# US Federal Contract and Grant Awards: Search and Alerts (`datagleaner/federal-awards`) Actor

Search US federal contract and grant awards on USAspending.gov by keyword, ALN, NAICS, PSC, agency, state, date and amount, or get only new awards since your last run. Recipient name and UEI, amount, dates, agency, place of performance, link. Individuals are left out. $0.002 per award.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/datagleaner/federal-awards.md
- **Developed by:** [Data Gleaner](https://apify.com/datagleaner) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Automation, Lead generation
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$2.00 / 1,000 awards

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## US Federal Contract and Grant Awards: Search and Alerts

Search who won US federal money. Every row is one award from USAspending.gov, the Treasury's public spending database: the recipient organisation and its UEI, the dollar amount, award date and period, awarding agency, award type, NAICS or ALN program, place of performance and a link to the award page. Filter by keyword, ALN (CFDA) number, NAICS or PSC code, agency, state, date range and amount. Switch on watch mode and a scheduled run returns only awards that are new since the last run.

The data comes from the documented USAspending API (`api.usaspending.gov`), which is published for public use without a login or key under the DATA Act. It is US federal government information.

### What you can do with it

- Daily or weekly list of new federal contracts in your NAICS code, as a lead list of companies that just won work.
- Grant writers: see who won past awards under an ALN number and how large they were.
- Track SBIR and STTR awards by agency, keyword or state.
- Competitor and teaming research: find recipients by agency, state and size.
- Feed a CRM, spreadsheet or AI agent with structured award data.

### Input example

```json
{
  "keywords": ["cybersecurity"],
  "naicsCodes": ["541512"],
  "agency": "Department of Defense",
  "startDate": "2026-09-01",
  "minAmount": 250000,
  "maxResults": 50
}
```

Daily watch of new SBIR awards:

```json
{
  "watchMode": true,
  "storeName": "sbir-watch",
  "keywords": ["SBIR", "STTR"],
  "maxResults": 500
}
```

An empty input runs a small example (5 recent SBIR awards) so you can see the output.

### Output example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "awardId": "80NSSC27C0017",
  "kind": "contracts",
  "recipientName": "CHI3 OPTICS LLC",
  "recipientUei": "TKGYDCDKBEM7",
  "amount": 1274897,
  "awardDate": "2026-10-30",
  "startDate": "2026-11-01",
  "endDate": "2028-10-31",
  "agency": "National Aeronautics and Space Administration",
  "awardType": "DEFINITIVE CONTRACT",
  "naics": {"code": "541715", "description": "RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES"},
  "placeCity": "BOULDER",
  "placeState": "CO",
  "url": "https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_80NSSC27C0017_8000_-NONE-_-NONE-"
}
```

### Pricing

Pay per award row: $0.002 per award returned. Notice and error rows, and awards left out because the recipient is an individual, are free. Set a maximum charge on the run to cap spend.

### Good to know

- **Individuals are left out.** USAspending masks individual recipients ("REDACTED DUE TO PII", "MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS") and gives them no recipient profile. The Actor drops those rows, plus recipients flagged as individuals or sole proprietors in USAspending business categories and recipients whose name reads like a person with no organisation word (LLC, INC, UNIVERSITY, COUNTY and so on). This is conservative, so a few small organisations with a two-word name may be left out. Dropped rows are never billed and are counted in the run status message.
- **Awards, not transactions.** Amount is the total obligated to the award so far. Modifications to old awards are not reported as new.
- **Contracts and assistance differ.** NAICS and PSC exist for contracts, ALN for grants and other assistance, so each filter applies only to its family. Loans and insurance awards are not covered.
- **Data lag.** Agencies report to USAspending on their own schedule, from days to months.
- **Watch mode** keeps the last-seen award IDs in a named key-value store. A run capped by `maxResults` re-checks the same window next time, so nothing is skipped.
- The Actor identifies itself with a contact address and paces its requests politely.

### Removal requests

The data is US federal public-domain spending data from USAspending.gov, and the Actor is built to return organisations only. If a row names you as a person (for example a sole trader the filters missed), email datagleaner@gmail.com with the award ID. We answer within 30 days, record each request with its date and answer, and add the recipient to the Actor's exclusion filter in the next release. The Actor keeps no copy of the data; corrections at the source go to USAspending.gov.

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Words to find in award descriptions and titles, e.g. `SBIR`, `cybersecurity`, `broadband`. Each keyword needs 3 or more characters. Awards matching any keyword are returned.

## `kinds` (type: `array`):

Which families to search: contracts, grants (project, formula, cooperative agreements), direct payments, other assistance. Leave empty for contracts and grants (or only grants when you give an ALN number, only contracts when you give a NAICS or PSC code).

## `alnNumbers` (type: `array`):

Assistance Listing Numbers (formerly CFDA) such as `93.226` or `10.001`. Applies to grants, direct payments and other assistance, not contracts.

## `naicsCodes` (type: `array`):

NAICS industry codes of contracts, e.g. `541715`, `541512`. Contracts only.

## `pscCodes` (type: `array`):

Product and Service Codes of contracts, e.g. `R425`, `D302`. Contracts only.

## `agency` (type: `string`):

Top-level agency name as USAspending spells it, e.g. `Department of Defense`, `National Aeronautics and Space Administration`, `Department of Health and Human Services`.

## `recipientStates` (type: `array`):

Two-letter US state codes where the recipient is located, e.g. `VA`, `CA`.

## `placeStates` (type: `array`):

Two-letter US state codes where the work is done.

## `startDate` (type: `string`):

`YYYY-MM-DD`. Default: the last 365 days (90 days for the example run). Earliest supported date is 2007-10-01.

## `endDate` (type: `string`):

`YYYY-MM-DD`. Default: today.

## `newAwardsOnly` (type: `boolean`):

On: only awards whose first obligation falls in the date range (new awards). Off: every award that was active in the range, including older multi-year awards.

## `minAmount` (type: `number`):

Only awards of at least this many dollars.

## `maxAmount` (type: `number`):

Only awards of at most this many dollars.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Result order.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many billed awards.

## `watchMode` (type: `boolean`):

Return only awards not delivered by your previous run in the named store below. The first run reports the last 30 days (see watch lookback) as new. Schedule it daily or weekly.

## `watchLookbackDays` (type: `integer`):

How far back the first watch run looks.

## `storeName` (type: `string`):

Name of the key-value store that keeps the last-seen state. Use a different name for each watched search.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "SBIR",
    "STTR"
  ],
  "alnNumbers": [
    "93.226"
  ],
  "naicsCodes": [
    "541512"
  ],
  "pscCodes": [
    "R425"
  ],
  "recipientStates": [
    "VA",
    "MD"
  ],
  "placeStates": [
    "TX"
  ],
  "newAwardsOnly": true,
  "sortBy": "newest",
  "maxResults": 10,
  "watchMode": false,
  "watchLookbackDays": 30,
  "storeName": "awards-watch"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "keywords": [
        "SBIR"
    ],
    "maxResults": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("datagleaner/federal-awards").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "keywords": ["SBIR"],
    "maxResults": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("datagleaner/federal-awards").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "keywords": [
    "SBIR"
  ],
  "maxResults": 10
}' |
apify call datagleaner/federal-awards --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,datagleaner/federal-awards"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/QEKkiW4wk5PPUKDeR/builds/0TdO4znaTJnYfzHtd/openapi.json