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Archive for the ‘Grants’ Category

Most ads have been talking about nothing else. Government grant money — does such a thing really exist? The answer is yes, it does exist, but you have to be careful what you mean by “grant money.”

Contrary to what people and the ads may say, the U.S. Government is not giving away free grant money. A government grant money is not a Christmas present, nor a gift with no strings attached.

“A grant is a form of gift that entails certain obligations on the part of the grantee and expectations on the part of the grantor,” explains Jay M. Shafritz, author of the book American Government and Politics.

Too many people have been misled into believing that the government is so rich that it’s giving away free money to anyone who applies for it. The truth is that government grant money is not available to everyone for often, grants are awarded to groups or organizations that have projects designed to benefit the community.

For instance, government grant money may be awarded to a civic group who is planning to finish any of the following projects:

* A neighborhood street paving project
* A state-wide program to re-train displaced workers
* A project to attract new businesses to a depressed downtown area
* A regional water conservation program
* A county-wide flood control project

If you notice, all these projects are in one way or another community-oriented or community-based, which should give you some idea on what government grant money is for — a good cause. So all these ads you read or see telling you that government is giving away free grant money to help you with debt consolidation or start up your small business may not be all together true.

Government grant money is not given to individuals for purely personal reasons. You have to have a good cause or a project that would benefit your community in order to qualify. And even then, the competition is tough. Some non-profit groups even hire their own staff to handle the grant application process on top of their own regular staff who’ll administer the grant once approved. For this reason, not many ordinary citizens qualify to receive government grant money.

The plain truth is that with federal funding cutbacks and competition for them becoming more intense as times goes, seeking government grant money always requires a lot of time and potentially a lot of money up front with no guarantee of success.

However, if you have a worthy project in mind, then try out the following government grant money resources below:

* Department of Education Grants and Contracts Information at GCS.ed.gov
* Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at HHS.gov — over 300 HHS grants are administered by several agencies. You may find them listed in the CFDA listings.
* Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at HUD. Gov
* Department of Justice (DOJ) at OJP.USDOJ.gov
* Department of Transportation (DOT) at DOT. Gov
* Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at EPA.gov
* Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) at FEMA.gov

If you’re a student seeking money for college, one of the options (and for some, the only option) you have is a grant. A grant is a federal fund given to a student based on his economic need. Unlike student loans, a grant doesn’t have to be paid back after you graduate from college. The money is given to you freely without any obligations to repay what you received.

A grant is also different from a scholarship in that scholarships are often given based on merit. A grant, on the other hand, is based solely on the student’s need for financial assistance, using the guidelines set up by the Federal Government.

One of the most reliable resources for free online grant applications for students is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the FAFSA ran by the Department of Education. The FAFSA Program at FAFSA.ed.gov offers general student aid information and free online grant applications for students seeking grant sources.

The site lists the criteria and important documentations that you need in order to qualify for their free online grant applications, along with deadlines and other pertinent information.

Below are some tips to help get free online grant applications without delay:

Read the Instructions

The FAFSA website offers free online grant applications forms for download. After downloading the form, you will need to fill it up before submitting it for approval. As you’re filling up the form, be sure to read the instructions carefully.

Many questions on the free online grant applications forms are straightforward. You may be asked for your Social Security Number or your driver’s license, and other such documentation. But there are also questions that are asked specifically for purposes of student financial aid. Common words like “household,” “investments,” and even “parent” may have special meaning. That’s why you need to read all instructions in your free online grant applications discriminately.

Apply Early

State and school deadlines for free online grant applications will vary and tend to be early. Also, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will process your FAFSA free online grant applications if received on or before this deadline. So make sure to check with your school to find out the exact deadline dates.

Note that to actually receive aid from ED, your school must have correct, complete FAFSA information on your free online grant applications before your last day of enrollment.

Complete your Tax Return

One important document that is required in your free online grant applications is your tax return (or if you are a dependent student, your parents’). It is recommended that you complete your tax return before filling out your FAFSA to make the whole free online grant applications process easier for you. If you have not filed your tax return yet, you can still submit your free online grant applications but you must provide income and tax data. Once you file your tax return, you must correct any income or tax information that changed.

Additional Forms

Many schools and states rely on the FAFSA as the single free online grant application for student aid. However, your school or state may require additional forms. To find out what these forms are, just check with your state agency and the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend.

Are you worn out by trying to raise money for a good cause with bake sales, car washes and raffles? You know, there is another way to go about raising money. Ever heard of free grant money? That’s where you’re going to get yours.

But first, what is free grant money?

Free grant money is funding provided by a federal, state, local group or funding provided by a private, charitable or civic organization. Often, the people who receive free grant money are non-profit groups, such as health care organizations, schools, arts programs, and service agencies.

There are also instances where free grant money is provided to help assist in or underwrite the costs of various projects, ranging from providing food and shelter to the homeless to funding art programs to disabled adults. Free grant money may also be used to underwrite the cost of computers for a classroom or certain extra costs in public libraries.

