Part V: Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Below you’ll find some frequently asked questions about submitting grant information to the California Grants Portal. Visit the Grants Portal’s FAQs page to find more frequently asked questions about using the Grants Portal.
Where can I find information about grant fields if I don’t understand what to add?
Aside from this guide, you can find more information about the terms used on the site in Part A (Grants terms and guidance) and Part B (Post award terms and guidance) of the Data Dictionary. You may also use the tooltips function by hovering your mouse over any term on the Grants Portal underlined with a dotted line. This will display brief definitions of each term.
Do I have to enter grant data into the form all at once?
Grant opportunity online form – When submitting grant opportunity information, you do not need to enter grant data into the form all at once. The form is separated into five different sections. You will have the option to save the form at the end of each section and then come back and enter information for the following sections later. You can also save a grant opportunity after you have entered all the data. This is useful if you need to print out or otherwise share all the information with anyone else in your organization before you publish (or set a publish date) for the grant opportunity. When you arrive at the final submission page, you can use your browser’s print screen function to create a PDF to share with colleagues before publishing. Note that the Grants Portal does not have an approval workflow. Your agency should determine an approval process internally.
Post award online form – When submitting post award data via online form, you must enter all of the information at once. You can use the data dictionary to identify all needed information in advance of submitting the form.
The online form seems like it requires a lot of information. How long will it take me to fill it out?
Nearly all of the information requested in the grant opportunity online form or the post awardee online is already provided in most RFAs/RFPs or the award agreement and can be copy and pasted or lightly edited in order to add it to the form. We estimate that the average grant takes anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to submit through the online form. Data submission for awardees should take even less time.
How do I post a forecasted opportunity?
The online form includes the option to post a grant as “Forecasted” if the opportunity will open in the future, but the grant is not active yet. The online form for a forecasted grant includes all data elements, but fewer are required than for an active grant. When you’re ready to make your forecasted grant an active grant, navigate to your dashboard and select “Transition to Active” next to your forecasted grant.
If I submit a grant using the online form, does that preclude me from using the other grant submission methods in the future?
No. If either the JSON file or the Grants Portal’s WordPress plugin become a better option for your agency in the future, you may employ it. All three methods will be accessible in your dashboard.
Can a Grant Editor publish grant opportunities? Can they serve as a Grant Contributor, too?
Yes, a Grant Editor can add grant opportunities as well. A Grant Editor can also serve as a Grant Contributor; however, we only recommend this for departments with few grant opportunities or a small program staff. If you’d like to serve as both a Grant Editor and Grant Contributor, you do not need to create a separate Grant Contributor account.
How many Grant Contributors can my department have?
While each department and agency will have only one Grant Editor, there is no limit to the number of Grant Contributors each may have. However, we recommend that departments/agencies limit Grant Contributors to those you reasonably expect will publish a grant opportunity to the Grants Portal.
Can I access grants submitted by others in my agency/department?
As a Grant Contributor, your dashboard will display only the grants that you have submitted. The Grant Editor is the only person in an agency/department that can see grants posted by others in their department.
Can a parent agency view child department grants?
Yes. The Grant Editor of a parent agency can view child department grants using the drop-down menu on the Grants Dashboard. (For example, the Grant Editor for CalEPA can view grants created by CARB or other departments under them.)
If a grant received zero applications, how is that reported and displayed to the public?
If an agency received zero applications for a grant opportunity, the author should follow the steps to submit post award data described in Part III of this guide and enter “0″ when prompted to input total applications received. The grant details page will read “no recipient awarded for this grant.”
Logo and Link for State Agency Use
The Grant Information Act of 2018 requires that “each state agency. . . provide a link to the California State Library’s funding opportunities Internet Web portal [California Grants Portal] on the state agency’s Internet Web site.” Departments may simply provide the grants.ca.gov link or include the Grants Portal logo.
Contact Us
Please contact us with any questions at CAGrantsPortal@library.ca.gov.
Last Updated: 5/31/2022