Supplemental award
Additional money added to an award already in progress, for extra scope, an unexpected cost, or a specific initiative the agency wants existing recipients to take up. Only current recipients can apply, which makes most supplements invisible to a public catalogue.
Part of the GrantTrove grant funding glossary — one entry for every field the catalogue stores.
Also called Supplement · Administrative supplement
In detail
Some agencies publish supplement opportunities openly, in which case they read like ordinary notices with an eligibility line restricting them to active awardees. Most do not publish at all and notify recipients directly.
A supplement does not usually extend the period of performance. Money added late in an award can be genuinely hard to spend inside the time remaining.
Against a continuation
A continuation releases money already planned for the next period. A supplement adds money that was not planned. Both are restricted to existing recipients, and both are why a public catalogue of open opportunities is not a complete picture of where federal money goes — a limitation worth stating rather than hiding.
How GrantTrove stores it
- `elig_entity_types` and `elig_note` carry a notice’s eligibility restriction, so a supplement published openly shows the restriction to current recipients rather than reading as open.
- Where a notice states no eligibility, the record reads Not stated rather than listing every applicant type it did not rule out.
Common questions
Can a new applicant get a supplement?
No. Supplements go to organisations that already hold the award.
Does a supplement extend the deadline for spending?
Usually not. The period of performance is unchanged unless the award says otherwise.
Why are so few in the catalogue?
Because most are never published. That is a limit of any catalogue built from public notices.