Despite sequestration and other budget cuts, the federal government still can be a good source of funding, in both the short and long terms.

Nonprofit managers wishing to learn about the availability of and requirements for federal monetary support can check the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA), which can be reviewed for free online at www.cfda.gov

Barbara Floersch, director of The Grantsmanship Center in Los Angeles, Calif., recommends that grantseekers who want to apply for funding listed in the CDFA should be able to answer the following questions:

• Is it likely that Congress will allocate funds to this program for the coming year?
• Does the program run a competition each year? Is a competition expected in the following year?
• When is the Request for Proposal (RFP) typically released, and when are proposals generally due?
• Where can one obtain a copy of the most recent RFP for a particular program? The agency Website or the link to closed competitions (on grants.gov) might provide this, or the agency might need to send upon request.
• Is the program expected to change radically in the coming year?
• How many applications are submitted in the last competition and how many of those were funded? This will provide a good clue on the odds of winning an award.