Where can I get federal and or government grants. i am unemployed and need money, I also have poor credit?

Question

I also just applied for a student loan (FAFSA), I am to recieve 4k from them, but that is for my school books. I need money for personal reasons, can someone asist me with my question?

Answer 1

You may want to exhaust what government assistance you can get (from food stamps to Medicare, etc). The Government has created a portal to help individuals who need benefits because of life events. Visit http://www.govbenefits.gov

Use the drop down button
DO YOU NEED BENEFITS BECAUSE OF A LIFE EVENT?
Choose the life situation best applicable to you and then see if you qualify for the available government assistance.

Unfortunately, there are NO grants for "personal reasons." The government is NOT in the business of giving away free money for the sake of giving away money. There are no grants for paying bills, for getting out of debt or for buying a car. Grants are free, but it means OBLIGATION. You will be obligated to do as the grant sets out to do. Grants have objectives, and your purpose must fit the objective of the grant.

For one, you have to write the grant application and the grant application is not a simple document - you have to explain how your purpose for applying for the grant fits well with the objectives set out by the grant.

There is a stringent review process through a committee. You will compete with other applicants for the grant money, and this grant review committee will evaluate the merits of each proposal. Only those that they feel exemplifies the objective of the grant will be approved.

Nonetheless, 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 sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support your purposes.

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

Talk to your school's student loan department and see if they can give you the paperwork to apply for a grant. That's what I did. I live in PA if that's of any help.

Answer 3

Move to Wisconsin. They are most free with handing out money.

Answer 4

Are those books covered in Gold?