1) Federal funding, of a sort 
In a fiscal federal form of government, a block grant is a large sum of money granted by the national government to a regional government with only general provisions as to the way it is to be spent. This can be contrasted with a categorical grant which has more strict and specific provisions on the way it is to be spent. An advantage of block gra...
Federal funds made to a state for the delivery of a specific group of related services, such as drug abuse related services. 
(See SSA).
[n] - a grant of federal money to state and local governments to support social welfare programs
noun a grant of federal money to state and local governments to support social welfare programs; `block grants reduce federal responsibility for social welfare`
a consolidated grant of federal funds, formerly allocated for specific programs, that a state or local government may use at its discretion for such programs as education or urban development.
A financing mechanism that allocates funds based on a formula that uses statistical factors, like population. Block grants limit the amount of federal spending in advance and do not require a state match.