Never pay to apply for a grant

There is no stage of a legitimate grant that costs money. Not applying, not processing, not "releasing" funds, not insurance against non-payment. If a fee appears anywhere, stop.

How the fee is dressed up

• "Processing" or "administrative" fee: usually small ($50–$500) to feel reasonable. Real agencies fund their own administration.
• "Release" or "transfer" fee: you've been "awarded" a large sum and need to pay to unlock it. Awards are paid by the grantor, never unlocked by the grantee.
• "Tax" or "insurance" on the award: grants to nonprofits are not taxed up front, and no grantor requires you to insure its own payment.
• A fee to see the application link: some commercial databases charge for access to details. That's a business model, not necessarily a scam, but the grant itself is always free to find on the grantor's site. This site exists so you don't have to pay to see the link.
• Paid "pre-qualification" or "eligibility review": eligibility is published in the grant guidelines for free.

How they want to be paid

Scammers ask for payment methods that can't be reversed: wire transfers, gift cards, prepaid debit cards, cryptocurrency, payment apps to a personal account. The HHS guide is explicit that federal agencies never ask anyone to wire money or load a prepaid card. Neither do California agencies. A request for any of these is the end of the conversation.

What's legitimately not free

Hiring a grant writer, buying a training course, or subscribing to a research tool costs money, and that's fine when you choose it. The difference: those are services you buy from a vendor, not conditions a grantor places on an application. A vendor who claims the fee is required by the funder is misrepresenting the funder.

If you already paid

Contact your bank or card issuer immediately; card payments can sometimes be reversed, wires and gift cards usually can't. Report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov even if the money is gone; reports are how patterns get shut down.

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.