In accordance with federal government policy, all organizations – including (but not limited to) private schools, public school districts, government entities, and nonprofit organizations – must provide a valid Unique Entity ID (UEI) to receive an S.C. Arts Commission (SCAC) grant award.
The UEI requirement will replace the DUNS number requirement, effective April 4, 2022. (Note: During this transition, some SCAC grant applications will ask for a DUNS Number, a UEI, or both.)
The SCAC Grants Team held a special coaching session to discuss the transition from DUNS numbers to UEIs. Watch the session here.
A UEI is an alphanumeric code used to uniquely identify a specific entity.
SAM UEIs are federally issued UEIs obtained through SAM.gov, an Entity Validation Service, which independently verifies the uniqueness of an entity by confirming that there is no existing registration for that legal business name and address. This ensures that SAM UEIs are unique.
As a recipient of federal funding through the National Endowment for the Arts, the SCAC must require its grantees to provide a SAM UEI.
No. The FEIN or Tax ID number relates to federal tax-exempt status. The SAM UEI is for identification of unique entities.
DUNS numbers are similar to SAM UEIs in terms of purpose and process, but they are not the same. Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) keeps track of more than 70 million businesses world-wide through its Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) (a.k.a. D-U-N-S Number or D-U-N-S® Number). In addition, the Creative Industries project – an annual research initiative of Americans for the Arts – uses DUNS Numbers to document the number of arts-related businesses and employees in any geographical region or political jurisdiction. This information is used to increase the awareness of the national scope of the arts industry and provide a way to advance the arts at state and national levels.
Until April 4, 2022, the DUNS Number is the authoritative entity identifier used by the federal government. Beginning April 4, 2022, UEIs obtained through SAM.gov will replace DUNS numbers as the authoritative entity identifier used by the federal government.
All organizations – including (but not limited to) private schools, public school districts, government entities, and nonprofit organizations – must have a UEI to receive an SCAC grant award.
Request a UEI via SAM.gov.
(subject to change)
An authorizing official (someone who can legally represent the organization) should request the SAM UEI.
There is no fee.
Start now!
Before April 4, 2022:
Beginning April 4, 2022:
It normally takes up to two business to get a UEI from SAM.gov. However, we recommend you begin the process right away, in case of unexpected delays.
Add it to your organization’s SCAC Grants Portal account.
You may also email your SAM UEI to grants@arts.sc.gov and we will add the information to your Grants Portal account.
Please contact the Grants Team (803.734.8695 | grants@arts.sc.gov).