Wiktionary
n. 1 The giving of national funds to subsidize a local or regional project. 2 Providing funds to an institution (such as a school) or person to subsidize a specific project or activity, such as a scholarship.
WordNet
n. a grant from a central government to a local government
a grant to a person or school for some educational project
[also: grants-in-aid (pl)]
Wikipedia
A grant-in-aid is money coming from central government for a specific project. This kind of funding is usually used when the government and parliament have decided that the recipient should be publicly funded but operate with reasonable independence from the state.
In the United Kingdom, most bodies in receipt of grants-in-aid are non-departmental public bodies.
A grant-in-aid is funds allocated by one level of government to another level of government to be used for specific purposes. Such funds are usually accompanied by requirements and standards set by the governing body for how they are to be spent. An example of this would be how the United States Congress required states to raise the drinking age for alcohol from 18 to 21 in order for the individual states to continue to qualify for federal funds for interstate highways located within each state.
Usage examples of "grant-in-aid".
The rights reserved to the States are not invaded by a statute which requires a reduction in the amount of a federal grant-in-aid of the construction of highways upon failure of a State to remove from office a member of the State Highway Commission found to have violated federal law by participating in a political campaign.