TIPS for NIDILRR GRANT APPLICANTS

1. Talk to NIDILRR: A discussion with NIDILRR staff can provide insight on whether your proposed 

work fits within the requirements of a particular grant competition. You can contact the person 

listed after the “Grantor Contact Information” in the grant forecast, or in the published grant 

opportunity. The NIDILRR staff person can speak with you about program fit and share broad 

information about characteristics of successful applications. NIDILRR staff do not discuss 

substantive or methodological details of your proposed activities. 

2. Funding Opportunities: If you wish to apply for a NIDILRR grant, identify an appropriate grant 

competition. Not all NIDILRR grants are competed or funded every year, so it is important to 

determine which topics or areas are likely to be competed in a given year and the timing of the 

competitions. NIDILRR publishes a forecast or a preview of the broad topical areas for grants 

expected to be competed and funded in a given year. NIDILRR posts this forecast information 

annually, by August 1. Information and links to forecasted or published Notices of Funding 

Opportunities (NOFOs), can be found through http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/searchgrants.html?cfda=93.433

3. Sign up for NARIC emails about NOFOs: The National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) 

offers a service that will automatically send you an email within a few days of publication of any 

NIDILRR-related forecast or Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement (NOFO). You may 

sign up for this service by going to the following NARIC page: "About NIDILRR Funding and Other 

Grant Resources" Once there, scroll to the middle of the page and locate the heading, 

"Interested In NIDILRR Grant Announcements?" Then type your email in the white text box and 

hit the "Submit" button.

4. Plan ahead! The Grants.gov registration process can take several days. Be sure to include 

these days in your planning if your organization does not already have a grants.gov account.

All applications to NIDILRR must be submitted via grants.gov. All applicants must have a UEI 

number and be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM, www.sam.gov).

Applicants must maintain an active SAM registration until the application process is 

complete. 

5. Language use: NIDILRR is committed to funding research and development and related activities 

that contribute to positive outcomes among people with disabilities and allowing them to be full 

members of society. With the understanding that language evolves over time, the most recent 

style guides from the Associated Press (AP) and the American Psychological Association (APA) 

provide the most up to date recommendations. It is important to NIDILRR and the reviewers 

who evaluate applications that grant applications do not use outdated, offensive, or 

euphemistic language related to disability. Using either person-first language (i.e., person with 

autism, person with disability) or identity first language (autistic person, disabled person) are 

acceptable. 

6. Verifying Receipts: You will want to verify that Grants.gov and the U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services, Administration for Community Living received your Grants.gov submission 

on time and that it was validated successfully. To see the date/time your application was 

received, follow the instructions on Grants.gov's "Track My Application" page. A successful 

submission will have a date / time stamp that is 11:59 Eastern Time or earlier on the deadline 

date. The application status should be: Validated as "Received by Agency," or "Agency Tracking 

Number Assigned."