The Federal Government of the United States gives away free grant money every year to various individual groups with community-based projects. Congress allocates money every budget year just for these government grants. In addition to federal free grant money, state grants are also available.

But while there are government funds available, competitions during the application process may be tougher with various organizations countrywide competing for a grant. For this reason, it often helps if you look closer to home for a source of free grant money. Besides which, local funding is less likely to have administrative and regulatory mandates and is most often the easiest type of grant funding to secure.

Aside from the government, there are several other groups that offer free grant money. Think about organizations in your community that raise funds for good causes. The Elks Club, Women’s Club, Rotary, Kiwanis, and other civic or fraternal clubs. They don’t have to be grand corporate groups or philanthropic celebrities. Any group whose agenda include doing some good to the community may consider giving you free grant money if your project idea deserves funding.

Sometimes even, grant funding is available from local businesses especially the local division ofa national firm such as Wal-mart or Blue Cross Blue Shield.

To find out who in your community are offering free grant money, it’s helpful to start by talking with people who are in a position to know. These people are the kind who does fundraising professionally. Because of their background in fundraising, they can be great resources in helping you locate sources for your free grant money.

Many communities these days have their own professional network of fundraising professionals. Check to see if your own community has one of these. Contacting a network may be the easiest way for you to go about seeking funds for your cause. Not only will they help you locate resources for free grant money, but they will also help you with the application process by providing you with detailed reference material giving information about funding availability, grant writing, how to apply and levels of funding that may be available.

Every year, Congress allocates around $67 million on student aid. The money may be awarded in the form of loans, grants, gifts, or even scholarships, depending on a student’s qualifications and need.

However, out of the types of student aid offered by the United States Federal Government, both students and parents alike widely prefer grants. That’s because grant money is essentially “free money.” Unlike a student loan, free grant money for college doesn’t have to be paid back. It is based solely on need, which is calculated by putting your household, demographic, and financial data through a formula and then used as basis for determining your award.

But to get this kind of information from the student, you will have to submit the necessary data and apply for free grant money for college. That means you will need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The quickest way to do that is to apply online at FAFSA.ed.gov.

Another method is completing the CSS Profile Application. If you are an incoming freshman, the Profile is a must since most colleges require this form in addition to the FAFSA in order to qualify for free grant money for college.

The data received from your CSS Profile and your FAFSA are then used to compute the amount of free grant money for college you ought to receive. How is this accomplished? Just read on:

With the FAFSA form, there is a place called the CPS or the Central Processing System. This is where the data on your FAFSA is compiled before a formula is applied. The Department of Education, under which the FAFSA runs, is the prime federal agency that applies the formula — called Federal Methodology, using your EFC.

That’s why knowing your EFC is very important if you plan to apply for free grant money for college. In fact, this is a key factor is determining your need. Basically, the EFC is what the government is telling us how much you should be able to contribute toward education based on your state of residence, household size, number in college and student and parent income and asset information.

When you apply for the FAFSA free grant money for college, you will be asked to submit several documents; the data received become the basis of your EFC.

Next to your EFC is the COA or Cost of Attendance. It is the school you are planning to attend that establishes the figure. The COA is composed of tuition, room and board, fees and estimated expenses for miscellaneous costs, such as books, supplies, personal, etc.

After you have your COA and EFC, you will now be assessed to find out if you qualify for free grant money for college. Your financial need is calculated by subtracting the EFC from the COA. The formula is the standard guideline in determining how much need-based financial aid you may receive from the government.

The equation, simplified, looks like this:

COA — EFC = Financial Need

After getting the result, the aid office will then use their “need-based” resources available to try to meet your financial need.

Got an idea which may do the community some good? But where will you get the money to finance your idea? The first choice would be to get the money not from your own pocket but from somewhere else.

Funding comes in various forms. You may get your capital for your project by taking out a loan. Or, if you’re a student in need, you may get your funding from scholarships or tuition-waivers. However, these two require that you give something back in return. Loans, for instance, require that you pay back the amount you borrowed, while scholarships are most often awarded based on merit.

But are there other funding options available where you don’t have to pay back anything or earn the money through merit? The answer is, “Yes, there is!”

A grant is a kind of funding provided by federal, state, local group. It may also be given by a private, charitable, or civic organization. Unlike loans and scholarships, a grant is awarded based solely on your need and doesn’t have to be paid back. That’s why many people have even come to calling it “free money.”

However, don’t be fooled by this misleading moniker. A grant may not require you to pay back the amount, but most of them, especially those funded by the government, come with their own set of obligations and conditions that you have to comply with.

Often, those who qualify for free grant money application are non-profit groups, such as healthcare organizations, schools, art programs, and service agencies. The purpose of free grant money application is to help underwrite the costs of various projects ranging from providing food and shelter to the homeless to funding art programs for disabled adults to underwriting the cost of computers for a classroom.

There are many places where you can submit your free grant money application. In the case of government grants, you can find out if they have free grant money application available by checking the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) website, which contains listings of all available federal government funds allocated by Congress for the current year.

