Grant Program For Physical Education

With this grant you can get equipment and professional development. It will not fund athletics. This program provides grants to initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs for K-12 students in order to help them make progress. You can find out more about this grant program (and whether or not you are eligible to apply for it) by going to the government's website.

An appropriation of over $72 Million Dollars has been allotted for this grant progrm.

Number of New Awards Anticipated: 58


Average New Award: $300,000


Range of New Awards: $100,000–$500,000

Daycare Grants - Questions And Answers

Am I eligible to receive a grant to open a day care center in my home?

You might be eligible to receive funds through your States program. Almost all States provide funds for child care. States and/or local agencies (i.e., county, city, regional offices) may provide services directly or purchase them from qualified providers. Child care is also funded through other grant programs at the state and local level. You can check the web site to find more information about these grants, including the names of your state official and state program contact information for this grant program.

Are there special programs to assist child care programs in rural areas?

I live in a rural area. Can I get a grant to start a child care program? center? family child care home? day care?

The government has programs that offer loans to develop community facilities, which may include child care centers. Public entities (such as counties and cities) and non-profit organizations (under certain conditions) may be eligible for the loans. For details, consult government's web site.

Are there funds available for providing meals in child care?

I heard that the government provides funds for meals. How do I find out who to contact to get these funds? Who should I contact to get funding for serving food at child care? How do I get funds for serving food at my child care center? Are nutrition funds available for child care programs? centers? homes?

Your local state office can provide subsidies for meals and snacks for children enrolled in child care programs. You can obtain information on this subject by consulting their web site.

Where do I go to get funds to start or improve my child care program?

Does my state help child care providers? centers? family child care homes? day cares?

How do I contact my state to get help with starting my child care program?

Where can my families find child care funds?

The state agency responsible for subsidizing child care programs can tell you if funds are available to help you start a new child care program or expand your existing program, and they will let you know how to apply.

What other types of funding programs are available?

Does your program provide funds for youth programs?

What funds are available for youth programs? programs that serve youth?

Funding is also provided to local communities to support young people, particularly runaway and homeless youth, and their families through three grant programs authorized by the government. More information about these funding programs is available via a .pdf download from the government website. (To view the information, you must first download and install the free Acrobat Reader if you have not previously done so.

For more information about the basics of this program you can visit the website.

Grant funding is also provided for research, evaluation, and demonstration programs designed to explore specific issues, evaluate programs, and test new theories. To date the government has funded more than 150 demonstration projects and is currently funding 13 State Youth Development Collaboration projects designed to promote the youth development approach. For more information, you can visit their website also.

Grant Basics 101 - Page 2!

I have had to split my Grant Basics 101 page into 2 continuing pages. The reason why is because there was so much information about grant programs, the grant program process and just general questions and answers that the information was making the one page too big in size!

But it does prove a very valid point and that is that there is just so much information out there about grant programs and the grant program process in general. It also shows that people have a lot of questions about grant programs because they are not familiar with what it is all about.

Hopefully my pages and this blog will help to answer a few questions that you may have about grants and the grants process in general.

Most people who are not familiar with it seem to think that they can just apply for a grant and get the grant money and this is not true. What I want to make a point of here is that one is not automatically guaranteed a grant! You have to apply for the grant and your application has to be chosen to be awarded a grant. It is not an automatic process and you will not automatically get a grant just because you have applied for it!

Hopefully though my pages will show you that there are a number of grant programs out there which you may be eligible to apply for. These pages should also help dispel the myth that there are no grant programs out there for for-profit businesses and that there are no grant programs for those that either want to start their own daycare business or that there are no grant programs for those that already have a daycare business but who are looking for grant funding to help their daycare business.

There may even come a time when I will have to split the pages even more because there is just so much information about grant programs out there and there are new grant programs being created all the time!

Grant Program For Photo Journalists!

Every year there has been a grant program that awards photojournalists individual grants of $20,000 each, for a total of $100,000. Grant recipients are given the opportunity to sign a one-year exclusive-rights deal whereby their work will be marketed and available for license to customers worldwide while retaining copyright of their imagery.


Upcoming grant application deadline will be November 2008.

Two grants will be announced in February and May of 2009). Additional grants will be announced on a different month.

You can visit their website to learn more.

To submit your proposal and portfolio please read the application requirements and submission guidelines and complete the application form. Note that new electronic submission guidelines may soon be available.


To apply applicants must be presently engaged as a professional photojournalist and apply as an individual. The grant will fund new work from both established and rising photojournalists.

Please review and follow all application instructions found in Application Requirements and Submission Guidelines. Applications that do not adhere to all submission guidelines will not be submitted to judges for consideration.

Once your application is complete and formatted to the specifications outlined in our guidelines, please send your CD submission and application form by the designated postmark date to the mailing address.

One Of The Ways That A For-Profit Business Gets A Government Grant Is......

for the developement of a product.

For example one business got a multi-million dollar government grant to help to develop tools to measure the health of people with asthma. The business will collaborate on the project with a health-plan provider. The grant will help the business complete development of its product, which enables patients with asthma to report their condition to measure their illness.

What is also interesting to note is that this business has received government grant funding more than once!

This grant award was provided from The National Institutes of Health.

Are There Any Grant Programs For A For-Profit Daycare?

Of course the answer is

YES!

I personally know this for a fact because I have found these daycare related grant programs for others. For one of my most latest clients I was able to find 10 pages worth of information about grant programs for their daycare center that they were eligible to apply for. Some of these daycare-related grant programs were in their own state - another reason why I tell people who are looking for grant money to start looking at their own state's website first.

10 pages worth of grant program information is nothing to sneeze at especially when there are people out there that have said that no such grant programs exist. I have even been to sites that had to do with daycare and they themselves say that there are no such grant programs for for-profit daycares. So that leads me to ask the question of if there are no such grant programs for a for-profit daycare why was I able to find 10 pages worth of grant program information that had to do with grant programs for for-profit daycares to apply for? Make no mistake, these grant programs aren't for all for-profit daycares but you won't know if you are eligible to apply unless you have the information about the eligibility requirements that you have to meet to know whether or not your (for-profit) daycare is eligible to apply for.

I know that there can be a lot of frustration in finding such grant programs for a for-profit daycare but the fact of the matter is - just because you can't find these grant programs doesn't mean that they don't exist. It just means that you haven't found the information yet.

As a matter of fact some of these grant programs for for-profit daycares have expressed a need for more for-profit daycares. These programs have websites and telephone numbers and mailing addresses (as well as email addresses). Some of these program sites even have a mailing list that you can join so that when new information about their grant program comes up they will email you because you are on their email list.

So if you are looking to see if there are any grant programs available for your for-profit daycare to apply for rest assured that there are some out there. I should know because I have seen and researched them so I know that they are out there. You just have to do the work to find them.

Win $200,000 In Energy Competition

To help address the important issue of conserving energy or finding new sources of energy there is a competition going on. This is not a grant program but a competiton / contest sort of thing. There is a $200,000 grand prize plus a few other cash prizes as well.

One of the eligibility requirements is that all entrants’ businesses must support a technology, product, or service in the clean energy sector. Another requirement is that you have to enter this competition as part of a team - you can't enter as an individual.

Your entry can include but is not limited to:

• Renewable sources of energy (solar, wind, fuel cells, bio-fuels, geothermal, hydro-technologies, etc.)
  
  
• Conservation and demand response (building use, grid management, delivery & transportation, resource mining, extraction and refining)
  
  
• Enabling technologies (power electronics, storage systems and batteries, cables & wires, sensors & instrumentation, control systems, materials & manufacturing technology)
  
  
  
• More efficient & effective use of hydrocarbons (hybrid cars, cleaner use of coal, more environmentally friendly oil recovery methods, CO2 sequestration)
  
  
  
• Integrated Systems (sustainable design & integrated clean energy applications)

The deadline to apply is in February of 2008.

You can apply via their website.

Grant Program For Hispanic and Latino Artists

Hispanic and Latino artists will receive an

unrestricted grant

What is that? An unrestrictive grant means that the artist can use their grant award for anything!

Artists at any stage of career development may be nominated. To be considered for fellowships, artists must be:

• 21 years of age or older
  
  
• U.S. citizens or legal residents in any U.S. state.

