Both scholarships and grants are types of financial aid to pay for college, they’re not the same. Grants are a form of financial aid, based on need, which you do not have to repay. Grants are generally awarded by federal and state governments for students attending colleges, career schools, and universities. Grants, unlike loans, do not have to be repaid. There are a variety of grant resources online and and many are outlined below. For scholarships go to Fastweb, which matches students to scholarship and internship opportunities.

Information on Grants

What Should I Know About Education Grants?
Information on how to get and manage a grant from US Department of Education.

Department of Education Overview of Education Grants
Outline of the three types of grants offered by the US Department of Education.

Federal Pell Grants
The Pell Grant is a federally funded grant program that has been around since 1965. Fortunately, the program today is bigger than ever, in dollars awarded and students helped. With the 2024–25 award year, the new FAFSA form updates student aid calculations, that extend Federal Pell Grants to more students. Pell Grant eligibility will be linked to family size and the federal poverty level, expanding access to federal student aid. Pell recipients may receive more aid, some will receive the maximum Pell Grant.

More students are set to earn the $7,395 maximum Pell Grant award for the 2024-2025 award year. The number of eligible students could grow with proposed SAI formula adjustments garner congressional approval. More details are expected in late March.

Find out more about the Pell Grant and all Federal Grants:

• Pell Grants 101: Everything You Need to Know
• Federal Student Grant Programs
• Biden’s Budget Impacts to Pell Grant, Community College

Resources for Grants

Sam.Gov (Federal Contractor Registry)
Sam.gov is the official U.S. government website for people who make, receive, and manage federal awards. It hosts the CFDA, a searchable directory of federal programs that provide assistance benefits to the American public. Many grant programs are listed.

Funding Information Portal (UNC Chapel Hill, Office of Research Services)
This gopher uses WAIS to provide full-text searching of nearly 10,000 documents from major funding sources. Also provides information about programs sponsored by NSF and NIH and free access to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA).

Government Grants

HHS Grants & Contracts
This gopher provides information about grant opportunities at the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Georgia HOPE Scholarship and Grant Program
The Georgia HOPE Scholarship (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) provides grants for tuition and fees and books for Georgia residents at public and private colleges in Georgia.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Provides information about NIH grants and contracts, among other topics.

Office of the Federal Register (OFR)
This gopher provides access to the daily table of contents of the Federal Register and other OFR information.

Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant to college students that agree to serve students from low-income school districts.

Miscellaneous Grant-Related Resources

AHSL Grant Resources Guide
This web page is the online Guide to Funding Information of the Arizona Health Sciences Library. It includes pointers to a few health-related resources.

International and Research Exchange Board (IREX)
IREX promotes scholarly interaction between more than 100 countries.

Grant Focused Publishers

Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Chronicle of Philanthropy covers news about gifts and grants and includes a list of application deadlines. The emphasis is on fundraising and giving for nonprofit organizations, but some scholarship and fellowship programs may be included.

Philanthropy News Digest
An archive of past issues of Philanthropy News Digest, a weekly publication of the Foundation Center.