Besides federal grants, free grant money application are also provided by state and local governments. Often, it helps if you look closer to home for a source of free grant money applications. That’s because local funding is less likely to have administrative and regulatory mandates and is most often the easiest type of grant funding to secure.

But finding where you can submit your free grant money application is different from getting grant funds. Applying for a grant can take a lot of skill and requires some amount of sacrifice of time and effort on your own part.

Typically, the group or business giving away the free grant money application has very specific requirements. In fact, the availability of grant funds might even be limited to charitable programs serving a specific geographic area or a certain population of people. So, it is very important that your free grant money application have an edge over the other grant seekers out there.

You probably heard of free grants before. Free grants are money from government funds awarded to organizations that have major projects deemed to benefit the community. Contrary to its name, free grants come with strings attached — whether in the form of obligations or sanctions in case you break any of the rules set down by your grant provider.

It can be quite tedious applying for free grants, though a lot of people may say that it’s easy as pie. Free grant applications involves several steps, not to mention several considerations, all of which contribute to the approval of your application.

Below are some strategies to help you with your free grant applications:

Research

The most important step in free grant applications is research. When you apply for a grant, most grant makers require you to submit a project proposal of the program you have in mind. If your proposal has nothing to do with the aims or goals of the foundation offering you the grant, there’s every chance your free grant application won’t even make it through the first stage. That is why research is very important.

Research the funding interest of a foundation before applying for a grant. If you can, obtain a copy of their annual report and/or their guidelines. Base your project proposal on these guidelines and make sure you have everything in order before submitting your free grant application.

The Application Process

Each organization may have different free grant application process. So just because you already know how one foundation does it, it doesn’t mean that you already know how everything works. One foundation may handle it this way, while the other may handle it in a completely different manner. So, for each free grant application that you submit, make sure that you familiarize yourself with the funder’s application process.

Timetable, preferred method of initial contact, and other such factors are important things to know when determining a foundation’s free grant application process. Take note that there are some funders that accept proposals only after an initial phone call, query letter, or pre-application form.

Cover Letter

If you want a sure-fire way for your free grant application to attract the attention of your funders, then include a cover letter in your application. The cover letter must be brief and must outline the link between your proposal and the funder’s interests. At least one paragraph of your cover letter must include a brief summary of your project.

Format, etc.

Most grant makers will provide you with a format to follow for your free grant application. Some can be very strict in enforcing this format. If a format is provided, make sure you follow it, or risk having your free grant application trashed. Also, during your initial queries, your funder may have provided you with specific instructions pertaining to your proposal and free grant application. Make sure you follow these instructions.

If you funder requests for additional information, give it to them. It’s difficult sometimes to meet all the requirements of a grant maker so don’t be surprised if you get a call after you submit your free grant application. At any rate, that call usually means that your proposal already passed the first stage of approval.

Finding and identifying government agencies that give free government grant money for specific purposes or in specific subject areas often requires time, effort, and research. When an ad claims that the process is very easy, don’t listen or believe a single word in that ad. Obviously, that ad is a scam. Nowhere can you find free money that easy without having to answer for it in one way or another.

Actually, the term “free government grant money” is more like a misnomer. While it is true that free government grant money doesn’t have to be repaid, it doesn’t mean that there are no obligations involved and no sanctions imposed in case of breach of any of these obligations. Plus, there are restrictions as to how you ought to spend the funds you’ve been given. For one, the money should only be used in consonance with the project and should not stray from the objectives of the funders.

If you are looking for funding for an existing or new for profit business, you may encounter difficulties in finding and getting free government grant money. Generally, the Federal Government provides federal funding only to non-profit organizations for programs and services that benefit the community or the public at large. But that’s not saying, however, that free government grant money is not available to entrepreneurs looking for a break or a foothold in the ever moving landscape of business.

The first place you ought to check for available free government grant money is the U.S. Government’s Grants.gov Website. The site will enable you to electronically find and apply for competitive grant opportunities from all Federal grant making agencies.

Finding free government grant money is made a lot easier for you at this site as everything — including the application and approval process — has been automated for your convenience. In addition, you can also obtain information on types of free government grant money and the government agencies that make grants. And in case of future grants, the site offers you the option to sign up in order to receive notifications of future grant opportunities.

Aside from Grants.gov, you can also take a look at the Government’s Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) for free government grant money. The site at CFDA.gov contains a listing of various government grants and other types of assistance from home owners aid to house rentals and even small business start-up opportunities.

At CFDA, you can get information on available free government grant money by Category and Topic Area, but you also have the option to search the Catalog by key words and other methods. If you find a grant that interests you, make sure that you carefully read the section on Eligibility Requirements to find out if you would be qualified to apply for that particular grant.

Wherever you may decide to search for free government grant money, keep in mind that most government grants are not available year-round. That means you can’t apply for most of them at any time you please. So, whenever a government agency announces that it’s giving away free government grant money, that’s generally the perfect time to apply for them.