Artists must have the following:

• Expert artistic skills
  
  
• Received artistic education or training (formal or informal
  
  
• Attempted to derive income from those skills
  
  
• Been actively engaged in creating artwork and presenting it to the public

This grant program supports artists in all career stages, including emerging and mid-career artists, as well as individuals who have achieved master artist status. The grants will be awarded across a broad array of disciplines:

• Architecture and Design
  
  
• Crafts and Traditional Arts
  
  
• Dance
  
  
• Literature (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry)
  
  
• Media (film, media, and radio)
  
  
• Music
  
  
• Theater Arts
  
  
• Visual Arts

Artist Applications

Nominated artists are notified of their nominations and encouraged to apply. Artists are required to fill out a simple online application.

What is the grant award amount of this

unrestrictive

grant award?

$50,000.00!

Area Teachers Get 41 Grant Awards!

These grants were given to help the teachers fund special projects for their students. These projects ranged from stage productions to learning programs. Sixteen of the grants were given out at the beginning of the school year in August. These grant awards funding were meant to allow teachers to start special programs right at the beginning of school. The grants totaled $7,026; some of the programs include teaching students about prehistoric Indians in the area, a robotics “challenge” where students will be tasked to construct a radio-controlled robot, and a history program to teach students about war and its effect on society and culture.

According to the school district:

"These are projects teachers wouldn’t be able to fund if they were to rely on the school district budget.”

The teachers write their own grant proposals (in only two pages) and present them to the foundation’s board. The board selects which projects to fund; this year the board saw 81 proposals. But even though individual teachers may not get their grant, the students still benefit because they may attend class with a teacher who is running a program.

A large portion, around $4,000, of the grant funds comes from the personnel. The organization was founded in 1986 with the goal of “encouraging academic excellence, enriching academic excellence, and promoting and supporting innovating education,”. The foundation has an endowment of around $174,000, and has given away over $300,000 since it was founded.

Are You A Farmer That Is In Need Of A Grant?

Actually agricultural small businesses are eligible to apply.

In my own state of Pennsylvania a syrup-making company received a grant award of over $6,000 because of their energy conservation. This grant program also provides funds to help assist projects developing renewable energy sources and energy efficiency systems.

If you are a farmer and can show energy conservation then you should definitely apply for this grant program that is being offered by the government. This grant program provides funding to help eligible farmers, ranchers and small businesses make existing energy systems more efficient. The department also has other grant and funding programs including funding for day care centers, fire trucks and other community facility projects; the purchase, construction or repair of homes; loans and guarantees to rural businesses to save or create jobs and renewable energy; and loans and grants for water and sewer utility projects.


Other grant recipients of this grant program include a farm in Somerset County that received this grant award for a methane digester on their dairy farm.

Here is an excerpt of what one of the grant recipients said:

It’s not an easy thing (applying for the grant) but it’s not impossible either.

Another DayCare Grant Program!

Here is news about another daycare related grant program. I hope that the information about this additional grant program will help dispel the myth that there are no grant programs available for daycare!

This grant program is from the Department of Human And Health Services and so far one state is mentioned as being able to take part in this grant program.

More information about this grant program includes:

• Eligibility
  
  
  • Making minor building modifications absolutely necessary to meet licensing requirements for new (not yet licensed) programs.
    
    
  • Making minor building modifications or purchasing equipment to increase the number of infants, children with disabilities, children who may be ill, and/or school-age children served.
    
    
  • Making minor building modifications for licensed providers changing from a Family Child Care Home I to a Family Child Care Home II or a Family Child Care Home II to a Center.
  
  
  
• Applications are available on a monthly basis. Home-based facilities can apply for up to $5,000 and centers can apply for up to $10,000. Once an award is received, applicants may not apply again for three years.
  
  
• Providers who provide care for families who receive child care subsidy and are not required to be licensed because they care for fewer than four children, may apply for one of our grants. The maximum amount of this grant is $100. These grants can be used for mats, first aid kits, electrical outlet covers, cribs, bumper pads, telephones and deposits, cots, smoke alarms, lock boxes, playpens and toys. once funded, providers may reapply for this grant after three years.
  
  
• Another grant program awards a maximum of $500 to child care homes or child care centers for items that will improve the quality of the services offered to children. Applications are accepted monthly, and eligible applicants must be licensed, and must currently be serving low-income children. Once a grant has been awarded, applicants may not reapply for funding until three years have passed.
  

More information about this grant can be found on their website.

You can also contact them by mail, phone, email and via their website.

Non-Profit vs For-Profit

There have been times when I have seen the question asked "Should I be a non-profit or a for-profit?"

My answer to that question is that you should be a combination of both! Why? Because you get the best of both worlds that way!

For instance one woman took her love of landscaping and started a non-profit organization. With a group of volunteers, her organization starting cleaning areas of the city. Then a proposal was made to find out whether or not starting a training program would help the community. That proposal was submitted and more than one grant award was given to this non-profit organization.

Now how does the "for-profit" thing come into this? Did you know that the for-profit business was spawned from the non-profit organization? Proceeds from the for-profit aspect go to supporting the organization's daycare center. And what is the most ironic thing of all is that after their for-profit version helped support their non-profit organization - they started to get more grant money!

Other Sources Of Money?

Unclaimed Money!

Grants are not the only source of "free money" when it comes to our government. There is also such a thing as "unclaimed money". I have started an Unclaimed Money blog that talks about this issue as well.

My last blog entry was about how the state of Louisianna has over $300 million dollars in unclaimed money! As a matter of fact the office is making an effort to process the claims faster so that more people will have more money to shop with during the holiday season. (* - It's interesting to note that with all the devastation that has gone on in New Orleans I didn't see one article about the amount of unclaimed money that was available in the state until now!). You have to remember that the more money that people spend the more in sales tax that will be gotten by the state and that money will be used for the state!

Of course this "unclaimed" money is not just limited to one state. My own state of Pennsylvania publishes a listing of people that have unclaimed money waiting for them. As a person that does research I have started to keep a copy of this information when I get it. I also believe that now since I am posting about this I am going to contact the office to find out more about how people can claim their unclaimed money.

Grant Money Is Not Guarenteed!

Some people make the mistake of thinking that grant money is guarenteed. It is not! It is only guarenteed AFTER you have been awarded the grant money!

You have to apply for these grant programs. And you have to also realize that you well may not be the only person or organization that is applying for the grant! Sometimes it works in quite the opposite way! For instance the SBA has a particuar grant program that is open for small businesses to apply for. ("Small" meaning having less than 500 employees.) This grant program provides well over $100,000 in grant money. This is a highly sought after grant and there are many businesses that will be applying for it every year - especially if they won the grant the year before!

Some grant applications can be easy. I have examples of grant applications that were only one page long and the only information required by the applicant was how much grant money they needed and what the grant money requested was going to be used for.

Then you have the more complicated grant applications and these are usually from the government grant programs. Soon the government will require all its grant applicants to apply for their grant programs via the government's grant program website. But believe me the government grant programs can be the most complicated to apply for. But on the other side of the coin, the government grant programs usually provide the most in grant money! That's why they are so popular - complicated but popular!

There Are No Grant Programs For For-Profit Daycares - This Is Another Myth!

This myth probably got started because people were having such a hard time finding any kind of grant programs for a for-profit daycare business.

Just because these kinds of grant programs seem hard to find - that doesn't mean that they aren't out there - they are just hard to find. And sometimes they are not that hard to find IF you know where to look at!

While researching for some grant programs for a for-profit daycare I came upon one state grant program for daycares. It provides grant money for:

• • New programs that have been open and licensed one year or less
  
  
  
• Expanded programs that are increasing or expanding the number of children that they are able to care for, according to the state's regulations.
  
  A child care center has been providing care for children 2 years and older. They
  have now decided to care for children starting at 6 weeks, therefore increasing the number of infants & toddlers they are able to care for.
  
  
  
• Enhanced programs that are not increasing the number of children they serve, but are asking for funds to enhance/improve the quality of childcare that they are
  currently providing.

The reason why this grant program was started in the first place was to provide more quality daycare in the state.

However while trying to find out more about this daycare grant program I didn't see any mention of whether or not for-profit daycares were eligible to apply. So I emailed the director of the grant program and asked them whether or not for profit daycares could apply for this grant program. A few days later I got an email from the director saying that indeed for-profit daycares could apply as long as they met the eligibility requirements which included:

• Serve low-income families and accept purchase of Care
  
  
  
• Be open Monday through Friday until 5:30 p.m. (at a minimum)

While there is no specified minimum or maximum grant award one of the examples cited was a $2,000 grant request for new supplies.

