Say the word "grant" and most people picture free money: a check that shows up, no strings attached, if you're lucky enough to know where to ask. From the outside, it's an easy assumption to make. From the inside, where I'm researching new grant opportunities, applying for them, and working alongside Long Island nonprofits that depend on them, they look very different. They're less like charity and more like a handshake.

A grant is money that a government, foundation or company gives to an organization or person to carry out a specific purpose, and it doesn't have to be paid back. The catch is in that word "purpose." The recipient agrees to do certain work, spend the money as promised and report on the results. It's a deal, not a handout.

This is the first in a series on grants here at Proof Positive Network, because I think grants will be crucial to a new, expanded layer of purpose-driven work. Consider it Grants 101: who gives grants, who gets them and what funders expect in return.

A grant is a transfer of money (or something else of value) to get a public-minded goal accomplished. The person or group giving it is the funder. The person or group receiving it is the grantee.

Federal law spells this out. Under 31 U.S.C. § 6304, a federal agency uses a grant when the main purpose is to transfer something of value to a recipient "to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation," rather than to buy goods or services for the government's own use. That last part is the key difference from a contract, where the funder is purchasing something for itself. ^[1]

So a grant pays for something the funder wants to see happen in the world: meals served, a marsh restored, kids tutored, a building made accessible. The grantee is the one who makes it happen.

Grant money comes from a handful of places, each with its own style.

Government – federal agencies, individual states, counties and towns. Federal opportunities are listed for free on Grants.gov. ^[2] Government grants tend to be larger and come with the most paperwork.

Private foundations – charitable organizations set up to give money away, often funded by one family or company. According to Giving USA, U.S. foundations gave about $117.2 billion in 2025, roughly 19% of the $617.2 billion Americans gave to charity that year. ^[3] They range from giants to neighborhood funders. The Gates Foundation, one of the largest in the world, gave about $8.5 billion in charitable support in 2025, mostly for global health and development. ^[4] Closer to home, the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation funds New York history projects with a focus on Long Island, from caring for museum collections to restoring historic buildings. ^[5]

Community foundations – public charities that pool donations from many people and give them back to nonprofits in one region. On Long Island, that's The New York Community Trust–Long Island, formerly the Long Island Community Foundation (more in the Long Island Lens below).

Corporations – companies giving through their own foundations or giving programs. Corporate giving reached about $43.7 billion in 2025. ^[3] On Long Island, a Bank of America grant has made admission to the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington free for everyone since 2024, and the museum's visitorship nearly doubled in two years, not just because of the grant (the staff there does outstanding work) but removing the cost friction certainly helps. ^[6]

What surprises most people: individuals, not foundations, give the biggest share of charitable dollars by far, nearly two-thirds. ^[3] Grants are important, but they're one slice of how good work gets paid for.

Most grants go to organizations, not individuals. The usual recipients are nonprofits (most often 501(c)(3) charities, which the IRS recognizes as tax-exempt), schools, hospitals and local governments.

Individuals can get grant-like money, but it usually comes in narrower forms: scholarships for students, fellowships for artists and researchers, and rebates or reimbursements for specific projects, like making a yard more water-friendly. A group that isn't a nonprofit yet can sometimes apply through a fiscal sponsor, an established nonprofit that agrees to receive and manage the grant on the group's behalf.

Some local groups pass government money on to their own communities. The Huntington Arts Council, for example, runs Long Island Grants for the Arts with funding from the New York State Council on the Arts, offering grants for community arts projects, arts education and individual artists' new work across Nassau and Suffolk. ^[7]

This is where the "free money" idea falls apart. A grant follows a cycle, and most of the work happens after the money arrives. Grants.gov describes the federal version as three phases: before the award, the award itself and after it. In practice, for government and private funders alike, it’s more like five steps. ^[8]

1. The funder announces what it wants to pay for. Sometimes it's a formal request for proposals for one specific project. Government agencies do this through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for federal grants, or a request for proposals (RFP) or applications (RFA) at the state and local level. It lays out who can apply, how much money is available, the deadline and how applications will be scored, which is exactly what reviewers grade against. ^[9] For foundations, it's more often a focus area, like hunger, education or the environment, laid out in the foundation's priorities, with an invitation for proposals that fit.

