Grants.gov API MCP Server

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to the Grants.gov API for searching and retrieving federal grant opportunities.

Features

This MCP server enables Claude to:

• Search for federal grant opportunities across all agencies
• Retrieve detailed information about specific opportunities
• Analyze funding trends and patterns
• Query by keywords, agencies, statuses, funding categories, and more
• Access open opportunities from the entire federal government

Tools

Core Tools

1. search_opportunities - Search for grant opportunities with comprehensive filtering options

   • Keywords in titles and descriptions
   • Federal agency codes (HHS, DOE, NSF, etc.)
   • Opportunity status (forecasted, posted, closed, archived)
   • Funding categories and instruments
   • Eligibility requirements
   • Assistance Listing Numbers (ALN)
   • Supports up to 1000 results per query

2. get_opportunity_details - Get complete information about a specific opportunity by ID

   • Full eligibility requirements
   • Application deadlines
   • Funding amounts
   • Contact information
   • Application instructions

Efficiency Tools

3. search_opportunities_light - Lightweight search returning only essential fields

   • Reduces response size for large result sets
   • Returns: opportunityId, opportunityNumber, opportunityTitle, agencyName, openDate, closeDate, estimatedFunding, oppStatus

4. analyze_opportunity_trends - Server-side trend analysis and aggregation

   • Processes up to 1000 opportunities server-side
   • Returns aggregated summaries including:
     • Total opportunities and estimated funding
     • Distribution by federal agency
     • Distribution by funding category
     • Distribution by opportunity status
     • Common themes in opportunity titles
   • Designed to avoid context limits when analyzing large datasets

Installation

Using Docker (Recommended)

1. Build the Docker image:

docker build -t grants-gov-mcp .

2. Add to Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport stdio -s user grants-gov -- docker run -i --rm grants-gov-mcp

3. Add to Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grants-gov": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "grants-gov-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Using Python Directly

1. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Add to Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport stdio -s user grants-gov -- python /path/to/server.py

Usage Examples

Search for opportunities by keyword

Find current grant opportunities related to climate change

Search by agency

What grant opportunities are currently open from the Department of Energy?

Analyze funding trends

Analyze health-related grant opportunities from HHS over the past year

Get specific opportunity details

Get details for grant opportunity EPA-R-001

Search with multiple filters

Find forecasted and posted opportunities from NSF in the education category

API Details

No Authentication Required

The Grants.gov search2 and fetchOpportunity endpoints do not require authentication or API keys.

Opportunity Statuses

• forecasted - Future opportunities not yet open for applications
• posted - Currently open for applications
• closed - No longer accepting applications
• archived - Historical opportunities

Common Agency Codes

• HHS - Department of Health and Human Services
• DOE - Department of Energy
• NSF - National Science Foundation
• ED - Department of Education
• USDA - Department of Agriculture
• DOD - Department of Defense
• NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• And many more...

Funding Instruments

• G - Grant
• CA - Cooperative Agreement
• PC - Procurement Contract
• O - Other

Grants.gov Search Parameters

The API supports numerous search parameters:

• keyword - Text search in titles and descriptions
• oppNum - Specific opportunity number
• agencies - Federal agency codes (pipe-separated)
• oppStatuses - Opportunity statuses (pipe-separated)
• fundingCategories - Funding category codes (pipe-separated)
• fundingInstruments - Funding instrument types
• eligibilities - Eligible applicant types
• aln - Assistance Listing Number
• sortBy - Field to sort results by
• rows - Number of results (max 1000)
• startRecordNum - Pagination offset

Development

The server is built using:

• Python 3.11+
• MCP SDK
• Grants.gov API v1

Useful Links

• Grants.gov
• Grants.gov API Guide
• Search2 API Documentation
• Model Context Protocol

License

MIT

Related Projects

• MCP NIH Reporter - NIH research awards
• MCP NSF Awards - NSF research awards