I often get questions regarding the various government grant guides available online. Due to a lack of transparency and the minimal amount of information provided by the various grant agencies, people have turned to these specialist guides to help them obtain a government grant. But are these guides any good? Are they worth the money? To help answer these questions I have purchased and reviewed the three most popular government grant guides online.
Federal Grant Source
Federal Grant Source is the newest product on the market and in my opinion the best of the three I have reviewed. It may just be because it is new, but the database of grants both federal and private is the most up-to-date, with none of the grants expired as far as I could see. More importantly the links are all still active and of the phone numbers listed that I rang, all of them went through to the relevant department.
But its not the slightly better list that makes this the best government grant resource, it is the tutorials that the program provides that stands this one above its competitors. Not only do they provide expert sample grant applications, but they also provide in depth audio and written tutorials that take you step-by-step through the process of applying for a grant.
The only downside is the fact it is a monthly subscription program. However it is this monthly payment which allows for Federal Grant Source to constantly update its database and add new resources for its subscribers. Not much incentive for a provider to improve the information if they have already gotten your money, which is what happens in a once-off payment.
Check them out here HERE.
Uncle Sams Money
Uncle Sams Money (despite the horrible looking sales page) is the most popular government grants program online, which says something about the quality. Like Federal Grant Source it has a very comprehensive list, in fact it has a lot more grants to choose from. However the list is getting older and includes a few grants that are not available and a few broken links. I also found the software to be the easiest to use of the three programs, particularly in locating specific grants to suit my needs.
The tutorials were helpful without being overly-impressive except for the “Grants Writing Tutorial Software Package” which is worth the price alone. That piece of software was really simple to use and made the process so much faster if you were looking to apply for several grants, which is best to do to increase your chances of success. If you compare the program to Federal Grant Source the biggest advantage is the one-off payment.
Check them out here HERE.
Dollar Grants
Dollar Grants is definitely the little brother of the grants industry. It sells itself as a service which it clearly is not. Its grants list is comparable to the other competitors but that’s about as far as this resource goes. Quite simply it is not worth your time and you should be deciding between the other two resources. I think the popularity of this program is due more to the sales pitch of a “service”, more than the actual quality of the product itself and the fact that it is the cheapest of all the products.
Check them out here HERE.