NOFO Frequently Asked Questions.pdf

Bureau of Reclamation

Financial Assistance Operations

General Frequently Asked Questions & Answers to

Notice of Funding Opportunities

1) Where do I need to register to apply for a grant through the Bureau of Reclamation?

To apply for a grant through the Bureau of Reclamation, your organization must complete the following required registrations:

• Unique Entity ID (UEI): Establish a UEI number in SAM.gov. A UEI is required for federal grant applications.

• System for Award Management (SAM): Register your organization in SAM.gov. This registration is required for all entities seeking federal funding. Confirm your SAM.gov registration account is active and up to date at application submission.

• Grants.gov: This is the default system for applying for Federal grant opportunities. You will need to create an account and register your organization.

It is important to have your authorized organization representatives (also referred to as signing officials, entity administrators, or e-business points of contact) responsible for maintaining active registrations. The registration process may be completed in two weeks; however, some organization may experience delays that could extend this timeframe to six or more weeks.

To avoid issues with ineligibility for grant consideration, it is recommended to start the registration process at least six weeks prior to the application deadline. This proactive approach is crucial to ensuring your organization is ready to apply grant opportunities.

2) How long will it take to get registered?

It may take six weeks or more to complete the process. While many organizations can complete the process relatively quickly, issues can arise that make this process take much longer. Be sure to start the registration process at least six weeks before the application deadline. Failure of an applicant to submit on time because they did not complete registration in SAM.gov or Grants.gov will result in your application being found ineligible for consideration.

3) How can I get help with grants.gov?

First, check out the Applicant support center website: Applicant FAQs | Grants.gov

If you can’t find your answer there, you can email support@grants.gov or call 1-800-518-4726 (open 24/7 except for federal holidays).

4) Who can I contact for help with the UEI and/or SAM.gov registration process?

https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-faqs#faq-top mailto:support@grants.gov

Please visit the Federal Service Desk at www.fsd.gov where you can find answers to many common issues. Through that website, you may also submit a help desk ticket or use the live chat feature. You can also call the Federal Service desk at 1-866-606-8220.

Additional guidance on registration:

SAM Registration (UEI) First, you must register with SAM.gov to obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). The UEI is a 12-character alphanumeric identifier assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) to do business with the Federal Government. Organizations will also need to designate an E-Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC).

After obtaining the UEI for the organization from SAM.gov, you must return to Grants.gov to continue registration.

Your organization’s EBiz POC must:

1. Create a Grants.gov account with the same email address as used in SAM.gov for EBiz POC, and

2. Add a profile with Grants.gov using the UEI obtained from SAM.gov www.sam.gov/content/entity-registration

• SAM.gov will assign you a Unique Entity ID as part of entity registration.

• If your entity fails TIN or CAGE code validation, you will receive an email with instructions on updating your information and resubmitting your registration. Please check your spam or junk mail for messages during this time; messages will be sent to the Government Business

POC. You may need to work with the IRS or CAGE to update your information before resubmitting your registration.

5) How do I check the status of my entity registration?

If you have a role with an entity and are signed in to your SAM.gov account, you can check your entity registration status. You can also check the status of an entity’s registration as a federal user. If none of these is the case, you cannot check an entity’s registration status.

1. Sign in to SAM.gov. You must be signed in to check your registration status.

2. From the home page, select the “Check Registration Status” button. The page is also linked in the footer of all pages on SAM.gov.

3. Enter a Unique Entity ID or CAGE Code and select “Search.” The entity’s registration status will display below.

6) What do the different registration statuses mean in SAM.gov?

Answer:

http://www.fsd.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/content/entity-registration

ID Assigned

When you request a Unique Entity ID (SAM) and confirm your organization’s information, your entity is assigned a Unique Entity ID (SAM). The status of your entity record is “ID Assigned.” This status indicates you have an identifier assigned and do not have an active entity registration in SAM.gov.

This status is visible to all authenticated SAM.gov users if the entity has opted into public display. This status is only visible to users who have a role with the entity and federal users if the entity has opted out of public display.

Pending ID Assignment

The “Pending ID Assignment” status means your entity information is in the process of validation and a Unique Entity ID has not been assigned. You will see this status if you submitted a validation incident ticket while trying to validate your entity name and physical address during registration or receiving a Unique entity ID. This status is visible to the person who started to register or receive a Unique Entity ID and to help desk agents.

Unvalidated ID

When SAM.gov has established a Unique Entity ID for an entity, but that entity has not gotten its UEI on SAM.gov, or SAM.gov is waiting for the entity to be validated, it will be in the “Unvalidated ID” status. This status is only viewable by federal users with permissions to view sensitive entity information.

Work in Progress Registration

If you begin but do not complete an entity registration in SAM.gov, you will have an entity record with the “Work in Progress'' status. Work in Progress Registrations are held in SAM.gov for up to 90 days. If you do not access or submit your Work in Progress Registration within the 90-day timeframe, the system will remove it.

Submitted Registration

If you have submitted a registration, and it is pending the TIN and CAGE validation, you will have an entity record in the “Submitted” status. Once the validations are complete, then the status will update to the “Active Registration” status.

