Accessing SRSA Grant Funds in G6

G6 Support Guide for Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) Grantees

G6 (formerly G5) is the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) online platform for grant management. Creating an account, logging in, and obtaining Payee Access allows SRSA grantees to view and draw down awarded grant funds across multiple fiscal years.

G5/G6 Transition

As of Monday, October 30^th, 2023, G5/G6 users will be redirected to a new landing page and a new URL (g6.ed.gov). The Department is working to build G6, which will eventually include a new user interface and new functionalities. The move from G5 to G6 will be incremental, and the new G6 landing page is the first step in this transition. The landing page at g6.ed.gov will introduce the new look and feel of G6, and will contain tiles with pertinent information, contacts, additional resources, and a form where users will have the ability to submit a ticket directly to the Department’s Office of Business Support Services helpdesk. For questions about this transition, you may reach out to the Department’s Office of Business Support Services helpdesk by calling 1-888-336-8930 or sending an email to obssed@servicenowservices.com.

Updated G6 Sign-In Information

Currently, the most notable change with the new G6 website is the ability to connect with Login.gov as an alternative sign-in method in addition to the original username and password method. Eventually, the Department will be moving exclusively to Login.gov as the authentication method for signing into G6.  This will bring our system in line with White House-mandated security standards for systems across the federal government. To view instructions on how to log into G6 via Login.gov, click on this link: G6 Login.gov Authentication for External Users. At the new site, users should click the “Sign In” button to access G6. They will then be presented with two ways to sign in:

1. Use Login.gov, OR
2. Use the current log in method with a username and password

Please keep the following information in mind when using Login.gov to access your G6 account:

• If you have an existing Login.gov account under the same email address you use to access your G5 account, no further action is required from you at this time. You may sign in via Login.gov, your account will automatically connect to G6, and you will be able to access your account and awards.
• If you don’t already have a Login.gov account, you must create one by clicking here. Use the same email address use would have normally used to log into G5. Make sure that you can access your email at that address, as you will need to retrieve an emailed link to set up your Login.gov account.
• If you have an existing Login.gov account but it is tied to a different email address than the one you would have normally used to log into your G5 account, you must create a new Login.gov account that matches the email address you used to log into G5. DO NOT CREATE A NEW G5/G6 ACCOUNT. Create a login.gov account by clicking here.

How to Access SRSA Grant Funds in G6

In order to access SRSA grant funds in G6, an authorized user at the local education agency (LEA) must have Payee Access. When SRSA funds are awarded, a Grant Award Notification (GAN) is emailed to the primary and secondary contacts listed on the SRSA application. The GAN is the Department’s official notice that details the award amount, the recipient contacts, and the conditions under which the grant is awarded. The contacts listed on the GAN will not automatically have access to the grant funds in G6—every grantee LEA must separately establish Payee Access in G6 in order to access their SRSA grant funds.

Please note that changing the contact listed on the GAN only allows a person to view the document and does not grant access to funds in G6. If the contact listed on the GAN is outdated, the new staff member should create their own G6 account (following the steps below) and request Payee Access so that they can draw down funds from the grant award. Once Payee Access is established, funds may be drawn down from G6. Please see below for instructions on how to request Payee Access and draw down funds.

For questions or support with G6, please contact the Department’s Office of Business Support Services helpdesk by calling 1-888-336-8930 or sending an email to obssed@servicenowservices.com.

How to Create a New User Account

• Navigate to g6.ed.gov.
• On the G6 Homepage, click the blue “Sign In” button in top right corner.
• On the next page, choose “G5 Sign In” (Note: do not choose the Login.gov option when you are creating a new user account).
• On the G5 Homepage, navigate to the top left corner and click on the “Sign Up” link next to the words “Not registered?” (Note: this is below the username and password fields).
• Enter the requested information (Note: answer “No” when asked if you are an employee or contractor of the U.S. Department of Education).
• Click “Continue,” and when complete click “Submit.”
• Upon entering your initial information into the system, the website will tell you to look for an “Account Request” email from G5.
• When the email arrives, open it, and click on the words inside that say “Activate My Account.”
• Complete the portion of the registration concluding with “Activate Account.”
• You will receive an email titled “User Account Activation” which will prompt you to log in to G5. Follow the steps 2-3 above and this time, enter your newly created username and password in the appropriate fields on the top left of the G5 Homepage.
• After you have followed these steps, you may choose to use Login.gov when you log into G5/G6.  You will need to create a Login.gov account that has the same username you created in G5.