Again this is a statewide grant program that is open for for-profit daycares to apply for as long as they meet the eligibility requirements.

The next deadline to apply for this grant program is:

January 2008!

---

12/31/07 Update:


Since I wasn't sure whether or not this organization's grant program was open for for profit daycares to apply for, I sent them an email:

I have looked over your on-line materials but I can not find any information relating to whether or not your program is open to for-profit daycare facilities to apply.

Here is an excerpt from the email that they sent back to me:

Rose, Yes, our program is open to for profit child care facilities as long as they meet the criteria.

M~
Grant Coordinator

Seed Money / Emergency Finances?

hi Im r~. I have a judgement debt form a car that got reposeesed of $2,200 debt I was wondering if I get a get seed money from various c(h)arit(a)ble foundations just to help me with assistence. Not nessesarily the whole amoount but some. Please e-mail me back. I need help.

__________________________________________________

There is a little bit of confusion here. "Seed Money" is generally provided as money to help someone start a business or other project.

But if you are talking about providing financial assistance to an individual / assistance to those that need the money for "emergency needs" then there are many organizations that do this. But again you have to apply for these funds. They are not "automatically" given.

You have to state what you need the financial assistance for specifically.

Phone Tag???!!!

I really don't like playing the phone "tag" game with people. People will leave me messages on my answering machine and they will usually leave a number for me to call them but I have no idea what time zone they are in or what is a good time to call them thus turning into a phone tag kind of thing. What makes it worse is that they won't leave much information on what type of grant information that they are looking for.

That is why I prefer email instead of playing the phone tag game. When I get an email that leaves a permanent record of the person sending me the email and with email you can send it anytime and the person can reply at anytime.

So if you would like to contact me just go to my Contact Information page where you will see all of my contact information.

As you probably can guess I get all types of inquiries. Some of them are good and some of them are not too good. I state on my Contact Information page that if you are not serious about wanting to find grant information for your project, organization or business then you are wasting your time trying to contact me. My page also states that if you are not a client then any requests that you send for grant information will be returned to you.

I realize that finding grant information can seem quite frustrating but if you are not a client then you will have to find the information for yourself.

Do You Need A New Refridgerator?

A client of mine just got their new refridgerator today and because of a program that was provided by their utility company!

This isn't a state program but a national one and like most of the government grant programs out there you have to make sure that you are eligible to apply for this program.

This program is provided for low-incomed people and in this case the client didn't even have to fill out a form. A represenative comes out to inspect the home for areas where improvements can be made to help make their utility bills more reasonable.

In this particular case the refridgerator that was at the home was more than 20 years old so a new one was ordered. The new refridgerator was installed and the old one was taken away - all for free - and all that was required was a signature for the order (which was free).

This kind of grant program was started to help low-incomed people with their utility bills. A new refridgerator that is energy efficient uses a lot less power than one that was installed 20 years ago so that was the reason why the new refridgerator was installed.

Remember that this program was put in place to help people who have a low income to better manage their utility bills and this program is not just limited to providing a new refridgerator! Actually I had a talk with one of the agents of this program and she told me that they really weren't supposed to tell people that they may be eligible for new equipment. I guess that I could see her reasoning because if everybody knew about this program and what it can provide then they would probably have more applicants than they could provide this kind of service for. And it is not just limited to refridgerators. Remember this program was put in place so that people could have a more manageable utility bill so if things like one's heating system is beyond repair then you will most likely get a new heating system. There was even one person that got a new water heater - installation and the water heater itself was free!

Why was this program put in place? It was put in place to help low-incomed people to have a more manageable utility bill.

All provided courtesy of our government (and of course the taxpayer's money!)

So, There Are No Government Grants To Help Someone Start A Business Huh?

I don't know who told you that butthey are wrong!

There is currently a grant program that is open for individuals to apply. (It is also open for small businesses to apply for too!) In fact here is an excerpt listing who and what is eligible to apply for this particular grant program:

• City or township governments
  

• County governments
  
  
  

• Individuals!
  
  
  

• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
  

• Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
  

• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
  

• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
  

• Private institutions of higher education
  

• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
  

• Small businesses
  

• For profit Organizations other than small businesses
  

• Special district governments
  

• State governments

What kind of grant program is this? Well it gets a little complicated but to make it short this is a grant program for those who are eligible to apply to open a center to help minority owned businesses. One of the requirements is that only certain locations are applicable but you are allowed to take on clients within a "reasonable" distance from the required locations. In fact this particular grant allows for you to have clients who may be a "reasonalbe" distance away but you can still provide them with services via email, fax and other forms of communication.

Another stipulation is that your clients have to be a minority firm with at least $500,000 or more in annual revenues and/or “rapid-growth potential” minority businesses.

Only 3 of these grants will be awarded for the coming year.

The maximum grant award is a little over $300,000!

The deadline to apply for this grant program is January 2008

I want to stress here that you take another look at the list of those that are eligible to apply for this grant. Note specifically that it says that individuals are eligible to apply for this grant!

So the next time someone tells you that the government does not have any grant programs for individuals, please show them this blog entry!

Grants versus Loans? Your Opinion?

Here is an interesting question:

Do you think that the government should provide loans or grants to areas affected by flooding?

There are so many variables to consider here. For one you have to remember that the government doesn't have an endless stream of money. And also too the money that is being provided is coming from taxpayer dollars.

The government wants to provide a t0 / 50 split between government grants and loans. That is half the money would be provided in government grants and forgiveable loans and the other half would be repayable loans.

Of course to the individual or business that needs the money the answer would of course be to have the grant instead of the loan.

But remember just in this year alone we have seen a lot of flood-affected areas that have been declared a state of emergency which makes them eligible for federal funding. And thats not including areas affected in past years.

There have been claims by those applying for federal assistance that the process has been made too difficult or complicated to apply for. Other complaints include businesses being told that it would be much better for them if they applied for the loans instead of the grant programs. Understandably businesses would rather apply for the grants because on top of them having their businesses being affected by flooding they don't want to incur more debt by applying for a loan.

The government's side does raise some valid points though. You have to remember that each area eligible for federal assistance has to be (or should be) treated the same - meaning if one area is eligible for grants then any other area affected should also be eligible for grants - again - meaning a 50/50 split. There shouldn't just be one area that can get grants and then another area with the same problems only being eligible for loans.

However I have to be on the side of the possible applicants because if one's business has been devasted by flood-related weather if they don't get the money to be able to revive their business then they may not want to revive it and then that makes the economy in that area go down. It will mean loss of jobs and loss of income for that area.

But what do you think about this?

Remember that your opinion counts and while some people think that they don't - they really do.

Help By And For Senior Citizens

A lot of people think that they are just to old to be of any use and that is not true! There is a government grant program that wants to help seniors to be able to continue to live in their homes. I know from personal experience that seniors prefer to be able to still live in their homes as opposed to having to go to a nursing home or a senior citizens's community residence.

If you have a nonprofit organization (and this includes faith-based organizations) that wants to help senior citizens to remain in their own homes then you might want to think about implementing a program where seniors help other seniors to be able to stay in their homes. You could recruit other senior citizens to help or if you are a senior citizen yourself then you can start a nonprofit organization of your own to help other seniors. There are even some instances where you may receive a stipend for volunteering! Once you have obtained nonprofit status then you can apply for a government grant program that provides funding for seniors to be able to go out and help and/or assist other seniors. If you already have a non-profit organization that has this kind of program (or want to have this type of program) then you should check and see if your nonprofit organization is eligible to apply for this grant funding.

"We Can't Pay You Now But........................"

