Grant anticipation notes (GANs) are a type of short-term borrowing.
Many grants are funded on a reimbursement basis: the entity receiving grant funding must first spend its own money for authorized purposes, and is later repaid with grant funds. Rather than using its own funds for the initial expenditures, however, the grant recipient may instead spend money borrowed through grant anticipation notes. The notes are later paid off when the grant funding is received through the reimbursement process.