Why this matters
The moment you start searching for grants, you become a target. Scammers run fake "grant portals," cold-call founders about guaranteed government money, and charge fees for lists that are free. Beyond lost cash, a scam can harvest your EIN and bank details.
What "done" looks like
- You know the ground rule: legitimate government grants never charge an application fee or a fee to "release" funds, although consultants may charge for their services
- You start from official sources: Grants.gov, SBA.gov, your state's .gov sites
- You can name the red flags: unsolicited contact, guaranteed awards, upfront payments
- You know where to report: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
How to do it
- Memorize the one rule: the federal grant list on Grants.gov is free, and applying is free. Anyone charging for "access" is selling nothing.
- Treat unsolicited contact as a scam by default. Agencies do not call or DM to say you won a grant you never applied for.
- Refuse guarantee language. Real grants are competitive; nobody legitimate guarantees an award.
- Never pay by gift card, wire, or crypto, the FTC flags these payment demands as the signature of a scam.
- Verify at the source, the agency's own .gov page, not a sent link, and report attempts at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Common mistakes
- Paying a consultant who guarantees results, real grant writers never promise awards
- Trusting lookalike .com sites dressed up as government portals
- Sharing bank details to "receive" a grant you never applied for
Real-world examples
- The FTC is explicit: no government agency will demand payment to get a grant, or ask for gift cards, wires, or cryptocurrency.
- Grants.gov maintains its own fraud-alert pages because scammers routinely impersonate it, the real federal grant list lives there, free.
From a founder's point of view
Desperation for funding is exactly what these scams price. When cash is tight, "guaranteed grant, small fee" sounds like a lifeline, which is why the filter must be mechanical, not emotional: any fee, any guarantee, any unsolicited offer means walk away.
Rule of thumb
Money flows from the grant to you, never the other way. The first request for payment ends the conversation.
