.

Recovery:

• New org without UEI: route to SAM.gov registration first (3-5 days for new registrations).
• For SBIR/STTR: validate small-business criteria (≤ 500 employees, US-owned, primary place of business in US).

============================================================ === PHASE 1: OPPORTUNITY INGESTION ===

Pull from multiple sources daily:

Grants.gov API (open, no key required):

GET https://api.grants.gov/v1/api/search2
  ?keyword={query}
  &oppStatuses=forecasted|posted
  &eligibilities={code_list}
  &fundingCategories={cat_list}
  &agencies={agency_list}

SAM.gov Assistance Listings: 2,200+ programs with CFDA numbers (still used as program identifiers post-CFDA sunset). Use SAM.gov API.

Agency-specific portals:

• NIH Guide: parameterized RSS / API for FOAs (R01, K series, R21, R03, SBIR, STTR). https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/
• NSF Funding: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/ — programs across directorates (BIO, CSE, ENG, GEO, MPS, EHR, SBE).
• DOE OSTI: science.osti.gov for DOE Office of Science.
• USDA NIFA: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities — AFRI, BFRDP, etc.
• EPA Grants: epa.gov/grants
• NEH/NEA: humanities + arts.
• IES (Department of Education): https://ies.ed.gov/funding/

Persist all opportunities to a local DB with schema:

{
  "opp_id": "...",
  "source": "GRANTS_GOV|SAM_AL|NIH|NSF|DOE|...",
  "title": "...",
  "agency": "...",
  "cfda_number": "93.279",
  "summary": "...",
  "eligibility_codes": ["...", "..."],
  "category": ["...", "..."],
  "funding_total_estimate": 5000000,
  "award_floor": 100000,
  "award_ceiling": 500000,
  "expected_award_count": 10,
  "post_date": 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

VALIDATION: Daily ingestion captures > 95% of newly-posted opportunities. Diff vs previous day produces a clean "new today" list.

============================================================ === PHASE 2: ELIGIBILITY FILTER ===

Filter the universe to opportunities the user can actually apply for:

Eligibility Code	Org Types
00	Unrestricted
01	County governments
02	City or township
04	Special district
05	Independent school district
06	Public/State controlled IHE
07	Native American tribal organizations (federally recognized)
08	Public housing authorities
11	Native American tribal organizations (non-federally recognized)
12	Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status
13	Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status
20	Private institutions of higher education
21	Individuals
22	For-profit organizations (non-small businesses)
23	Small businesses
25	Others
99	Unrestricted

Map user's org type → eligibility codes → opportunities. Hide non-eligible. Surface "near eligible" (e.g., need fiscal sponsor) separately.

VALIDATION: Filter precision ≥ 95% (no false-positive "eligible" opportunities).

============================================================ === PHASE 3: CAPABILITY MATCH SCORING ===

Beyond eligibility, score each opportunity on capability fit:

Dimension	Score 1-5	Notes
Subject-matter fit	1 = adjacent, 5 = on-mission	Cosine similarity of opp summary vs org capability statement
Prior award credibility	1 = no past, 5 = active funded researcher in the program	Pull from NIH RePORTER / USAspending
Award size fit	1 = too small to bother / too big to credibly win, 5 = right size for org capacity	$25k-$1M sweet spot for small nonprofits
Deadline reality	1 = < 30 days (rushed), 5 = > 90 days	Quality proposals need 6-12 weeks
Match feasibility	1 = can't meet match, 5 = no match required	Tag opps with > 25% match if user lacks capacity
Competition density	1 = R01 (10% success rate), 5 = niche small business (40%+)	Pull historical award rate per program

Composite Pwin = weighted average. Pursue threshold: ≥ 3.5.

VALIDATION: Each opp has Pwin score with rationale per dimension.