Some very insightful words from another grantwriter on how one should (or should not) handle the business of being paid as a grant writer:

Rather than preach against contingent pay as unethical behavior, I prefer to share with contingent-pay seekers (and providers) some real-life consequences of such arrangements which mainly puts the livelihood of the grant writer at risk. I believe grant writers should never agree to contingency pay. It is simply not fair for hard working grant writers to receive little or no pay for their efforts due to many reasons beyond their control. I'll list several of those reasons which I have seen crop up time and time again, resulting in rejected proposals. In those instances, a grant writer's time and effort were wasted and she or he received no compensation for their good faith professional services:

• Say an organization wants someone to write a grant proposal for a project costing $118,000 and that the grant writer was to be paid a 5% commission if the grant is approved. It is almost always a requirement by funders that every dollar to be raised for and spent on projects be accounted for on a line-item basis. For many funders, the line item in the budget showing $5,900 for grant-acquisition services, would be reason enough to deny the grant. It would make no difference what the commission size or even if the contingency-pay were a flat fee. Grant-writing expenses are seen as part of an organizations operating budget. Few if any foundations, corporations, or governmental organizations are willing to make a grant when a portion of the money granted is to be used to pay a grantwriting fee. Remember, the grant is being requested for a specific project, not to offset operating expenses nor to disguise a professional fee. A non-profit or a grant writer that fails to take the possibility of such a caveat into consideration may be facing a rude awakening. Discerning and experienced program officers can readily see right through, and will reject, poorly delineated projects, "soft" and questionable budgets, and a host of other weaknesses which cannot be overcome by well-crafted grant proposals. An ineffective and failing "selling" job might be made during a presentation meeting by an organization's officials. You do not know in advance the foundations which are over committed to funding other organizations, have limited resources, thus they will not have funds available for you at the time, nor possibly for some time to come.
  
  
• What if the grant was to be paid out over a number of months---or even years? Would an organization be willing to pay the grant writer for the services rendered in full at the moment of grant approval? Should the grant writer be willing to accept a compensation payment schedule in sync with that of the grant award which could be spread out over several years?
  
  
• The grant writer should be ready to accept the fact that she or he will receive little pay for a major work, should a much lesser amount be granted than was originally requested. A grant writer could conduct the best possible research, make the most helpful recommendations, and even voice strong protests and caution when called for--- but project directors and executive directors will prevail should they insist that the grant request be written in spite of flaws and concerns. They will say to the grant writer: "We'll send it anyway, what have we got to lose?" They should ask the grant writer that question who stands to lose a great deal. Most grantors have greater vision than grant-proposal-submitting organizations. Grantors routinely look for assurance from the organizations that what they fund will be reasonably evaluated and measured in the longer term for effective and efficient use of their money, and that the organizations have future financial sustainability plans in place, or pending---especially that there are well developed long-range, strategic plans in place or being planned. A grant writer's best efforts expended in the writing of a given proposal simply cannot be extended or expected to meet such governance and policy-making requirements and expectations. Grant proposals, even the best of them, are all too often prepared and presented to potential grantors when the organizations have no, or few, other important sources of contributions to show, especially from their boards of trustees. Chances are slim to none for grant awards when there are no other visible and viable sources of support available to the organization. The hope for grants to be awarded to ensure payment for the grant writer's efforts is even more uncertain, and most unlikely, when proposals are stretched beyond practical and common sense limits, and they are presented to new, potentially uninterested, prospects---some even to distant, uncaring potential benefactors---as is often the case.

In the end, grant writers should be paid for their time and efforts by the hour or project, whether or not the grant is received. I question whether an organization unable to pay a fair fee for work done is likely to survive. Few non-profits forced to operate in ways not fully in accord with accepted professional standards flourish and grow.

I believe in the standards that have resulted from thousands of grant writing professionals working to help raise billions of dollars over decades of time. For me, not everything should be a matter of personal opinion; codes of ethics are established through collective wisdom because we do need absolutes by which to work and live. When I see all the wrong that can befall an organization or a grant writer in contingent-pay schemes, I cannot imagine for the life of me why either would want to go that route.

A Grant Program To Help Fund Your Film?

I don't know if you have noticed it or not but a lot of the shows that you see on public television have received funding to produce them.

If you are a film producer or filmmaker then you should know that there are grant programs out there that provide funding.

For instance:

There is a grant program which is very interesting because they don't have a limit as to how much grant money you can apply for. (This does not mean that you should be greedy about it if you are going to apply for this grant program!)

This funding program is open to independent producers, individuals or other entities producing television, film, or video. Any genre welcome. For single programs of standard broadcast length; new productions or works-in-progress and programs that can be completed within a year of contract.

Applications are excepted twice a year.

If You Don't Apply For That Grant Someone Else Surely Will!

Someone was quoted as saying that the daycare industry is a Billion dollar industry! Would it surprise you to know that there are daycare franchises that know just how to take advantage of all the government grant programs that they are eligible for? I have seen case by case details of how the owners of these daycare facilities use the government grant system to their advantage. While they still do provide adequate daycare to children that still leaves a number of other daycare facilities that are out there that if they just knew how these franchises were getting the government grants they would do the EXACT same thing to get the exact same grant funding.

One of the best pieces of advice that I have seen about finding grant programs is to find a business like the one that you want to start - a business that has received a grant - and find out how they got their grant!

Another sad fact that has to be faced is that a lot of grant recipients don't want to (or don't like to) talk about the grants that they have received. One of the reasons is because they may want to apply for the grant again and the less people that know about them then the less people will apply for them meaning that those that know about and apply will have a better chance of winning the grant award simply becasue not as many people have applied.

You may not be aware of it but there are a LOT of for-profit daycares that are receiving government grants because they know how to do it right!

Re: Daycare Grants - Can A Government Grant Be Used To Build A Playground?

"Can the government funds be used to build a playground that is more accessible to children with special needs?"

If an applicant can demonstrate that the materials/activities would contribute to long lasting program quality and enhance children’s learning environments, then such a funding request will be considered.

Never Let Anyone Tell You That The Government Doesn't Have Any Grant Programs For For-Profit Businesses - Especially For For-Profit Daycare Business!

Here is an interesting government grant program that I found.....

Who - Department Of Housing And Urban Developement (HUD)

What - Grant Program

When - 2006

Where - Eligible applicants include: not-for- profit institutions, and for-profit firms located in the U.S, state and local governments, Federally-recognized Native Indian Tribes and colleges and universities. For-profit firms are not allowed to make profit from the project

Why - The purpose of this grant program is to develop, demonstrate, and promote cost-effective, preventive measures to correct multiple safety and health hazards in the home environment that produce serious diseases and injuries in children of low-income families.

One of the benefits of this particular grant program is that applicants don't have to provide matching funds.

For the year 2007 over $5 Million Dollars has been allotted for grant funding!

The maximum grant award per recipient is $1 Million Dollars and the average grant award per recipient has been just a bit over $900,000.00.

Past Grant Recipient - received grant to develope a website that enabled parents to view their area to identify possible hazordous materials and equipment and provide solutions for suitable replacements.

You can find out more about this grant program by visiting the Department Of Housing And Urban Development's Website. You can also contact them by phone

* - Please be advised that their phone number is not a toll-free number.

I have sent an email to the director of this program to find out more specific information about this grant program.

How Is This For Results! - Need Some Heating Help This Winter?

Did you know that there are grant programs out there to help you with your heating bills? Not only that, there are also grant programs out there to help you if you need any repairs to your heating system!

How do I know this? I know this because a recent client of mine had their home inspected for a heating-related audit. Guess what they are going to get from the results of the inspection?

• repairs to their heating system to get it working again
  

• new thermostat installed!
  

• a NEW hot water heater! (plus installation at no cost!)
  

• a NEW refridgerator (because their old one is more than 10 years old and the motor is faulty)
  

• new smoke detectors - with the batteries already included!
  

• various related additions like weatherstripping and caulk work

If you are worried about being able to make it through the winter then you should definitely check your state's website to see if they have any similar grant programs available in your area.

I had a chance to talk to one of the contractors who is doing the work and he told me that they have already done this kind and similiar kinds of work and repairs to over a hundred qualified applicants!

Words Of Advice - (From Someone Else Other Than Myself)

Using The Government To Start Your Business

source - PR-GB

Many people, when starting their own business, aren't sure where to turn for assistance. Yes, there are private institutions that can help you along your way, but one of the best resources for the young and aspiring entrepreneur is the federal government. Programs and money exist to help the fledgling business owner, and it is to the individual's peril that they ignore these opportunities.

Money is perhaps the most important thing the startup business owner needs. Without capital, you're stuck in the mud. You need money to finance your building, your rent, your employee roster, advertising, and the cost of purchasing or creating the product you intend to sell. This can all add up to quite a bit of cash. There are private banks and lending institutions that may be willing to help, and you can always turn to your friends and family for beginning investments. However, only a fool would ignore the money and grants offered by the government. The government gives away millions of dollars a year in capital for beginner entrepreneurs. The best part about the government's money is that they do not expect to recoup anything from their investment. These grants are given for the greater good of the economy. Do some simple internet research and you will find plenty of grants to apply for. Apply for them all.

