Federal Spending Report — Week of 2026-08-09
Federal Spending Report: August 9-15, 2026
The federal government obligated $1.9 million across 17 awards during the week of August 9-15, 2026, with the Department of Agriculture commanding the majority of spending through grants focused on rural development and research initiatives.
The University of Georgia Research Foundation led all recipients with a $650,000 grant from the Department of Agriculture, marking the single largest award of the week. Rural Alaska Community Action Program Inc secured the second-largest grant at $530,000, also from Agriculture, underscoring the department's focus on supporting rural communities across geographically diverse regions. Two additional grants worth $270,000 each were distributed by the National Science Foundation to recipients in Michigan and Indiana, while the University of Chicago received a $50,000 NSF grant for research in Illinois.
The week's contracting activity concentrated heavily among a small number of entities. One redacted contractor dominated the awards list, securing $669,000 across 13 separate grants—representing roughly 35 percent of total obligated funds. This contractor's substantial share suggests either a large institutional recipient or a consolidation of multiple smaller awards within a single entity. The University of Georgia Research Foundation and Rural Alaska Community Action Program Inc each landed single, six-figure grants, while the University of Chicago and Majestic Gardens received smaller allocations of $50,000 and $33,000 respectively.
The Department of Agriculture's spending dwarfed the National Science Foundation, obligating $1.3 million across 14 awards compared to NSF's $590,000 across 3 awards. Notably, the lone non-grant award was a $33,000 direct payment to Majestic Gardens, representing less than 2 percent of total spending for the week.
Geographic distribution revealed significant variation, with Georgia capturing the largest single share at $650,000, followed by Alaska at $530,000. Indiana received the most awards by state count with 5 grants totaling $314,000, while Michigan and Illinois split $330,000 across 3 combined awards. The concentration of spending in rural states and university research centers reflects the week's emphasis on agricultural research and rural community development initiatives.