2. The applicant makes its case. It starts with eligibility: most funders only accept certain kinds of organizations in certain places, and many ask for a short letter of inquiry before inviting a full proposal. The Gardiner Foundation, for example, starts with an inquiry form and invites full applications only after a conversation and a site visit. ^[5] Many private foundations don't accept unsolicited proposals at all. They invite organizations they already know, which is why experienced grant seekers get to know program officers long before they apply. The full proposal is detailed. It typically lays out the need, the plan and timeline, a line-by-line budget, how results will be measured, and proof of nonprofit status. Often, program staff review it and recommend the strongest projects to the funder's board, which makes the final call. ^[10] Plenty of good proposals are still turned down, and every funder has its own forms and deadlines.

3. Both sides sign an agreement. The award spells out what the money can be used for. Money tied to a specific use is called restricted funding.

The opposite is unrestricted funding, often called general operating support: a grant for the organization's mission as a whole, which it can spend wherever it's needed most, including rent, salaries and technology. Nonprofits prize it, because those everyday costs keep the doors open, and without them there's no project to fund. ^[11]

Many funders still cap what they'll pay toward overhead. On federal awards, an organization without a negotiated rate can now charge up to 15% for indirect costs. ^[12]

4. The grantee does the work and reports on it. Recipients typically send two kinds of reports: financial reports showing how the money was spent and program reports showing what it accomplished. ^[8] Many government grants pay on a reimbursement basis: the nonprofit spends its own money first and gets paid back after it documents the costs, sometimes months later. For a small organization, covering that gap can be as hard as winning the grant. Organizations that spend $1 million or more in federal grant money in a year also need an independent audit, known as a Single Audit. ^[13]

5. The grant closes out. The funder reviews final reports. A good track record makes the next grant easier to win.

Some grants also require a match, meaning the grantee has to raise a share of the cost from somewhere else.

A common version is one-to-one. The National Endowment for the Arts, for example, requires arts project grantees to match every federal dollar with at least one dollar from other sources, so a $20,000 grant means a $40,000 project. ^[14]

The match doesn't always have to be cash. On federal grants, in-kind contributions (donated goods or services, such as volunteer time or donated equipment) can count toward it, as long as they're necessary for the project and documented in the grantee's records. ^[15] That's one reason a project with volunteers, local donors and partners already behind it is easier to fund: the grant isn't carrying the whole load.

If that sounds like a lot of work, it is. Funders want to know their money is being used effectively and efficiently, and that accountability is part of the deal. For nonprofits, it means real time and resources go into finding, applying for and managing grants, on top of doing the work the grant is meant to fund. It's also why people who are good at grant work are so valuable to the organizations they serve.

Seeing a grant as a deal changes how you approach one. Need gets you in the door, but funders aren't just looking for people who need money. They're looking for people who will get a specific thing done. And right now, we need people who can get things done more than ever. The strongest applications are clear about the problem, the plan and the proof.

Understanding grants also protects you. Grant scams work because people believe in free money, and AI is making those scams harder to spot. The Federal Trade Commission warns that the government won't contact you out of the blue to offer a grant, and no real agency charges a fee to receive one. Real grants require an application and serve a specific purpose. ^[16]

And maybe most importantly, grants open a door. More people I talk to are looking for work that feels meaningful, or thinking about starting something of their own. Grants are one of the main tools that make community work possible, and understanding them is a skill. A skill that can help write your next chapter, on your terms.

That matters because work itself is changing fast. About 1 in 5 U.S. workers (21%) said in early 2026 that their employer was reducing its workforce. ^[17] As more routine tasks get automated through AI, more of us are asking: What kind of work do we want to be doing? Where do we want to focus our efforts? What do we want our work to mean?

Nonprofit and community work offers what a lot of people are missing: work with a clear purpose and local, meaningful projects, with personal connection. Grants are often what pays for it, funding the staff, programs and projects that create those jobs and volunteer roles.

