Grant Programs For Churches!

Several local churches and nonprofits recently received aid for programs and construction from an Endowment Funding Program!

The philanthropic organization announced grants totaling more than $250,000 to eight local churches and nonprofit organizations, a small piece of the $98 million the endowment has distributed in its first two quarters.

Those grants will go toward a range of projects for six United Methodist churches as well as operational costs for a Children's Home and the Baptist Children's Home.

Two of the churches will use their grant money funds for a family life center and fellowship hall, respectively. The pastor of one of the churches said that their church's new fellowship hall, which will cost a total of $2.2 million, will seat 400 and feature a stage, kitchen, basketball goals and storage space! "It will provide more space for our congregation to assemble for fellowship. We hope it will impact the community and grow the church."

The church has also received an additional $100,000 from the endowment earmarked to make the facility environmentally friendly. Upon its completion the 12,000-square-foot facility will be a marvel of energy efficiency, using natural light, low-flow toilets and a number of other "green" features to minimize the building's effect on the environment.

The organization that funds these endowment grants, which have been handed out yearly since they were established go toward education, health care, child care and rural Methodist churches. The grants for the six churches came from a church division of the endowment's funding program.

Several of the grants, which range from $15,000 to $50,000, will go toward establishing or supporting church-sponsored after-school programs. One spokesperson has said that the endowment funds will go a long way toward supplying materials for the children it serves and will help underprivileged children be a part of it in the form of tuition aid. "It's going to make it possible for (families) who can't afford child care," she said.

One of the organizations that received the grant funding which got off the ground with the help of endowment funds last year, serves children five days a week between 2:30 and 6 p.m. and also provides all-day care during the summer months. The church applied for the grant last year and received a three-year commitment from the Endowment Program for $50,000 a year. Those funds have helped the church attain its goal of reaching out to families throughout the community.

For more information about this funding program or to see whether or not your organization is eligible to apply you can visit the website to find out more.

Are You A Woman Who Has A Dream Of Starting Her Own Business? Then This Grant Program May Be For You!

Since getting money for funding is the No. 1 obstacle women face in starting their own business there is a woman who has created her own program which will provide $50,000 in seed money to help start a business!

According to the website, the grant recipient will receive $50,000 to help start their own business. In addition this grant program will also provide the grant winner with a team of professional consultants which will include business and marketing plan assistance and also a professional writer and graphics designer!

This grant program is open to women who aspire to open a new business!

To enter:

• applicants must submit a personal essay of 500 words or less describing themselves and why they think they would make a successful entrepreneur.
  

• A preliminary business plan will also be required and should include:
  
  1. a description of the new business
     

  2. the consumer appeal to the new business
     

  3. a plan to implement the new business.

This grant program is open to women who are legal residents of one of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia

at least 21 years of age or older, and who are not current business owners at the time of entry.

Void outside CA, MA, TN, UT, PR and where prohibited by law.

The Deadline to apply is December 15th!

Where to get more info: Guidelines, application instructions and program-specific contact information are available at their official website.

This grant program was started by a woman who has been a longtime supporter of women-owned businesses, starting from the late 1800s,

You can also check out the list of recently funded projects by going to this website

Do You Need A Car For Work?

In some states there is an organization that has a program to help you get a car if you need one to travel to and from work. This program allows you to purchase a car for as little as $75 a month!

In order to qualify for this program you must:

• Have no vehicle
  

• Have your present job from six to 12 months
  

• Be responsible for the upkeep of the car
  

• Must not have drug charges or any major driving violations
  

• Be employed for 12 months after receiving the vehicle
  

Please be advised that you will have to find out if this program is available in your state.This program is not available in some states, and qualifications vary from state to state. So, please be sure to contact this organization to find out if your state has this program available and how to apply.

You can find out more information and contact them via their website or by writing to their mailing address.

Grant Received To Study The Benefits Of Generosity!

You heard it right! A sociologist has been awarded a grant to study generosity! The amount of the grant was $140,000!



This grant was awarded by an organization to study how social, economic and political structures affect individuals' generosity toward one another.



This study is one of 13 research projects to receive funding from this organization, which promotes research on generosity, altruism, philanthropy and related issues and shares those findings with corporate, civic, religious and philanthropic communities.


According to the grant recipient, "We are hoping to identify not only the individual characteristics associated with generosity but also the larger social forces that shape generosity.



The organization that is providing this grant is distributing $1.4 million to nine projects. Four other projects were funded earlier.


