Part I: Key Terms

California Grants Portal
The California Grants Portal is a centralized location for grantseekers to find competitive and first-come grant and loan opportunities offered by State of California agencies and departments. This includes cabinet, independent and constitutional entities. The Grants Portal is located at grants.ca.gov and contains a searchable interface so that grantseekers can find information. State agencies and departments (grantmakers) have access to a password protected backend through which they can submit information about upcoming grant opportunities. The State Library will also make all grant information available through data.ca.gov, which will refresh every 24 hours. Grantseekers cannot apply for grants through the Grants Portal. Each entry contains a link to the agency or department webpage for the specific grant opportunity.

Grant
“Grant” as used in the legislation and in this guide means any mechanism used by a state agency to distribute appropriations that have been allocated for the purpose of financial assistance through a competitive or first-come award process. The term includes loans and federal assistance funds that are administered by a state agency. The term does not include the procurement of goods or services for a state agency nor the acquisition, construction, alteration, improvement, or repair of real property for a state agency. While grants that are not first-come or competitive are not required to be included in the Grants Portal, grantseekers have expressed an interest in seeing these opportunities as well. Please consider adding these grants if you are able to.

Grant Editor
The Grant Editor is responsible for approving the accounts of Grant Contributors, who submit and update individual grant opportunities, within their state agency and serves as the primary point of contact for their agency with the State Library. Each state department may have only one Grant Editor. (Agencies will have a Grant Editor if that agency also makes grant awards.) The Grant Editor will be able to view all grant opportunities submitted by their agency’s Grant Contributors via the grants dashboard, which is password protected. The Grant Editor does not need to have expertise on each of their agency’s individual grant opportunities but should be able to actively manage Grant Contributor accounts and communicate with the State Library about changes in personnel or other internal updates. The Grant Editor serves as the primary point of contact for the State Library when information on the Grants Portal is not updated or a Grant Contributor is not responsive. Grant Editors may also submit grant information, and smaller agencies with limited staff may have a singular Grant Editor who also serves as the Grant Contributor. See information on setting up a Grant Editor account in Part II of this guide.

Grant Contributor
The Grant Contributor is responsible for submitting and updating information about grant opportunities and awardees for which they are responsible and should be knowledgeable about the individual grant opportunities they are submitting to the California Grants Portal. Grantmaking agencies may have one or more Grant Contributors. Grant Editors may also submit grant information, and smaller agencies with limited staff may have a singular Grant Editor who also serves as the Grant Contributor. See instruction for registering as a Grant Contributor and submitting grant and awardee information in Part II and Part III of this guide.

Post Award Data
Per AB132, grantmaking agencies must submit a set of post award data to the California Grants Portal for all grants closing on or after July 1, 2022. A set of data is required for each awardee. For details on the required set of elements, visit the data dictionary in Part IV of this guide.

WordPress Plugin (Coming Summer 2022)
A WordPress plugin is a piece of software that can be downloaded and installed onto any WordPress website. Agencies that use a WordPress website may use our WordPress plugin to submit and manage their grant information. Once set up, the plugin will automatically update the Grants Portal with any new data submitted by Grant Contributors. This functionality requires IT support. Instructions for the WordPress plugin will be available in summer 2022.

JSON (Coming Summer 2022)
JSON is a text format, written with JavaScript object notation. Agencies may submit and update their grant information by using a JSON file. This option is best for organizations with IT staff who are comfortable supporting JSON file development and currently do not use WordPress. This functionality requires IT support. Instructions for JSON will be available in summer 2022.

Last Updated: 6/1/2022