And the grant work itself is a career path. Grant writers, grant managers and development staff bring that money in and make sure it's used well. Fundraisers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics category that covers much of this work, earned a median of $72,550 in May 2025, and the field is projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, faster than average. ^[18]

You don't have to change careers to find that kind of connection and purpose. Volunteering is the easiest place to start: a few hours with a local nonprofit puts you alongside people doing work that matters, and many of those roles, paid and volunteer, exist because a grant made them possible. Find a volunteer opportunity or nonprofit job near you on PPN.

Do you have to pay a grant back?
Usually no, as long as you use the money as agreed. If a grantee spends it on something else or doesn't do the work, a funder can ask for some or all of it back. Money left unspent at the end of the grant period often has to be returned, too.

Can individuals get grants?
Sometimes. Most grants go to organizations, but scholarships, artist fellowships and some homeowner rebates go to individuals. A group without nonprofit status can often apply through a fiscal sponsor.

What's the difference between a grant and a loan?
A loan has to be repaid, usually with interest. A grant doesn't, but it comes with obligations: doing the promised work and reporting on it.

How long does it take to get a grant?
Usually months, not weeks. Foundations often decide at scheduled board meetings, and federal grants can take most of a year. The National Endowment for the Arts, for example, took applications in February 2026, notifies applicants in November at the earliest, and funded projects can start January 1, 2027. ^[21]

Someone called to say I qualify for a free government grant. Is it real?
No. The government doesn't call people to offer grants, and real grants never charge a fee. Hang up and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. ^[16]

Where can I find grants?
Federal grants are listed free on Grants.gov. ^[2] New York State grants are posted in the state's grants management system (SFS), where nonprofits must register and prequalify before applying. ^[22] For foundation grants, Candid's partner locations, often public libraries and nonprofit resource centers, offer free access to its Foundation Directory, with staff who can help you search. ^[23] Locally, community foundations like The New York Community Trust–Long Island, regrant programs like the Huntington Arts Council's, and county and town programs are good places to start.

Last updated November 4, 2026.

Sources

1. 31 U.S.C. § 6304 — Using grant agreements (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
2. Grants.gov — Federal grant opportunities
3. Giving USA 2026 — Charitable giving rose to $617.20 billion in 2025
4. Gates Foundation — Foundation Fact Sheet
5. Robert D.L. Gardiner Foundation — Grant guidelines and application
6. Heckscher Museum of Art — Bank of America Renews its Commitment to a Free Heckscher Museum Through 2026 (October 2025)
7. Huntington Arts Council — Statewide Community Regrants (Long Island Grants for the Arts)
8. Grants.gov — The Grant Lifecycle
9. 2 CFR § 200.204 — Notices of funding opportunities (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
10. The New York Community Trust (formerly the Long Island Community Foundation) — What the LICF Funds
11. Grantmakers for Effective Organizations — What is general operating support and why is it important?
12. 2 CFR § 200.414 — Indirect costs (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
13. 2 CFR § 200.501 — Audit requirements (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
14. National Endowment for the Arts — Grants for Arts Projects: Award Information
15. 2 CFR § 200.306 — Cost sharing or matching (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
16. Federal Trade Commission — Government Grant Scams
17. Gallup — U.S. Workers Continue to Report Downsizing (June 2026)
18. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Outlook Handbook: Fundraisers
19. Office of the Governor — $8.3 million in NY PLATES grants (October 26, 2026)
20. The New York Community Trust — Total Grants 2025 (2025 Long Island Grants)
21. National Endowment for the Arts — FY27 Grants for Arts Projects Guidelines (application calendar)
22. New York State Grants Management — Apply for a Grant (Statewide Financial System)
23. Candid — The nonprofit experts around the corner (free access at Candid partner locations)

Want to see a grant at work? Read our story "Horses, Healing, and a Grant Well Earned," or see how a different kind of deal pays landowners in "Getting Paid to Keep Forests Healthy."