Federal Grants During a Shutdown: What Applicants Need to Know
As of Wednesday morning, October 1, 2025, the federal government has entered a shutdown. Here’s what federal grantseekers need to know:
What Continues
grants.gov remains open. You can still submit applications, and timestamps will be recorded. However, if the portal experiences outages, they may not be resolved until agencies resume normal operations.
Work under obligated funds may proceed. If your award already has obligated funds, recipients can generally keep working, though payments may be delayed.
Essential activities tied to safety of life or protection of property may continue under agency contingency plans.
What Pauses
New grant awards and reviews will generally stall until funding resumes.
Agency staff are unavailable, which will delay approvals, questions, and oversight.
Payments to grantees are generally paused until appropriations are restored.
Historical Precedent
During the 35-day 2018–19 shutdown, grants.gov continued posting opportunities from HHS, Education, Defense, and others. No major surge of “make-up” postings followed, meaning delays don’t necessarily translate to more opportunities later.
What to do Next
Submit on time. Unless your federal agency states otherwise, assume deadlines stand.
Document everything. Keep copies of submissions and confirmation receipts.
Contact program officers now. Even if they can’t reply, you’ll have a record.
Diversify to private funders. Foundations and other non-federal funders remain active.
How GrantExec Helps
GrantExec helps organizations keep momentum during uncertain times. In addition to federal grant programs, we're tracking over 6,000 non-federal grants today, including those from state/local governments and private/corporate foundations. Our team of grant experts ensure applications are filed on time, and our Foundations Explorer quickly surfaces private funders to hedge against federal delays.
Get a free first scan of the non-federal grant market at platform.grantexec.com.
Sources
Legal Framework
The Antideficiency Act (1884, amended 1950) is the governing law that bars agencies from obligating funds without appropriations.