People Want Grants, Not Loans

I can understand the reasoning on why people prefer grants and not loans. Loans you have to pay back and grants you don't.

Grants are given to non-profit organizations who in turn give loans (although they are low-interest loans) to individuals who of course have to pay the loan back.

Depending on the individual's need its probably best if they found some kind of grant program that awards the grant money to the individual. Athough there are many grant programs out there that award individual grants, you can be sure that you have to go through the application procedure to apply for the grant(s).

I have seen individual grant programs for comic book artists, single mothers and for people that want to start their own daycare business. But this grant money is not automatically guarenteed just because you apply for the funding. You have to remember that your application - along with all the other applicants' applications - will be reveiwed and the application that best meets the objectives of the grant program will be the one that stands the best chance of getting the grant money.

Some applications are complicated - like in the case of those grant programs for individual artists where they artist may have to submit some of their work in order to be considered for the grant.

Some applications are simple. There have been one-page requests sent to state boards requesting money. Just a short, handwritten paragraph of what the person needed - for example someone needed money to travel to take part in the final round of some contest. They submitted their request and they got MORE money than they asked for!

So you see no two grant programs are going to be the same. You have to look at each individual grant program and find out what they specifically require of you in order for you to apply for their grant program. And there are quite a few grant programs out there for the individual and not the non-profit organization.