The Notice of Grant Opportunity (NGO) is a program-specific document containing three sections that detail (1) the state's purpose, goal(s), assessment, eligibility and general guidelines in offering the grant program, (2) the eligible agency's guidelines for constructing a project consistent with the state's purpose and goals, and (3) general application guidance.

Section One - Grant Program Information, presents the state's overall goal(s) for the grant program, its purpose, anticipated outcomes, and assessment. It also describes the eligibility requirements, award parameters as well as dissemination and submission information.

Section Two - Project Guidelines, gives guidance about the design of an appliant's project. It contains considerations and suggestions an applicant may want to include in creating their local project and budget. This section also describes the specific project and budget requirements that must be included in a grant application. This section of the NGO is intended to help applicants see how their particular project would be constructed to contribute to the accomplishment of the state's goal(s) presented in Section One.

Section Three - Completing The Application, outlines the general application instructions, application evaluation, and the Application Component Checklist. Applicants should use the Checklist to ensure they complete all the application components and forms that are required for a particular grant program. This includes special project-specific forms included in the NGO.

After reading the NGO you should have an understanding of the state's vision of the grant program and how your local project would correspond to that vision. Use the specific program guidelines outlined in the NGO in conjunction with the general guidance and general instructions found in the Pre-Award Manual for Discretionary Grants to prepare your application.