Learn Italian: Si erogano le sovvenzioni tramite il comitato. - One disburses the grants through the committee.

Tramite translates to "through," "via," or "by means of." It is specifically used to introduce an intermediary or a channel through which an action happens. While you could use per, tramite belongs to a more formal, administrative register, which perfectly matches the tone of disbursing grants through a committee.

Do I ever need to combine tramite with the definite article, the way di becomes del?

No, unlike primary prepositions such as di, a, or da, the preposition tramite never merges with definite articles. You simply place the standalone word next to the article, which is why we write tramite il comitato.

Why is the verb erogano in the plural form here if the English translation starts with "One disburses"?

This sentence uses the passive si (si passivante). In Italian, when si is used with a direct object, the verb must agree with that object. Because le sovvenzioni (the grants) is plural, the verb must be the plural erogano. A more literal translation would be "The grants are disbursed." If it were a single grant, it would be si eroga la sovvenzione.

Is erogare a common everyday verb for "to give" or "to pay"?