How to Request Payee Access

Sign into your G6 account by visiting g6.ed.gov and clicking on the blue “Sign In” button. From there, follow the prompts to either link your existing Login.gov account to a new G6 account, OR create a new Login.gov account AND a new G6 account. Once you are logged into your G6 account, complete the steps below to submit the proper Payee Access Request Form:

• From your main account page, navigate to the “Edit Profile” page. Scroll down to the “Available Types” field and select “Payee” (Full Access allows drawdowns of funds and viewing of payment history reports, View Only does not allow the drawdowns of funds, but permits viewing of payment history reports.)
• Click “Continue.”
• On the next page, you will then be prompted to fill out the following fields:
  • Payee UEI (required): A GAN shows the Grantee UEI. Some institutions use a different UEI for payee information. Confirm that you are entering the Payee UEI that your institution uses to connect their grant awards to banking in G5.
  • Grantee UEI (optional): Skip this field.
  • Access Level (required): Select “View Only” to simply view drawdowns or “Full Access” to make and view drawdowns.
• After entering the above information, click “Continue.”
• On the next page that appears, you will see instructions in red requesting that you click a link to print out a form that appears on the screen, which is populated with your name, date of birth and role requested. Click on the link to get the form to appear and print it out but black out the date of birth. This is no longer required.
• Click the back button on your browser to get back to the G6 page where the instructions appeared and click “Submit” at the bottom of the page.
• Please make sure all fields are completed and the form is signed.
• If you want access to more than one UEI, write the additional UEIs next to the one that pre-populates on the form (separate UEIs with a comma).
• Scan the completed form or fill it out electronically and email it to obssed@servicenowservices.com. Completed forms must bear the required signatures and be notarized (or, in lieu of notarization, contain your LEA’s official seal or stamp, or be accompanied by a letter on your LEA’s official letterhead from the Senior Officer (i.e., superintendent, business manager, etc.) who signs the authorization section).
• Note that the Department no longer requires grantees to mail in paper forms.

How to Draw Down Funds in G6

Please note that to follow the steps below, a user must have the Full Payee Access role in G6 (see the previous section above for more information). Once you are logged into your G6 account, complete the steps below to request a new drawdown of funds:

• Go to “Payments” then “Create Payments” where the UEI appears pre-populated. If the customer is connected to more than one UEI, they must select it here. The other fields (“Fiscal Year,” etc.) are optional filters that can be disregarded by most users.
• Click “Continue.”
• Locate the PR/Award Number on the next page and enter the amount to be requested in the box next to it. NOTE: The field marked “Recipient Reference” is also optional and designed for entering the name of the program that the grant award is for (“Upward Bound,” for example). This is NOT a field to identify the reason for a particular draw down.
• Click “Continue.”
• Answer “Yes” to the question, “Are you sure you would like to submit this request?”
• Click “Submit.”
• Note that if you do not see any PR Award Numbers available to draw down, this likely means that your account does not have Full Payee Access. Please follow the steps in the section above or contact the Department’s Office of Business Support Services helpdesk by calling 1-888-336-8930 or sending an email to obssed@servicenowservices.com.

Understanding Your PR/Award Number

Every REAP grant award has a unique number assigned to it for identification and tracking purposes. The Office of Management and Budget requires all Federal agencies to assign a Federal Award Identifying Number (FAIN) to each of their financial assistance awards. The PR/Award Number identified in Block 2 of your GAN is your FAIN.

PR/Award Numbers are made up of the following:

• A Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number
  • For SRSA awards this is S358A
  • For RLIS awards this is S358B
  • For RLIS-SQA awards this is S358C
• The last two digits of the fiscal year of the award
  • FY 2023 awards contain 23 directly after the CFDA number
  • FY 2022 awards contain 22 directly after the CFDA number
• A four-digit random identifier that is unique to each grant recipient
  • For example, 1234

When combined, these three elements form your unique PR/Award Number which can be used to identify the fiscal year of the award.