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Federal Awards
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How matching works

Official data in. Explainable matches out.

Official sources only

Contracts from SAM.gov and grants from Grants.gov - every listing links back to its official page.

Synced nightly

New notices are pulled every night, with the last-synced time shown on each opportunity.

Rules decide eligibility

Set-asides, applicant types, NAICS, location and deadlines are checked by fixed rules - not AI guesswork.

Scores you can audit

Every match shows its reasoning. A hard eligibility blocker always outranks a high score.

Three steps, not thirty tabs.

01

Search

Answer a few guided questions about your organization - no NAICS codes or search operators required. We translate that into a real search against SAM.gov and Grants.gov.

02

Evaluate

See a free match summary for every result: what you clearly qualify for, what's unclear, and any eligibility rule you fail - with the reasoning shown, not just a score.

03

Prepare

For an opportunity worth pursuing, unlock a full Readiness Report: required documents, a prep timeline working backward from the deadline, and open questions to ask the agency.

See it in action.

Every match comes with its reasoning attached - what’s confirmed, what’s still unclear, and what would change your score. This is a worked example, not a live result.

GrantExample

Rural Broadband Expansion Planning Grant

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

ALN 11.550
$50K - $400K
Due Dec 1, 2026
Nationwide (rural service areas)
Review Needed
  • Your organization type is an eligible applicant
  • Cost-share requirement not yet confirmed in your profile
  • Service area overlaps a qualifying rural designation
Official source: sam.gov · NTIA-BEAD-2026-014

Why this match

  • Mandatory - eligible applicant type

    Nonprofits and local governments are named as eligible applicants on this listing.

  • Mandatory - service area

    Your stated service area overlaps a designated rural broadband gap.

  • Preferred - cost-share commitment

    This program favors applicants who can commit matching funds. Your profile doesn't say yet - answering this could move you to a stronger match.

  • Unknown - prior federal award history

    Not asked in your profile yet. Doesn't block eligibility, but affects report depth.

Opportunity Readiness Report

Know exactly what it takes to apply.

Once you’ve found an opportunity worth pursuing, unlock a full readiness report built from your profile and the official listing.

  • Plain-language explanation of the opportunity
  • Full eligibility breakdown - mandatory vs. preferred requirements
  • Evidence behind every finding, with source citations
  • What's missing from your profile and why it matters
  • A prep timeline, working backward from the deadline
  • Questions worth asking the issuing agency before you apply

Informational only - a report never guarantees eligibility, selection, funding, or award.

$4.99 / report

See a sample match first

Opportunity Alerts

Get matching opportunities delivered to you.

Federal notices post and close daily. Opportunity Alerts check every new contract and grant against your saved profile and email you only the new matches.

  • Only new matches - never the same opportunity twice
  • Matched against your saved profile, with reasons
  • Opportunities you're blocked from are filtered out
  • Cancel anytime from your account

$9 / month

Set up Opportunity Alerts

Prefer something lighter? Get the free weekly roundup.

Built first for small government contractors.

Already registered in SAM.gov and chasing the right-sized contracts? That’s who Federal Awards is tuned for first. Everyone else is welcome too.

Small businesses & contractors

You already have a NAICS code and know your way around a solicitation. Federal Awards cuts the time between a new notice posting and knowing whether it’s worth your proposal team’s time.

Nonprofits

Federal grants for mission-driven work.

Schools & researchers

Education and research funding opportunities.

Not sure yet?

Answer a few questions and we'll point you to the right search.

Independent, and clear about it.

Federal Awards is a commercial product, not a government service. Every listing traces back to its official source - SAM.gov or Grants.gov - with the date we last synced it. Where we add analysis on top of that data, we say so, and we separate what the agency published from what our matching logic inferred. We’ll never tell you an opportunity is guaranteed, pre-approved, or a sure thing - because no one can promise that, including us.

Questions

Is this an official government website?

No. Federal Awards is an independent commercial service, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the U.S. government. We surface opportunities from SAM.gov and Grants.gov and add our own analysis on top - always verify details on the issuing agency's official site before applying.

Where does the data come from, and how current is it?

From the official public data services of SAM.gov (contract opportunities) and Grants.gov (grant opportunities). We sync once a day, and every listing links to the official notice and shows when we last synced it. Agencies can amend a notice at any time, so always confirm details on the official listing before you apply.

What's free, and do I need an account?

Searching, match scores, and the reasons behind every match are free - no account, email, or credit card needed. The weekly newsletter is free too. Two things are paid: a one-time $4.99 Opportunity Readiness Report for a listing you choose, and Opportunity Alerts at $9/month. An account is only required for Opportunity Alerts.

What are Opportunity Alerts?

Opportunity Alerts email you when new federal contracts or grants match your saved profile. We check every day after our sync and send only new matches - never the same opportunity twice - and only when there's something worth sending. $9/month; cancel anytime from your account.

Why not just search SAM.gov or Grants.gov directly?

You can - they're free, official, and authoritative, and we link to them on every listing. Federal Awards saves time on the step after searching: matching listings against your profile, explaining the fit, and flagging hard blockers such as set-asides you don't qualify for. It doesn't replace reading the official solicitation.

How is the match score calculated?

By a deterministic set of rules - entity type, NAICS/category alignment, geography, deadline feasibility, and more - not by an AI guessing. A confirmed eligibility blocker always overrides a high similarity score. AI is only used to explain the reasoning in plain language, not to decide the score.

What does the report include, and is it refundable?

A full eligibility breakdown, a preparation timeline, required documents, and questions worth asking the agency - all cited back to the official listing. Our refund policy will be published before checkout goes live.

Does a strong match mean I'll win the contract or get funded?

No. Nothing on Federal Awards guarantees eligibility, selection, funding, or award. A strong match means your profile lines up well with the stated requirements - the agency makes the actual decision.