Is this grant real? A 60-second checklist

Run these in order. The first "no" usually ends it.

1. Can I find it on the official portal? State grants: grants.ca.gov. Federal: grants.gov. Foundations: the foundation's own website. If it's nowhere official, it's unverified until proven otherwise. (Listings on this site show the portal ID so you can check in seconds.)
2. Is the application free? Any fee, at any stage, under any name: stop.
3. Did I apply, or did they come to me? Unsolicited "you've been selected" messages are fake. Unsolicited announcements that a program is open are fine; you still apply through the official site.
4. Is the sender's domain the real one? ca.gov or .gov for government; the foundation's own domain for foundations. Read it character by character.
5. Are the guidelines public? Real grants publish eligibility, deadlines or cycle, amounts, and a contact. "Details on request" or "details after payment" is a red flag.
6. What are they asking for, and when? An application asks about your organization and project. Bank details come later, after an award, through the agency's secure process. EIN, routing numbers, or officer SSNs requested up front, by phone, or via an emailed link: stop.

Still unsure?

Use the agency contact published on the official portal, not any contact in the message, and ask. Agencies would rather field the call than have their program used as bait.

Report it

reportfraud.ftc.gov for any grant scam. HHS Fraud Hotline 1-800-447-8477 if a federal health program is being impersonated. For California programs, the agency named in the real listing.

Read the full grant scams guide for nonprofits.

Sources and where to report

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Avoid Grant Scams
• Federal Trade Commission, Prize and Grant Scams
• Report a scam: reportfraud.ftc.gov. Impersonation of a federal grant program: the HHS Fraud Hotline, 1-800-447-8477. A California state program being impersonated: contact that agency directly through its listing on grants.ca.gov.

Grants for Nonprofits is an independent directory. We do not investigate scams or take reports; use the official channels above.