Money is not the only thing the government can help you with when starting your own business. They offer assistance in other areas as well. This can include assistance for expansion for your small business, development, and even assistance with renovation. If you're looking for more assistance for your small business, try the Small Business Administration Office. Through this office, the government provides free training and assistance to small business owners across the country. This training and assistance can be invaluable to the young entrepreneur that doesn't know all the ins and outs of starting a business.

When starting a small business, it can seem like every obstacle in the world in being thrown in front of you. If you fail to take advantage of the programs and government assistance out there, you are only hurting yourself. The government understands that putting investment into small businesses helps the economy and enriches the fabric of our country. Take a look around you for examples of this in your daily life. Do you think the Hindu family that owns the dry cleaning business down the street is just naturally wealthy? Unlikely. They simply knew where to go to find assistance in starting their business. The best place to look is the government. Go and do likewise and you will be on your way to having a healthy and successful business.

Grant Programs Outside The United States - Wales versus London!

Of course its not only the United States that has grant programs. There are grant programs all over the world! There are even some grant programs that are open to any location on the globe (as long as they meet the other grant requirements). You can find out about some of these grant programs outside of the United States by going to my grants page and scrolling down to "Grant Programs Outside The United States. You can also visit my Dream Job Forum where there is a separate folder about grants outside the United States.

Wales vs London - It seems that there is quite a contrast as far as there being government grant programs being available for businesses in Wales. There are government grant programs available for businesses in Wales and in fact it has been charged that businesses in Wales depend too much on grants. This is supposed to be as opposed to London which is a more popular area nad has more access to more business networking opportunities. In other words it has been hinted that businesses in Wales should stop relying on government grants and work to bring their businesses to the attention of the (more popular) London area.

According to one study it seems that businesses in Wales rely or depend on government grants more than any other area of the UK for start-up money and financing.

A Grant Program For A For-Profit Daycare?

I'm currently looking into a grant program that is for daycare facilities. I have a copy of their literature and have read through it. This grant program looks like a very good one! They provide grant money for daycare startups and for expansion programs for daycares already in operation.

The purpose of the grant program is to increase the number of available daycare in their state (This is a state daycare grant program only). Here is an excerpt about their grant program:

• The remaining 75 percent (of grant money) is designated for competitive grants to assist providers with start-up expenses and first-year operating costs related to expansion. Providers may use funds for training, staff-related expenses, and for the purchase of equipment and supplies.

However there is just one slight problem with the information about this particular grant program and that is that their information does not say whether or not this grant program is also open for for-profit daycares to apply for. I couldn't find it in all of their literature and its not something that I want to guess. So I have emailed them to find out whether or not this grant program is open for for-profit daycares to apply for.

When I get a response from them I will post it here.
__________________________________________________

November 24, 2007 - Here is the response that I got from the director of the grant program:

Rose, Yes, our program is open to for profit child care facilities as long as they meet the criteria.

Grant Coordinator
___________________________________________________

The latest deadline to apply for this grant is

January 2008!

Disaster Loans That Are Forgivable?

Dear sirs:

I obtained an sba disaster loan in 2002. Is there a possibility that the loan can be forgiven in five years. There is a rumor going around that it can happen. Is it true?

Thank you

Well I guess my blog (and my website about grants look more professional than I thought! I'm certainly not a "Sir"

Thank you for your email. However the problem with your email is that you don't say what kind of loan it is that you obtained. The SBA has specific titles/names/reference numbers of all of their loan programs and that information you did not provide.

There are forgivable loans that become forgiveable in 3 - 5 years regarding disaster loans but a lot of them require that you take an additional loan from the SBA. (Meaning that the "forgiveable" loan was provided by someone other than the SBA) So that leaves the question of whether or not your loan was only from the SBA or was it obtained from more than one entity.

There are lots of programs that offer forgivable loans. For instance:

Grant Funds, if available may be used to assist economic recovery by providing:

• Low-interest loans to businesses
  

• Revolving loan programs to help businesses reestablish themselves
  

• Forgivable loans over 3-5 years
  

• Commercial rehab assistance

However the above program is not from the SBA.

You also did not mention whether or not you received the loan for your personal residence or business. It does make a difference. You also didn't mention what area the loan was for. For example in Minnesota flood victims were eligable for forgivable loans ONLY if they applied for additional funding from both FEMA and the SBA. If you did not qualify for the FEMA or SBA loans THEN you could apply for the forgivable loan elsewhere. Flood victims qualified for up to $23,000 in forgivable loans!

So unfortunately you have just not given me enough information.

From My Email Bag...................................

Dear Rose,

I read on your blog that there are entrepreneurial grants available for for-profit businesses such as a recording studio/company. I am in the process of starting a recording company.

Can you give me the website or sites where I would go to gather information or apply to these grants.

Also, you stated that there are two programs which offer grants to help people fulfill their dream. Can you give me the websites or contact information for these grant programs.

I would greatly appreciate this info.

Your blog is a very helpful resource in the complicated and intimidating web of information to find a grant for start up expenses. I thank you immensly.

L~

I get this kind of email all the time. Unfortunately I have to remind the people who send me this kind of email that since they are not a client of mine that they will have to find this kind of grant information themselves.

If you take a good look at my contact and payment information page you will see at the very top of the page that if you send me any email asking for grant information and you are not a client then your information will be returned back to you - unanswered. You will also see that there are a list of questions that have to be answered before I can even begin my research into finding any grant programs that you may be eligible to apply for.

The person that sent me this email above only stated that they wanted to start a recording studio. I have no idea if they are a minority (there are some grant programs out there that are specifically for those who are minorities that want to start their own business). I also don't have any idea as to what kind of recording studio they want have as a business. This is very important information that has to be included when you are looking for grant programs that you may be eligible to apply for. The email doesn't even say where this recording studio will be located? There are grant programs out there for those that want to start their own business that are specific to specific areas only and of course I have no idea whether or not this person is eligible to apply for them because I don't know the location of where their recording studio is going to be. Another important piece of information that has to be had is how much in grant money are they looking to get? What will they need that grant money for? Those organizations and other entities that award grants like to know what their money is going towards. There are a few grant programs out there that allow you to spend your grant money any way you want but I don't even know if this person would qualify for these kind of grant programs because I just don't have enough information about what they are seeking a grant (or a number of grants) for.

Yes, you are very right when you say that finding information about grant programs that one may be eligible for is very complicated and that is why I do it for clients only!

Once you start looking for this kind of grant program information yourself you will see that it is hard and complicated work and hopefully it will give you a new respect for those of us that do it for a living!

Are You A Woman That Has A Dream Of Starting Her Own Business?

I have mentioned before about the different number of grant programs out there to help a person start their own business. There is a new grant program that is specifically for women that have a dream of wanting to start their own business. You have to be at least 18 years old to apply for this grant but you can spend the money any way that you like.

However I do have one problem with this so-called "grant" program because they charge an application fee. I personally do not considered it to be a legitimate grant program when one has to pay an application fee. I'm sorry but I just do not consider it a legitimate grant program.

Now the application fee is small and if you feel comfortable with paying it then you should apply for this program.

I do not include these kinds of "grant" programs when I am finding them for my clients - unless they specifically state that they don't mind applying for "grant" programs of this kind.

Musician Receives Grant!

A North Carolina

musician has received

a grant of over

$100,000!

What is most interesting about this grant award is that he will be able to use the money in any way that he wants! I have often talked about grant programs such as this kind where the grant recipient can use their grant money in any way that they want. They can use it to pay their bills. They can use the grant money to pay off their debts and they could even use the grant money to buy a car!

A previous recipient of this grant program was an inventor that used the money to further produce their invention!

Other past recipients of this grant were a choreographer, attorney, college professor, photographer and two poets.

This grant money goes directly to the individual and not to an organization or non-profit agency.

With his grant money this year's recipient will use it to produce another CD of his music in which he will include snippets of rap music.

In order to be eligible for this award the applicant must:

• show exceptional creativity
  

• show promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishment
  

• have plans for future creative work in which the award can help to finacially facilitate

This grant program is open to individuals only and can include writers, artists, teachers and entrepreneurs.

In order to be eligible to apply for this program you must be nominated and your nomination will be reviewed by the organization's selection committee. This program does not accept applications or unsolicited nominations!

To date over 700 individuals have received this award.

For more information about this program, you can find all of the contact information including phone number and address by going to the organization's website.

Grants For Teachers

Beginning next year, people studying to be teachers might qualify for grants worth as much as $4,000 a year for a total of $16,000.

