Most federal grants are too large, or too broad, for one organization to deliver alone. A single applicant may have the expertise to lead a program but not the reach to serve every community it covers, or the staff to run every component. Sub-recipient partnerships solve that problem. A Lead Applicant (also called a Support Organization) applies for the grant and passes part of the funding and work to partner organizations that bring specific capacity, geography, or population expertise. Great Grants gives you a way to find those partners, describe what you need, and manage their responses.
Why sub-recipient partnerships work
Partnerships make your application stronger in ways reviewers notice. A well-matched network can describe a program that reaches more people, in more places, with more specialized services than any single organization could offer.
- Broader reach. Partners who already serve a community or region let you extend a program beyond your own footprint.
- Specialized capacity. A partner with an established track record in a specific service area can carry that component while you focus on overall program management.
- Access to funding you could not pursue alone. Smaller organizations can take part in larger federal programs as sub-recipients without managing the full application themselves.
- Shared budget. Subaward budgets let the work and the funding travel together, so each partner is paid for the part of the program it delivers.
- A simpler path for partners. Sub-recipients respond to a single request for a specific role instead of building an entire federal application.
What is a Call for Partnership?
A Call for Partners is an open invitation, published by a Lead Applicant, to organizations that want to take on a defined role in a specific application. Each Partner Call is tied to one partner category, such as a service provider, a community-based partner, or an evaluation partner. Each category has its own call page, description, and subaward budget range, so potential partners can see exactly what is being asked of them before they respond.
Partner Calls work for open opportunities and for upcoming opportunities you are planning to apply for. Calls for Partners are tied to your application, so the first step is always to create the application for the opportunity.
Two rules shape how Partner Calls work:
- Each application has at least one Lead Applicant. Other organizations can take part as sub-recipients, but they cannot be the lead on the same application.
- Anonymity is automatic when there is competition. If several Support Organizations have open applications on the same opportunity, Partner Call Pages stay anonymous regardless of the setting, so organizations cannot see who else is competing for the same partners.
How to respond as a Sub-recipient
Start on the search page, looking for grants that meet your current programs or key words. Once an opportunity arises, you can find the "Take Action" button in the top right corner of the page. The Request to be a Sub-recipient option appears only when a Lead Applicant has an active application for that opportunity with at least one open partner request. Otherwise, the page shows the usual Start Application button.
To respond, a sub-recipient:
- Selects the partner category that matches its role. Categories that are already filled, closed, or deferred are hidden, and each card shows the subaward budget range.
- Completes the request-to-be-a-sub-recipient form, including a required Focus areas field. These focus areas are shown to the Lead Applicant as program context during review.
- If they are a guest, we recommend creating an account after responding so they can track their application progress.
- If they are an existing Great Grants customer, their program details can auto-fill in their application to make things easier.
After responding, partners can track each request under Partnership Applications, where it shows as In Review, Accepted, or Not accepted.
A Call for Partnership gives you a structured way to find those partners: create your application, publish a call for each role you need, review requests from your dashboard, and accept the partners who fit. Start with the application, and the rest of the process follows from there.