Definition

Money given to organizations or individuals, usually with more strings attached than a marionette convention and enough paperwork to deforest a small nation. Unlike loans, grants don't require repayment—just your soul, quarterly reports, and the ability to justify every pencil purchase. In the nonprofit and academic worlds, securing grants is essentially a full-time job that determines whether your actual job continues to exist.

Example Usage

The research team celebrated winning the federal grant, then immediately panicked about the 47-page compliance requirements.

Source: Common nonprofit and finance terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

stimulus

Government money injected into the economy during crises, based on the economic theory that the best way to fix problems is to print cash and hope for the best. It's designed to stimulate spending and growth, though recipients often prefer to save it or pay down debt, completely missing the point. Politicians love stimulus packages because they get to look generous with other people's money while economists argue about whether it actually works.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Advanced

Topside Entry

A journal entry made at the corporate level above the normal operational accounting system, often used for adjustments or consolidation. It's headquarters overriding local books, sometimes legitimately, sometimes suspiciously.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Beginner

Diversification

The investment strategy of not putting all your eggs in one basket, which is excellent advice until you have to figure out how many baskets to buy. It's how financial advisors tell you they don't know what will go up, so they're betting on everything.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Intermediate

non-recurring charge

An expense that supposedly happens only once but mysteriously appears in financial statements every single quarter. It's management's favorite way to exclude bad news from 'adjusted' earnings while claiming it's temporary.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Intermediate

full faith and credit

A government's unconditional guarantee to honor debt obligations using its taxing power, theoretically the safest backing possible. 'We'll tax citizens into oblivion before we default' in more dignified language.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Advanced

Piercing the Corporate Veil

When courts hold shareholders personally liable for corporate debts by ignoring the legal separation between company and owners. It's what happens when you treat your LLC like a personal piggy bank.

💰 Finance / Accounting

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See “grant” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

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