The grants come with strings. Recipients will have to teach a subject in high demand, such as math, science, special education or a foreign language. They must commit to teach at least four years in an area where there is a shortage of educators.

Recipients get eight years after graduation to fulfill their obligation. If they don't, the grants convert to unsubsidized student loans, and they will owe not only the principal but accrued interest.

It is being used as incentive to make sure people keep their end of the bargain.

The Small Business Administration Is Coming Under Scrutiny Again!

At a senate hearing, the SBA has been criticized for providing slow or late grant payments to an organization that helps women entrepreneurs that have their own business! According to an audit less than half of the grant payments provided by the Small Business Administration arrived on time.

The SBA says that it is working on ways to make their system more efficient.

A Reminder

When submitting your payment and information for grant research please be advised that there is a provision for you to add any additional information that you feel may be necessary. You must also answer the following questions that appear on my Payment Information Page.

Who are you seeking a grant for? Individual, Non-Profit, For-Profit or Other? (If other, please specify):




For what purpose are you seeking a grant? To start a business? Seeking a grant in a/my field of interest?



What area (city and state) will this grant be for?




Are you specifically seeking government grants or any grant that may pertain to you? Are you looking for other forms of funding including Investors?


What grants have you already applied for and if applicable what were the reason(s) that you were denied the grant award?



Please provide an email address:



Do you know how to unzip files?




Your contact information:




Your Payment Information:



The sooner that you provide all the information, the sooner the grant research will begin. While it will take a minimum of 30 days to provide the information to you, the sooner that you provide all the information the sooner the 30 day period will end.

Need Some Help Paying Your Heating Bill?

I just got finished faxing a copy of a client's heating bill to a local organization that helps people with paying their heating bills. They can't provide much but they do provide what they have in the way of finacial assistance to those that are having trouble paying their heating bill.

I have dealt with this organization before on the behalf of other clients who have had trouble paying their heating bill and need a little financial assistance to help them out. The woman on the phone was very nice and she told me that she was expecting some financial funds to help provide others with financial help to help pay their heating bills (which will be most helpful now because the weather is starting to get colder!).

The first time that I dealt with this organization all I needed to do was send in a copy of the heating bill. That was a few years ago. Now the procedure for getting financial assistance to help pay a person's heating bill seems to be the same.

This is a small organization and a local one. I suspect that one of the reasons why they do not advertise is because if a lot of people knew about the financial assistance that they provide they would get an over-whelming number of calls from people needing help to pay their heating bills. They do not even have a website.

So while this is a local organization, you should check within your own area to see if you can find a similar organization that helps by providing financial assistance to those that need help to pay their heating bills.

Flood Victims Eligible For Government Assistance

Those affected by the Northwood tornado in North Dakota are eligible for financial assistance. If you have been affected you can contact FEMA via their website or by calling them via their toll-free number.

Financial Assistance can include:

• Medical, dental and funeral expenses
  
  
• funding for repairs to homes damaged by the flood
  
  
• Personal property
  
  
• Transportation
  
  
• and other expenses

Other Individual Assistance can include grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or other aid programs. Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will also be available to cover residential and business losses not fully compensated by insurance. Grants do not have to be repaid, but loans from the SBA must be repaid.

You should apply for assistance even if you have insurance, because you may find you are under-insured or have unmet needs after your insurance settlement. If you have not already contacted your insurance agent to file a claim, please do this as soon as possible. Failure to file a claim with your insurance company may affect your eligibility for assistance. Insurance is your main source for money to put your life back in order after a disaster. But there are many things that insurance does not cover, so disaster programs may be able to help.

Are You A Woman Who Has A Dream Of Starting Her Own Business?

I have talked many, many times about how there are grant programs out there to help people fulfill their dreams of starting their own business and here is yet another grant program that is for the same thing!

If you are a woman that has a dream of starting her own business then you should know that there is (yet another) grant program that you may be eligible to apply to!

Remember this is an actual grant program where you are awarded grant money that you do not have to pay back!

And like the majority of grant programs out there this one was started (quite some years ago) with the purpose of helping women fulfill their own dreams of starting their own business.

In order to apply for this grant program you have to submit an essay explaining why you think that your business would be successful. You also have to submit a business plan of your business as well.

Another thing about this grant program is that if you are awarded the grant money you also get help from other professionals to help you with starting your business.

The grant award is $50,000

The deadline to apply for this grant program is December 2007

Daycare - Grants For Equipment, Etc....

I was just on your website and seen all kinds of great information on Daycare. I am sending in all my paper work to become a Daycare provider in my Michigan home. I have been licensed before but, I didn't realize they have alot of grants for daycare providers. I was told there was one for you to help pay towards the fee's to start one, but michigan cut that out. I am struggling to get one started again and I need more equiptment for outdoor and would like to get a fence put up and an extension put on but no money. Is there a grant that will help me do this? If so how much will it cost to find one and where do I find one? If you can help me out with these questions I would really appreciate it.

D~

If you take a look at page that talks about daycare-related grants you will see some information about grants for just the kinds of things that you mention.

It won't cost you anything to find these grant programs if you locate them yourself. Just take some time and do a little research both online and at your library.

The government grant programs are funding programs that have been made possible because of taxpayer money so the information about the government grant programs has to be made accessible to the public. You can go to the government's official website and you can also find the government publications at the library.

However those grant programs that are provided by outside the government like foundations and organizations will require a bit more research on your part.

Nursing Scholarship Program!

There is a critical shortage of nurses so that is why there is this scholarship program. If you have been accepted to or are currently enrolled in an accredited school of nursing (either full-time or part time) then you may be eligible for this scholarship program.

You must be a US citizen and unlike some of the grant programs that are out there you must not have any federal judgements against you. Special consideration will be made for those eligible applicants who have a financial need! You must also agree to work at a health care facility that has a critical shortage of nurses.

This scholarship program will pay your:

• tuition and other related required fees
  

• books and other related supplies including lavatory and clinical expenses
  

  and
  

• you get a monthly stipend of over $1,000.00 per month!

Over 100 of these scholarships have already been awarded!

You can either contact them by email or by phone.

Is Your Flood Area Eligible For A Federal Grant From FEMA?

Not Every Area Hit By Floods Will Get Grants?

I was very much surprised by the process that determines whether or not an area will get grant (as opposed to loan) help. For instance, in northern Virginia area residents sustained a lot of flood damage. FEMA denied them disaster assistance. Instead the SBA will spearhead a loan program for qualified residents at a lower interest rate. Number one I don't understand why its the SBA and not another agency that is handling this since it was always my thought that the SBA had to do with businesses and not personal residences. Number 2 I would love to know the reason why disaster assistance was denied for this particular area/region.

Of course when the residents heard of FEMA's decision they were outraged and they sent letters to that effect. It can take a lot of weeks before a decision is made as to whether or not an affected area will get disaster relief from FEMA. In the meantime the the residents still have to make a decision as to what they are going to do as far as repairing the damage to their residences. Some of them had no flood insurance which - of course - makes the whole situation worse for them.

So instead of grants, eligible residents can apply for loans at a rate as low as less than 3 percent interest. $200,000.00 is available for structural damage and $40,000.00 is available to replace personal property.

Again, I would love to know the reason why FEMA denied this assistance?

Here Is An Email I Recently Got Concerning Grant Information

Millionaires Come From Starting A Business

Over 67% of the working millionaires in the USA got that way by starting their own business. And the government has plenty of money and help for you to start a business…full-time, part-time, in your home, or with 1,000 employees.
Why do over 1 million entrepreneurs a year get money from the government? JOBS…If you start a business you will create a job for yourself and hopefully others some day. If our society is going to continue to grow we have to keep creating new jobs and these new jobs come from small businesses starting and expanding.

You May Not Need As Much Money As You Think You Do. There are many forms a business can take. You can invest hundreds of thousands of dollars and put up a bib fancy store, or you can invest a few hundred dollars and begin selling on a website. You can invest thousands in an office, support staff, and good looking furniture, or start in your bedroom with just a phone and a desk.

The key to success in starting a business is not your tax structure, your office, your letterhead, your advisors or dozens of other things that people will tell you are important. The only thing that is critical to the success of your business is CUSTOMERS. So be sure to focus as much energy as possible on finding and satisfying customers. Everything else will fall into place.

Listed below are a number of programs that can provide free money and help for your business. If you are interested in thousands of additional programs for entrepreneuring, real estate directly from your state government, see our online store.


