So after getting a significant number of responses I have decided to rewrite this article and provide some more insightful infomation hopefully. The initial idea was to provide a more specific step-by-step style article to obtaining a government grant. However the more I researched the more I realised this wasn’t possible. If you are serous about applying for a government grant I recommend you Get Uncle Sams Money (fully refundable) just for their up-to-date database of grants and contacts. But before you do it may be worth reading on as this article ended up being an excellent overview of government grants.
What Is a government grant?
Grants are not benefits or entitlements. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States. Federal grants are not federal assistance or loans to individuals. That definition is straight from the government and points out that grants have a purpose and are not “free-cash” that it has been stigmatised with.
Why would the government give out these grants?
There are many legitimate reasons why the government would give out grants. I wont go into much detail as they are fairly straight forward, but here are some reasons why the government gives out grants:
What types of grants are available?
The number of grants available is extensive to say the least. There are 23 federal government agencies that are responsible for issuing grants as well as numerous state agencies and thousands of private organisations. This gives you the idea of the amount of different grants there are available. Here is a list of the areas where grants are issued:
Grant recipients can also be divided into seven seperate categories:
- Government Agencies
- Education Organizations
- Public Organizations
- Non-Profit Organizations
- For Profit Organizations (excluding small businesses)
- Small Business
- Individuals
OK so I have covered some of the more generic points of the government grant topic. But for individuals and small business what should know about government grants? I have tried to debunk any myths and provide straight forward infomation that you should be aware of before you start applying for grants.
Most grants are not applicable to individuals
The government does indeed give out billions in grants every year but only small minority of that is actually targetted towards individuals.
Small Business grants are for job creation.
If going for a small business grant you need to prove one of two things.You need to prove that the grant will allow your business to grow and employ more people. Or you need to prove that the grant will allow your business to provide a product or service that will be beneficial to society. Recycling businesses for example are always reviewed positively for grants.
Online infomation is vague
Online sources for government grants is vague at best. In particular Grants.gov which is the governments official grant site is rather dissapointing, falling well short of their target of being a centralised grant organisation. The site does not list a majority of the grants available and the infomation it does have is brief at best. Other government websites are no better with very little infomation on the application process in particular. Aside from the official websites the only useful infomation has to be paid for.
Application process differs for grants
The application process is different, depending on which grant you apply for. All applications require some form of written application usually containg relevant details (contact info) and a submission detailing why you as an applicant should recieve the grant. The actual submission is very similar to an essay detailing:
- Why the applicant wants the grant?
- Why the applicant is best suited for the grant?
- What the applicant will do with the grant?
- How the applicant recieving the grant will be providfing a public service?
However many grants will require further processes for the applicant which can include but is not limited to:
- Interviews
- Additional testing (particularly educational grants)
- Selection Panels
- Background checks
Government Grant Sale Pitches
I think much of the confusion about government grants is caused by the different companies offering “free government money” and other such claims. I think a more cautious approach to these claims needs to be taken without dismissing them altogether.
Claim 1: Use government grants for personal needs
Some claim that you can use your government grants for a new car, to get out of debt, groceries, fuel and utility bills. Now I can’t disprove these claims but a dose of cynicism is all that is needed to realise that they are, at the very least stretching the truth. What benefit to the country is there to provide someone a grant to buy groceries for example? Most of these personal needs would be covered by government benefits and social welfare.
Having said that there is legitimate government grants for indivduals available. Education, housing and health grants are very real and very obtainable.
Claim 2: Every U.S Citizen is eligible
This claim is technically correct, but misleading none the less. Most sale pitches make out that everyone can and should be getting 1000’s of dollars in government grants. Obviously it is not that simple.
The truth is that to successfully get a government grant you must meet the neccessary requirements for that particular grant and that those requirements are rather specific. So many of us will not be eligible for any government grants.
Claim 3: You need to purchase an ebook or service to get a grant
The grant process can be done entirely independant from these services. However you are probably best off using these services (most are entirely refundable anyway) to improve your chances of success. For reasons unbeknown to me the government does not simply publish all the grants available in one spot and has created a conguated web of references and links which muddy the grant process entirely.
If you are having trouble finding a relevant grant its best to use one of these services because they are dedicated to finding infomation on:
- all the grants available (both public and private). Most importantly the infomation is regularly updated to show new grants and also remove expired grants.
- Contact details relevant to individual grants
- Most usually include infomation how to submit an application that has a higher chance of success.
To sum this up simply, Government Grants are avaliable and are given out every day. But its important to note this is not a get rich quick scheme or anything similar. You must be eligible for the grant and the eligibility criteria is much tougher than it has probably been made out. I was hoping to provide more detailed infomation for this article, however the scope and size of the government grants and the proceesses involved is seemingly endless and so I included only key infomation only. If you want to find detailed infomation the best place to start is using an online service such as uncle sams money, but if you want to save your money you should contact the relevant government department for your grant application. For example if you are looking for an educational grant your first step should be to contact the education department and ask them to point you in the right direction.
I hope this article proves to be helpful and explains some of the aspects of government grants. Please continue to comment and ask any questions which I may not have covered here and I will do my best to answer them thoroughly.
this is a really good resource for educators. thanks for sharing.
nice post. I write about the classic car loan business and I can absolutely relate
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
I intend to follow your advice.
where would I look for credit card relief grants? I am on disability and work part time, 60 yrs old and am over my head.
Thank you
@ Barbara, check out Federal Grant Source, they are a paid service but you are eligible for a full refund within 60 days if you don’t successfully apply for a grant. They have a huge database of grants available and can help you find one to suit your needs.
I have plans to a new small business, specifically a coffee shop, so I’ve been searching the web for inspiration. Reading your posts have give me some great things to think about, and I look forward to reading a lot more of what you have to share!
Not bad! Although I don’t visit your blog much but I must say that you always post amazing information and the theme is quite good. Keep us updated mate! I love your blog and will keep on appreciating your effort every time I visit.
It does seem that everybody is into this kind of stuff lately. Don’t really understand it though, but thanks for trying to explain it. Appreciate you shedding light into this matter. Keep it up
I have plans to a new small business, specifically a coffee shop, so I’ve been searching the web for inspiration. Reading your posts have give me some great things to think about, and I look forward to reading a lot more of what you have to share!
+1