How can you find gov. grants without going thru rip-off scams?

Answer 1

You can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two FREE sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants.

Browse through the CFDA listings and see if you can find any grant that would support your purposes. Then apply for the grant at Grants.gov making sure that you remember the CFDA number (you will need the number to download the right application)

Even if you buy books on "how to get grants" or list that supposedly has information on grants -- all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently.

Note though that these grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments. Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program. Individuals especially for personal purposes are not eligible for federal grants.

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs

Answer 2

Look only at government sites. If your looking for school grants, ask the local schools what they acccept and they will have applications for a lot of the ones they accept. If you are starting a business, check with the chamber of commerce in your area. A lot of times community colleges offer free help finding grands for businesses as well as for school.

Answer 3

He is right Grants.Gov

Answer 4

grants.gov