Visit http://www......htm for the details and direct links for the following:

$12 Million To Start A Real Big Business
Get A $5,000 Grant With Bad Credit
Money For Women And Minorities To Start A Business
$50,000 Grant To Train Your Employees
$14,000 To Learn To Operate A Business
$10,000 To Put A New Sign On Your Business
$25,000 Non-Credit Based Loans
Realize Your Business Dreams and Apply For A Loan Through Count Me In For Women
Be Careful Of Accountants
Free Help Writing Business Plans Or Grant Applications
You’re eligible for $11,450 in Government Grants!

And here is another email I received

Who Says There’s No Free Grant Money For Business?

Some of you may have already called a government office like the SBA and asked about grants because you saw this crazy guy on TV talking about Free Money For Business. And this office probably laughed at you and told you that there are no such things as grants for business. We’ll they’re right, but they are also wrong. There are no grant programs at the SBA for business,Of course this is a false statement too because the SBA DOES have a grant program for businesses! (although they really have a free money type program that they probably didn’t tell you about because it’s called venture capital money and not grants). But, they are also wrong too, because there are hundreds of government grant and free money programs for business but they are not at the SBA. They are at other federal agencies, they’re at state, city and county governments offices as well as non-profit organizations. No one government office knows everything. That’s why when someone tells you “no” you can’t believe them now-a-days. Remember this is the same government who didn’t even get the WMD’s information right. It’s a big world out there full of wonderful opportunities, but it may take some effort to find them, because they are not in the obvious places.

Here are some real grant programs taken from our new book “Free Money For Entrepreneurs”. If you are looking for more programs like this as well as information about low interest loans, loans you don’t have to pay back, government contracts, and 10,000 other sources for entrepreneurs check out the book! Or access the direct links to the sources right now plus get help, training and more for just $2.95 at my free government money club!*

$2,000,000 Grant To Commercialize Science Related Ideas
$10,000 For Entrepreneurial Training
$5,000 In Spending Money While You Start Your Business
$2,000,000 Grant To Work On Fossil Energy Ideas
$1,500,000 Grant To Help Small Businesses in Small Towns
$300,000 Grant to Small Businesses to Commercial an Idea
$200,000 Grant to Work On Energy Related Inventions
$295,000 Grant To Small Businesses to Work On Environmental Problems
Up To $3,000,000 Grant To Train Your Employees
Up To $22,000,000 Grant To Businesses That Employ People With Disabilities
$300,000 Grant To Small Business To Work On Education Related Ideas
$500,000 Grant To Small Business To Commercialize Health Related Ideas
$3,000,000 In Venture Capital
$5,000,000 Grant To Bioenergy Businesses
$1,000,000 Grant To Invest In Small Town Businesses
$150,000 To Develop A New Food Product
$100,000 To Sell Food Products Overseas
$200,000 Grants To Companies that Help Small Businesses
$400,000 To Provide Internet Access To Small Towns
$10,000 For Entrepreneurs With Disabilities
$700 Grant For Entrepreneurs With No Credit
$10,000 Grant To Start A Mom and Pop Business
$5,000 Grant To Sell Your Product Overseas
Up To $1,000,000 Grant To Recycle Toilet Paper
$2,500 Grant For A Craft Business
$100,000 Grant For Winery Business
$20,000 Grant To Prepare A Loan Package For An Apartment Building
$15,000 Grant For Small Town Developers To Fix Up Homes
$25,000 To Fix Up Your Office
$30,000 Grant To Start A Day Care Center
$20,000 Grant To Start A Video Business
$5,625 Grant To Start A Sewing Business At Home
$90,000 For An Energy Efficient Business
$300,000 For Documentary Film Makers
$250,000 To Make Videos For TV
$32,500 To Start A Business In Toledo
$7,500 Grant For New Landscaping For Your Business
$250,000 To Start A New Business
$3,000 To Start A Home Based Knitting Business
$5,000 Grant To Start Your First Business
$7,000 To Fix Up A Day Care Center
$500,000 Grant For Target Stores
$400,000 Grant For Home Depot
$1 Million Grant For Best Buy
$234,782 Grant To Train Technical Employees
$10 Million Grant For R.H.. Donnelley Corp.
$23,623 Grant To Sell Wine
$150,000 Grant To Produce Snack Foods
$580,000 Grant To Train Hotel Employees
Leftover Grant Money… A Real Pity
$10,000 Grant To Turn Your Barn Into An Office


Leftover Small Business Grant Money… A Real Pity

When I see things like this it makes my blood boil. Last year the city of Onieda had $350,000 in grant money to give to people who wanted to improve their businesses , but not enough people applied. I keep seeing more and more stories like this and I know there are entrepreneurs out there that really need the money if they only knew it was there. Look for the story in The Post-Standard, Saturday, December 18, 2004, "Leftover Grant Money,” by Aaron Gifford. I also read where the government had $1 billion for entrepreneurs in Virginia to apply for money and nobody showed up. Even business money for 911 in New York still had over $500 million that was not applied for a year later. And recent data show that only 50% of the students eligible for college money know enough to apply. Don't leave this money on the table, do some research, buy my book for business grants or get to a library and take one out for free! (Most library's have at least one of my books.)

Now of course I agree with most of this information. The only part that I don't agree with is the fact that the email said that the Small Business Administration didn't have any grant programs. They do!

New Blog - Unclaimed Money

I have started a new blog called The Unclaimed Money Blog.

While unclaimed money is not technically a grant, it is money that you get free and clear and you don't have to pay it back.

Unclaimed money is simply that - money that has not been claimed. Examples would be unpaid life insurance benefits, lost bank accounts and other such kinds of payment due. If the person that is entitled to this money has passed away then the money would go to the heirs/next of kin.

If this money is not claimed within a certain amount of time then it goes to the government!

Would You Like To Be Awarded One Million Dollars?

It seems that all of those "wishes for a million dollars" are starting to come true! More and more opportunities are presenting themselves for people to receive a million dollars!

Here comes a program where you will be awarded $1 Million Dollars if you can prove that which is "unexplained"! For instance can you prove that ghosts exist? What about the areas of occult or the "supernatural". Do you have test theories? Can you prove your results? If you can then this would be the program for you to apply for.

So far no one has been awarded the million dollars!

Calling All College Students!

Would a $100,000 grant award help you and your team develop a new technology-related project? Do you have a business plan for a project or business to help bring more education and/or awareness to the community?

These are just 2 of the requirements for eligibility that are needed for a grant program that was started last year! Business plans submitted have been funded as part of the early process and all vie for the final grant award of $100,000.

Already one project submitted involves rap music where besides using it as a self-promotion for its own artist, the rap music itself is being used as a teaching tool!

Another project involves the developement of a gaming device that others can use at parties and social gatherings.

Another project partially funded is being developed by a team of college students who want to create a better and less "prejudiced" version of Digg!

The finalists will be given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to executives who may fund their projects!

$500,000 Grant Program For Innovative Ideas!

How's this for a grant program?

This grant program is open to EVERYONE!. That means that you can be an individual, a non-profit, for-profit, business, organization or whatever - you are still eligible to apply! It doesn't even matter where you are located. You can be located outside the US as well as in the US. It's your idea that counts!

This grant program was put in place to help bring good ideas relating to technology and the world. Do you have an idea that will bring new information to the world? Does your idea involve the use of using the internet to bring information to the world? Then you may be eligible to apply for this grant!

To apply for this grant you first have to fill out a form on their website because no applications will be accepted by mail, fax or email. If they like your idea then they will contact you and ask you to submit a more detailed proposal.

The deadline to apply for this grant is in October 2007!

Homeland Security Grants

I guess by now most of you have heard about the "fight against" terrorism. In that regard the government has granted BILLIONS of dollars to "help combat terrorism" in the United States.

Some of this grant money was given to provide surveillance equipment to local governments so that events could be reported (and more importantly be on tape). Many areas have received in excess of a million dollars in federal grant money to install camera equipement to provide better surveillance.

However there is much talk and debate about how useful this will prove to be. For one thing the question comes up of the personel needed to view the many rolls of tape that will be shot. Where is the funding for that going to come from? And while having taped surveillance cameras has proved useful to catch crimes on tape these crimes are not of a "terroristic" nature.

Why there may still be many debates about the effectiveness of using surveillance cameras in the "war against terrorism" the grant money is still forthcoming and is still being made available.