============================================================ === PHASE 4: DEADLINE CALENDAR ===

Generate calendar with critical dates per opportunity:

• LOI (Letter of Intent) deadline — often 6-8 weeks before full app
• Full application deadline — the binding date
• Pre-application consultation window — for programs that strongly encourage agency contact (NSF program officer, NIH program contact)
• Renewal / continuation cycles — for K/R awards
• JIT (Just-In-Time) submission — NIH-specific (post-review)

Output grants_calendar.ics. Reminder: 12 weeks / 8 weeks / 4 weeks / 2 weeks / 1 week before each deadline.

VALIDATION: Calendar imports cleanly. Reminders fire at expected intervals.

============================================================ === PHASE 5: SAM.GOV + UEI READINESS ===

Before applying, verify:

• UEI exists at SAM.gov
• SAM.gov registration is ACTIVE (not expired — annual renewal required)
• Org has Federal Tax ID (EIN) on file
• If applicable: System for Award Management (SAM) Reps & Certs current
• Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) — or default to de minimis 10% MTDC
• CCR / SAM Entity Management has no exclusions / debarments
• Workspace at Grants.gov configured with the right roles (AOR, signing official, etc.)

Generate sam_uei_health_check.md flagging any gaps.

VALIDATION: SAM.gov registration verified within 30 days. Expired registration blocks federal awards.

============================================================ === PHASE 6: PROPOSAL READINESS SCAFFOLD ===

For each "pursue" opportunity, generate the proposal-prep package:

• Capability statement (org-level, agency-tailored)
• Bio sketches for key personnel (NIH biosketch format if NIH; NSF Current & Pending Support if NSF)
• Specific Aims / Research Strategy template per agency (NIH 1-page Specific Aims, 12-page Research Strategy)
• Budget template per agency rules (PHS 398, NSF FastLane / Research.gov, etc.)
• Budget justification template (personnel by % effort, equipment, supplies, travel, indirect)
• Data Management Plan (NSF DMP, NIH DMSP)
• Resource Sharing Plan (NIH model organisms, software)
• Letters of Support template (collaborators, vendors, advisors)
• Compliance: IRB / IACUC / IBC / Conflict of Interest disclosures
• Single Audit awareness: $750k+/yr federal aggregate triggers 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F single audit

Output proposal_kit/{opp_id}/ directory.

VALIDATION: Kit has all standard sections; agency-specific templates populated.

============================================================ === PHASE 7: WEEKLY DIGEST ===

Schedule weekly Monday digest:

# Grants Pipeline — Week of {date}

## New opportunities this week ({N})

{Filtered list with Pwin ≥ 2 — surface broader pool, even if below pursue threshold}

## Pursue queue ({M})

{Opps with Pwin ≥ 3.5 + LOI/app deadline within 12 weeks}

## Deadlines this month

{Calendar excerpt}

## Closed / awarded

{Recent awardees in your topic area (intelligence)}

## Recommended actions

{1-3 specific next steps — e.g., "Email NSF program officer X re: opp Y", "Begin biosketch updates for {personnel}", "Confirm NICRA covers indirect on opp Z"}

VALIDATION: Digest fits one screen; actions are concrete.

============================================================ === SELF-REVIEW ===

• Complete: Ingest + eligibility + scoring + calendar + SAM/UEI + readiness + digest?
• Robust: Handles multi-source dedup, CFDA preservation, agency-specific deadlines?
• Clean: Digest is actionable, not exhaustive?
• Grants-credible: Would a sponsored programs office or development director recognize the workflow?

Common gap: SAM.gov registration expiring mid-application cycle → reject. Verify annually with explicit reminder.

============================================================ === LEARNINGS CAPTURE ===

~/.claude/skills/grants-gov-monitor/LEARNINGS.md.

============================================================ === STRICT RULES ===

• Never apply for a grant where you're not eligible. Wasted effort + brand damage with agency.
• Never let SAM.gov registration expire. Annual renewal required; mid-cycle expiration = rejected award.
• Never skip the cost-share check. Agency match requirements are non-negotiable.
• Never pursue an opp with Pwin < 3.5 unless strategic (capability building, agency relationship).
• Always check the 2 CFR Part 200 single audit threshold ($750k/yr federal aggregate) — triggers additional compliance overhead.