Financial assistance is the transfer to a non-federal recipient anything of value for a public purpose, and at DHS includes grants, cooperative agreements, training, loans, direct payments, and flood insurance. Eight DHS Components manage financial assistance to support the DHS mission.
Eight DHS Components and Directorates manage DHS financial assistance programs:
- Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD)
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
- U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- U.S. Secret Service (USSS)
FEMA manages 70% of the DHS financial assistance programs and awards 98% of the DHS financial assistance funding through disaster and non-disaster grants, cooperative agreements, loans, direct payments, and flood insurance.
The DHS Office of Chief Financial Officer’s (OCFO) Financial Assistance Policy and Oversight (FAPO) Division leads the Department's Financial Assistance Line of Business (FALoB) by providing oversight of DHS financial assistance programs. FAPO serves as the central financial assistance resource for all DHS Component Program Offices (POs) and Financial Awarding Offices (FAOs). FAPO develops and implements policy, conducts oversight reviews, and tracks and reports financial assistance activities throughout the financial assistance lifecycle phases: pre-award, award, post award, and closeout; as well as internal controls.
Grants.gov is the source to find and apply for federal financial assistance. DHS uses Grants.gov to post notices of funding opportunity (NOFOs). There is a registration process for Grants.gov that may take up to three weeks to complete. Grants.gov is the federal wide system utilized by government agencies. Registering with Grants.gov allows applicants to apply for financial assistance opportunities for all federal agencies.
- Assistance Listings (ALs) are detailed public descriptions of federal programs that provide grants, loans, scholarships, insurance, and other types of assistance awards. You may browse assistance listings across all government agencies to learn about potential funding sources.
- DHS Standard Terms and Conditions are the legal requirements imposed on a financial assistance award, whether based on regulation, policy or other document referenced in the award, or specified in the notice of award (NOA) document itself. The NOA may include both standard and special conditions that are considered necessary to attain the award's objectives, facilitate post-award administration, or otherwise protect the Federal Government's interests.
The applicable DHS Standard Terms and Conditions for grants, cooperative agreements, fixed amount awards, and other types of federal financial assistance are based on the fiscal year in which the financial assistance award was funded.
- Title 2, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 200, “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards." 2 CFR Part 200, or Uniform Guidance, is the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance to federal agencies on government-wide policies and procedures for the award and administration of federal financial assistance. Recent revisions to the Uniform Guidance will take effect on all new federal awards made on or after October 1, 2024.