Active Registration

After you submit your registration for review and it passes all the required processing and validation, your registration will have the "Active Registration" status. You must renew your registration each year to remain in the “Active Registration” status. Entities with an Active Registration that opted into public display are searchable and viewable by authenticated users in SAM.gov.

Entities with an Active Registration that opted out of public display are searchable and viewable only by authenticated federal users and users who have a SAM.gov role with the entity.

Inactive Registration

If you do not take action to renew your entity registration each year, your registration will expire and have the “Inactive Registration” status. Inactive Registrations that opted in to public display remain searchable and viewable by authenticated users in SAM.gov. Inactive Registrations that opted out of public display are only searchable and viewable by authenticated federal users and authenticated public users with roles with the entity in SAM.gov.

Deleted/Deactivated

If an administrator of an entity deactivates a registration record, the record is removed from the system. It is not searchable or viewable by any SAM.gov user, and it is not recoverable. If you want to re-register the entity, you must wait 24 hours from deactivation and start a new entity registration.

https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0016307

7) Why is my entity registration not showing as active yet?

If you notice your registration has had a status of Submitted for longer than 14 days, and you have not otherwise been contacted to correct or update any information, please contact the Federal Service Desk at 866-606-8220 or www.fsd.gov.

8) How do I start the application process on Grants.gov?

To begin the application process under this grant announcement, go to www.grants.gov and click the red

“Apply” button at the top of the view grant opportunity page. If you encounter technical difficulties or the

Apply button is grayed out, please contact grants.gov for assistance at the grants.gov support center at support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726. Please note: To apply through Grants.gov, you must use Adobe

Reader software and download the compatible Adobe Reader version. For more information about Adobe

Reader, to verify compatibility, or to download the free software, please visit Adobe Reader

Compatibility Information on Grants.gov.

9) What if I have multiple accounts with SAM or multiple UEIs?

Applicants need to ensure that the AOR who submits the application through Grants.gov and whose UEI is listed on the application is an AOR for the applicant listed on the application. Additionally, the UEI listed on the application must be registered to the applicant organization's SAM account, and the organization’s name as registered in SAM must match the name of the organization associated with the

UEI. If not, the application may be deemed ineligible.

10) Can I submit a paper application?

The applicant may submit a paper application if approved by the Reclamation Grants Officer and if the applicant is found to be under exigent circumstances (i.e., Federally declared disaster area). Applications sent by mail without prior approval will be rejected and deemed ineligible.

The applicant may request an exemption from the required electronic application submission due to exigent circumstances, by submitting an email request to the Reclamation Grants Officer for approval.

Applicants may email exemption requests to bor-sha-fafoa@usbr.gov. All emailed exemption requests must include the following information:

❑ NOFO Number and the language: “Exigent Circumstances Request for FY [insert year]” in the subject line of the email, ❑ NOFO title and number, ❑ Application due date of the specified NOFO, ❑ Assistance Listing number, ❑ Name of the applicant organization and UEI number(s), ❑ Authorized organizational representative name and contact information (phone and email address), https://www.fsd.gov/

❑ The name and email of the point of contact regarding matters involving the application, and ❑ The exigent circumstances justification to prevent an electronic application submission.

The Grants Officer must receive exigent circumstances requests no later than 2 weeks or 14 days before the application due date listed within the NOFO. Reclamation will acknowledge requests for exemption from required electronic application submission with a written approval or disapproval via email from the Grants Officer within 7 business days.

11) Can I submit a late application?

Late applications are not accepted. Any applications received after the deadline, regardless of the form of submission, will be deemed ineligible. We strongly encourage you to plan ahead and submit early. Failure of an applicant to submit timely because they did not properly or timely register in SAM.gov or

Grants.gov is not an acceptable reason to justify a late submission. Minor problems are not uncommon during submissions to Grants.gov. It is essential to allow sufficient time to ensure that your application is submitted to Grants.gov before the due date identified in the NOFO.

12) How do I know my application was received?

After submitting an application to Grants.gov, it provides users with the electronic equivalent of a postmark stamp on a confirmation screen. It contains the date and time the application was received by

Grants.gov. Applicants should print out this page for their records. You may also verify the status of your application while logged in at this link: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/track-my-application.html

Please note that successful submission through Grants.gov does not mean your application is eligible for award.

13) Why can’t I upload a revised document?

You will need to download duplicate forms from the specific opportunity link itself, so they will be recognized by the system. After downloading and uploading all the files into the forms again you will be able to submit. If for some reason that doesn’t work, you will need to contact the helpdesk.

14) Why is the Apply button grayed out?

If you encounter technical difficulties or the Apply button is grayed out, you may not have the role necessary to move forward. According to Grants.gov, "The Standard AOR role allows the user to submit https://grants.gov/applicants/grant-applications/track-my-application the final application, among other things. The Workspace Manager role, meanwhile, is the most basic core role in Grants.gov. It is the minimum role required to create a workspace and begin work on an application." See more information about roles here: Workspace-Roles | Grants.gov.

Please contact grants.gov for further assistance at the grants.gov support center at support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726.

https://www.grants.gov/applicants/workspace-overview/workspace-roles mailto:support@grants.gov