In two rounds of competition the oranization received almost 700 research proposals, and 13 projects gradually emerged as the most scientifically rigorous and promising.



For more information you can contact the organization itself by either phone or by regular snail mail address.

Getting Paid To Smoke Pot???????????

Hard to believe but there are still programs out there that will pay you to smoke marijuana!

Here is an excerpt from one such program!



SMOKE POT? GET PAID $560!



SMOKERS (age 21-45) needed to evaluate the effects of medications on mood & performance. Requires 8 visits (9AM-5PM) to a psychiatric Institute.

---

SMOKE POT? GET PAID $$



Do you use Marijuana? There is one university that needs volunteers for a new confidential behavioral study on the effects of marijuana use.


You will be compensated for your time.


Please give us a call to see if you may qualify for our program!

---

SMOKE POT-GET PAID $1,700


Men & Women 18-45yrs. Needed for marijuana study.

Could You Use Some Seed Money To Start Up Your Own Business?

Could You Use Some Seed Money To Start Up Your Own Business?

One state currently has a Start-Up Capital Investment Fund. This funding program supports high-tech start-up companies as they near commercial viability by providing access to early-stage capital to accelerate company development.


These funds will extend the personal investment of entrepreneurs during the critical stage when they are developing their businesses to the point of readiness for outside investment.


The fund targets companies throughout the state that are creating the newest technologies in the following competitive areas:

• Advanced automotive, manufacturing, and materials;
  
  
  
• Alternative energy;
  
  
  
• Homeland security and defense;
  
  
  
• Life sciences

To find out more about this funding program, you can visit their website

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 a 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. I don't know whether or not these loans are secured

loans or not so its best to check the fine print BEFORE you

sign anything. If you have bad credit then - as far as I know - this shouldn't affect you

appling for this type of loan - but again - be sure to check first!



If you do have bad credit then you should get a a copy of your credit report. The law

says that you are entitled to a free credit report every year so you should take advantage

of that and get a copy of credit report for free.




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

"How Can I Apply For A Government Grant?"

"
How Can I Apply For A Government Grant?"



"How Can I Apply For A Daycare Grant?"


I have seen this question asked a lot and I think that I may even have answered this question before on this blog but here is the answer again.



It depends on the type of government grant you are looking for - and please bear in mind that it is not only the government that has grant programs.!



If you are looking for only official government grant programs then you can visit the government's official website! There you will find a current list of the official government grant programs.



If you are looking for a government grant program to help you pay your bills, it becomes a bit more difficult!

Here Is Another Myth About Government Grants!

A government grant is an award of financial assistance from a government agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of that country. Grants are not loans or assistance to individuals."

This is yet another myth about government grants. You really have to look into government grants to find out the truth - which is that there are many, many programs out there that are government grants that provide financial assistance to individuals.

The one that comes to my mind is the government grant program that provides financial assistance to those that are having problems paying their heating bills - especially during the winters when it is most needed. This is a government grant program where you have to fill out some paperwork to show that you meet the eligibility requirements and if you do meet them they will provide a payment to your heating / utility company. This is a government grant program that you do not have to pay back!

There is yet another grant program that provides loans to homeowners who are having trouble making their mortgage payments and who maybe facing foreclosure. This is a government loan program and it is not a government grant.

These are just 2 examples that dispel the myth that is mentioned above. If you have your doubts about government grant programs, the best way to solve that doubt is to find out more about government grants and what they are all about.

Grant Program For Writers!

There is a foundation for writers that has a grant program that helps to support individual writers whose work addresses contemporary visual art.

The grant awards range from $3,000 to $50,000!

Writers who meet the program’s eligibility requirements are invited to apply in the following categories:

• Articles
  
• Blogs
  
• Books
  
• New and Alternative Media
  
• Short-Form Writing

For guidelines and additional eligibility requirements, please visit their website.

YES! There Are STILL Angel Investors Around!

Yes there are still angel investors that are around!

In one state there is one angel network that was formed to make financial and intellectual capital available for early stage and growing entrepreneurial companies!

This particular angel network seeks a balance among risk-adjusted returns, enhanced job creation and economic development in the state. The network looks to fill the gap for companies looking for and investment of $250,000 to $1,000,000.

The network is a not-for-profit entity that is member-led with each individual member making their own investment decisions. The culture of the group is intended to be one of active investors willing to contribute to the large amount of work involved in deal flow, vetting opportunities, presentation preparation, due diligence, negotiation and post-investment monitoring.

For more information you can either contact them by phone or you can visit their website.