A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is the official announcement that a federal grant program is accepting applications — and the rulebook you must follow to win it. Learning to read a NOFO quickly is one of the highest-value skills in grant seeking.
What a NOFO is
A NOFO is published by the funding agency for a specific opportunity. It defines exactly who may apply, what the agency will fund, how much money is available, how applications are evaluated, and what you must submit and by when. Everything the reviewers will hold you to is in the NOFO — there are no hidden rules and no points for guessing.
NOFO vs NOFA vs FOA
You’ll see several names for the same document. “NOFO” is the current standard term. “NOFA” (Notice of Funding Availability) is the older term, still used by some agencies such as HUD. “FOA” (Funding Opportunity Announcement) is used by agencies like NIH. They all mean the same thing: the announcement and rules for a specific grant.
How a NOFO is structured
Most federal NOFOs follow a standard order of sections:
- A. Program description — the purpose and priorities of the funding.
- B. Federal award information — total funding, number of awards, award size, and project period.
- C. Eligibility information — eligible applicant types and any cost-sharing requirement.
- D. Application and submission — required forms, attachments, page limits, and the deadline.
- E. Application review — the scoring criteria and how reviewers weight each part.
- F. Award administration — reporting and compliance after you win.
- G/H. Agency contacts and other information.
How to read a NOFO quickly
Don’t read top to bottom on the first pass. Read in this order:
- Eligibility (Section C) — if you’re not eligible, stop now and save the time.
- Award information (Section B) — is the award size and number of awards worth your effort?
- Review criteria (Section E) — this tells you what to emphasize; write to the points.
- Submission requirements and deadline (Section D) — build your checklist and calendar backward from here.
- Program description (Section A) — now read for the agency’s priorities and language.
Where to find NOFOs
NOFOs are posted on Grants.gov and on individual agency sites. On Grantoria, each opportunity links to its source announcement, and many of our grant pages summarize the key NOFO details — eligibility, deadline, award range — so you can screen quickly before opening the full document. Browse open opportunities to see how it works.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a NOFO and a NOFA?
They mean the same thing. “NOFO” (Notice of Funding Opportunity) is the current standard term; “NOFA” (Notice of Funding Availability) is the older term still used by agencies such as HUD.
What is an FOA?
A Funding Opportunity Announcement is the term agencies like NIH use for a NOFO. It contains the same information: eligibility, award details, requirements, review criteria and deadlines.
Which part of a NOFO should I read first?
Read eligibility first — if you don’t qualify, nothing else matters. Then read the award information and the review criteria, which tell you whether to apply and what to emphasize.