FY 2025 Application Instructions FINAL.docx

Instructions for Application to the Grants for Adaptive Sports Programs for Disabled Veterans and Members of the Armed Forces program Opportunity Number: VA-SPORTS-25 and VA-EQUINE-25

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE PROCESS PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING -

· VA Adaptive Sports Grant Program is for non-federal government entities with significant experience in managing a large-scale adaptive sports program for persons with disabilities, if those disabilities are those that many Veterans and members of the Armed Forces have experienced.

· Electronic submission via Grants.gov is mandatory; hard copy submissions are not accepted.

· Applications for the FY2025 VA Adaptive Sports Grant program must be submitted by 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 2, 2025.

· Information including Frequently Asked Questions and Required Forms are posted on the VA Adaptive Sports Grant Program webpage (https://www.blogs.va.gov/nvspse/grant-program/) during the application period.

· All attachments the applicant develops should be in Arial font, 12-point, black print on white background.

· If the adaptive sports activities will be implemented through partnerships, signed documentation of the partners confirming a partnership are strongly recommended. Without the partnership documentation, the project will be evaluated as the proposed partnership has not been officially established and cannot be verified.

STEP 1: The applicant must have and maintain a Unique Entity Identifier (SAM.gov | DUNS - Sam UEI), and then register in the System for Award Management (SAM) (https://www.sam.gov/SAM/). Finally, the applicant must register at Grants.gov (grants.gov/register).

· Registration may take up to 4 weeks to complete all steps.

· UEI Number has replaced the DUNS and Bradstreet Number

· NOTE – There are no fees associated with any step of this application process, this includes registration SAM.gov and Grants.gov, and acquiring a UEI number.

· Resources for SAM registration can be found at SAM Learning Center (https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp/?id=gsa_landing).

· Some browsers, such as Internet Explorer or other legacy browsers, will not access SAM.

STEP 2: Identify Opportunity Number VA-SPORTS-25 or VA-EQUINE-25 in Grants.gov to create your application. Training on using Grants.gov Workspace is located at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

STEP 3: Identify which of the two application types to submit – (1) Renewal or (2) Application Initial and Noncompetitive Application

· (1) Renewal Application: If your application meets the following definition:

· After receiving an initial grant, grantees may apply for a renewal grant if the grantee's program will remain substantially the same. The grantee must submit to VA a complete renewal application as described in the NOFA. Because evaluations of renewal applications rely on performance data related to the initial grant, the application and supporting documentation may vary from the initial application; however, renewal applications are competitive grants and will be evaluated under competitive grant selection processes.

· (2) Initial and Noncompetitive Application: If your application meets either of the following definitions:

· Initial - To apply for an initial grant, an applicant must submit to VA a complete grant application package, as described in the NOFA.

· Noncompetitive - When a condition exists for a noncompetitive grant as outlined in § 77.15, the adaptive sports entity may submit a noncompetitive application that meets the same format as outlined for competitive grants set forth in the NOFA.

STEP 4: Include the following VA Forms and documents in your application

· Access and complete the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance using Grants.gov Workspace (required)

· Upload the additional application form and documents to your Grants.gov Workspace:

· VA Form 10096 Adaptive Sports Grant Application (required)

· Narrative (required)

· Budget Details (required)

· Partnerships (required, if applicable per the NOFA)

· Support (Optional)

· Complete the VA Form 10091 Vendor File Request through the VA Customer Engagement Portal: https://www.cep.fsc.va.gov/(required)

NOTE:

SF-424 is located in Grants.gov. Information to complete these forms are located at Grants.gov https://www.grants.gov/forms/forms-repository/sf-424-family VA Form 10096 is available on the VA Adaptive Sports Grant webpage in the “Apply tab” https://department.va.gov/veteran-sports/grant-program/

STEP 5: Before you submit, be sure to:

· Review all documents for completeness and accuracy.

· Grants.gov does not provide a review process for mandatory data

· Review all documents for mandatory signatures.

· Review all documents for allowable expenses. Unallowable expenses are not authorized and are grounds for elimination of the application from consideration for award. Expenses that are not clearly allowable will be deemed unallowable by VA.

· Review documents for compliance with naming protocols established in Section IV.(B) of the VA-SPORTS-25 and VA-EQUINE-25 Notice of Funding Availabilities (NOFA).

· SF-424.pdf (required)

· VA-10091.pdf (required)

· VA-10096.pdf (required)

· Narrative.pdf (required)

· Budget Details.pdf (required)

· Partnership.pdf (required, if applicable)

· Support.pdf (Optional)

How to know your submission is complete:

After clicking on the “Sign and Submit” button in Workspace you will receive the Confirmation Page and be provided a tracking number.

You may review the status of your grant request at http://www.grants.gov/ website.

How to track the status of a completed grant application:

· The applicant can check the status on the Track My Application page at https://grants.gov/applicants/grant-applications/track-my-application

· The applicant may identify their application by Assistance Listing, Funding Opportunity Number, Competition ID, and/or Grants.gov Tracking Number.

· The Track My Application feature only provides information on whether or not VA has downloaded the application for review. Therefore, once it is downloaded, subsequent information on status will be provided by VA. Notifications from VA are estimated to be sent on or prior to September 30, 2025.

· Applicants will not necessarily be contacted by VA prior to the award announcements.