Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is the official announcement a federal agency publishes when making competitive grant funding available, describing the program purpose, eligibility requirements, available funding, application instructions, review criteria, and submission deadlines.

What is a Notice of Funding Opportunity?

A NOFO (sometimes called a Funding Opportunity Announcement or FOA) is the functional equivalent of an RFP in the grant world. Federal agencies publish NOFOs on Grants.gov, the central repository for all federal grant announcements, and on agency-specific program websites. Under 2 CFR Part 200, all discretionary grant funding opportunities must be announced publicly with sufficient notice to allow eligible applicants to prepare responsive applications.

A complete NOFO includes: the program description and statutory authority; total available funding and expected number of awards; minimum and maximum award amounts and period of performance; eligibility criteria (who may apply); required application components (narrative, budget, attachments); review and selection criteria with any weightings; submission deadline and format requirements; and agency contact information for questions.

Grant applicants must read the NOFO with the same rigor applied to reading an RFP. The evaluation criteria section, analogous to Section M in federal contracting, defines exactly how the agency will score proposals. Applicants should structure their narrative to directly address each evaluation criterion, provide supporting evidence, and comply precisely with page limits and formatting requirements. Non-compliant applications are routinely rejected without review.

Why NOFOs matter for government contractors

For companies pursuing SBIR, STTR, or other competitive grant funding, the NOFO is the primary document governing what to write and how to compete. NOFOs define eligibility, including size standards, organizational type restrictions, and any geographic preferences, and set the competitive framework that determines which proposals succeed.

Example

NIH publishes a NOFO on Grants.gov announcing $20 million in SBIR Phase I funding for projects targeting antibiotic-resistant infections. The NOFO specifies that applicants must be for-profit small businesses with no more than 500 employees, that awards will be up to $300,000 for 6 months, and that applications will be reviewed on significance, innovation, approach, investigators, and environment, the standard NIH review criteria. A biotech startup reads the NOFO, confirms it is eligible, and submits a Phase I application by the posted deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are federal NOFOs published?

All federal competitive grant opportunities must be posted on Grants.gov. Many agencies also publish NOFOs on program-specific websites, listservs, and announcement systems. Subscribing to agency grant alert emails is the most reliable way to track new NOFOs.

Is there a difference between a NOFO and an FOA?

The terms are largely interchangeable. "NOFO" became the standardized terminology under 2 CFR Part 200 guidance. "Funding Opportunity Announcement" or "FOA" is still used by many agencies, particularly NIH. Both refer to the same type of public announcement of a competitive grant opportunity.

Can I submit a grant application without responding to a NOFO?

Sometimes, through an unsolicited proposal process. However, most federal agencies do not accept unsolicited grant applications and require all applicants to respond to a published NOFO. SBIR and STTR programs post solicitations that function as NOFOs for each funding cycle.

How much time do applicants typically have to respond to a NOFO?

Standard notice for competitive grant NOFOs is 60 days, though many programs provide 30 days or less for supplemental or fast-turnaround opportunities. Complex programs with multi-component applications sometimes allow 90-120 days. Check the specific NOFO for the controlling deadline.