People Who Get Grants Illegally

Here comes a news story out of Texas about a man - a former policeman with a bad record - and how he was able to get a grant to take care of the disabled and mentally ill.

He started a non-profit agency and applied for a $1 Million grant to transform an apartment building into a property where the mentally ill could be housed. Some of the documents that were required to apply for the grant were alledgedly faked documents - but it was enough for him to get the grant approved and be awarded the grant money.

Later it was found that the property had so many code violations but the man only was issued a warning letter and that was all. The police had been called to the property numerous times and inspectors came and did checks for code violations - both of which result in additional taxpayer costs.

The article goes on to state just exactly how this man was able to obtain the grant funding for his "group" home - from the way he started his non-profit organization up to him applying for and getting the government grant funding. Basically he received a set amount of dollars a day to house and feed wards of the state including those that were mentally ill and/or homeless. The man applied for government grant funds so that he could buy properties from owners and use them as boarding homes. The government grant program that awards theses funds was created to address the issue of there not being enough affordable housing for those that were disabled. Reports show that rental units can take up to 90% of a person's social security income so affordable housing was a much sought after need.

While many valid and legitimate non-profit organizations have benefited from this grant program there are still those that "are in it for the money" and aren't in it for the care of other individuals. It seems that all one has to do to be able to get this kind of grant money is to write a "winning" proposal to the grant committee.

I'm Not The Only One That Knows That Government Grant Programs Exist!

Date Released: 08/06/2007

source - Fast Pitch

The Federal Government Is preparing to give away more than $400 billion in government grants, but only about 10% of this money will be used. Reasons being,qualified grant seekers are un-aware,or do not know how or where to apply and most become bogged down in red tape and simply give up.

But now any small business owner or entrepreneur can tap into federal resources and quickly find the help and financial support there`re qualified to recieve. All they need is available to them from Government Publications, located in the heart of Washington,DC. They have all information and resources that will help any small business get the help they need.

If you considering starting a business, purchasing your first home or going back to school, "Here`s Good News"? Recently the government has increased assistance for economic development, and now provides the necessary cash for business start-up ,education, home purchase, home repair, inventions and innovation technology in the form of government grants.. In addition to new financial resources to help the unemployed re-enter the job market, "Billions of loan and grant dollars have been earmarked for people previously identified as credit risks. Money is available to purchase homes, cars, start a business, consolidate debts and many other purposes.

Now is the time to act if you need money for any worthwhile purpose. There are also several reduced-cost and even free programs now exist to benefit the economically disadvantaged and recently unemployed.

$30,000 Grant For Art Writers

What - Grant Program For Art Writers

Deadline For Applying - September 12, 2007

Grant Award Amount - up to a maximum of $30,000

This grant program which has been around for a while now is for art writers and is designed to support writers whose work addresses contemporary visual art through project-based grants issued directly to individual authors.

Approximately 20 awards are awarded each year.

Of particular interest are articles that identify and explore pressing issues in the contemporary visual arts. Also of interest are texts that illuminate the value contemporary art holds for all viewers through its ability to complicate and enrich our understanding of our world and ourselves and to offer a space of freedom from and critical engagement with prevailing norms.

Only online applications will be accepted

Governor Announces New Funding For Pre-K Children!

In my own state of Pennsylvania, Governor Rendell has annonced a new funding program to help pre-k children. The funding amount is over $70 Million Dollars and will go towards helping 3 to 4 year old kids to benefit more from their kindergarden programs.

School districts, nursery schools and daycare centers have all received funding from this program. Private schools that meet the eligibility requirements can also apply for this funding.

Since this funding program is still relatively new, exact amounts of the grant funding have not been announced yet.

Over 20 recipients in over 10 counties have already received this funding!

For more information about this funding program you can visit the governor's website.

For More Information About More Kinds Of Grant Programs.....

For more information about more / different kinds of grants programs you can also visit my What Is Your Dream Job Forum on Delphi.

What do grants have to do with "Dream Jobs"? - A lot!

There are many people who have their own dream job but don't know how they are going to achieve it or how and where they are going to get the money to help finance their dream job. That is where grants and grant programs come in.

Loans cause a problem because people don't want to take on more debt.

Grant programs are different because you don't have to pay grant money back.

So many people have their own dream job in mind but they don't think that there will be anyway that they will be able to achieve it. Some people give up hope altogether of being able to achieve their dream job.

But as a grant researcher I have seen many examples of those who were able to achieve their dream jobs with the help of a grant (or two).

FEMA Doles Out $8.2 Million For New Hampshire Flood Grants

FEMA Doles Out $8.2 Million For New Hampshire Flood Grants.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency reports giving the most grants, more than $780,000 worth, to Salem residents since last week's application deadline.

Manchester received the second largest amount, more than $560,000 dollars.

The U.S. Small Business Administration reported awarding nearly 11.5 million in low interest loans to 415 New Hampshire individuals and businesses.

"Never Pay For Grant Information"

"Never pay money for grant information" - ok what does that say to the many professional grantwriters and researchers out there?

"Free money - garbage" - Did you know that there is actually a term "free money" used to describe all the "unclaimed" money that is out there! This unclaimed money (and property) comes from people who have forgotten about bank accounts, safety deposit boxes, etc and if these persons are no longer alive then there are their heirs who are out there that don't even know about this money?

You are really going to have to educate yourself more about grants, grant programs and the grant process in general

As far as "free money" being garbage then just tell that to those that already have gotten grant money - legitimate grant money that they DO NOT have to pay back!

Is Someone Else Claiming YOUR "UnClaimed" Money?

Here is some more information that I have found about "Unclaimed Money"

Unclaimed Money Is Looking Mighty Good To Other People

Basically speaking it is looking mighty tempting for others to see how much unclaimed money there is out there and they are claiming it as their own!

Now "unclaimed" money might not be thought of as grants but they are money that you do not have to pay back!

WebDesign Scholarship Deadline August 18, 2007!

Annoncing

A $5000 Webdesign

Scholarship

For Students!

The deadline for this scholarship program has been extended because the scholarship program's sponsors are looking for more students to apply!

Here is a quote from their website

We have only been notified of a couple submissions for our web design scholarship.

Hoping to give more students a chance to discover this scholarship opportunity to win $5,000 we have extended the entry deadline until Saturday, August 18th.

Grant Programs For Single Mothers

For the single mothers out there there are organizations that have grant programs and provide emergency financial assistance to those single mothers that can demonstrate need. You have to realize that these organizations want to help single mothers and that their organizations were started to help single mothers. I know these programs provide a very good service to those single mothers in need.

If you live in Kentucky there is an organization that currently has 85 grant programs available and those women/single mothers who have been victims of domestic violence are given special preference. Talk to a social worker or public agency because they should have the information about these programs.

In my state (PA) there is a program to help those that have a job but low income to help purchase a car. If this kind of program is available in my state then you should check and see if it is available in your state as well.

There are many organizations (and government programs) that help people with their heating bills. I know this for a fact because I have helped clients get into these kinds of programs. These programs help with paying some of your heating bills and will even provide you with a new heating system if yours is beyond repair. Again check with the social agencies because they should have this information.

Caregivers - if you are taking care of a relative then you should also contact the social agencies because there are programs that will pay you to act as caregivers - BUT be sure to read the forms because some of these programs will hold on to the person's assets in order to pay you. If this isn't a problem then you should look into these programs as well.

Now this is going to make you angry but in Kentucky there are 85 grant programs to help people either buy a house or help with financial need and so far this program has been helping those that were born OUT of the United States.

Your very best bet is to find your local social agency because that is what they are there for to help people.

Now there are grant programs to help people that want to start their own business. The bulk of these grant programs require that you submit a business plan - of which you can find examples of online.

There Is Nothing "Quick" About The Government!

Here is a quote from Matthew Lesko:

There isn't much in the government that is quick, or for that matter, much anywhere that is quick, So you best bet would to continue through the non-profit and gov't sources for money. Remember that the state can give to your non-profit for free and surplus property that they intend to auction. Call the secretary of state's office for more info

Start-Up Grants For Daycares In New York

Start-up grants are available to in-process family and group child care programs. The grants help offset the cost of opening and operating a quality child care program, and assists child care professionals in receiving health and safety equipment, materials, supplies, and/or training necessary to meet New York State Office of Children and Family Services child care regulations.

Child Care Council staff will assist child care professionals in best utilizing the funds they are awarded through the grant programs. For information on these Child Care grant programs contact via phone or email.