free govt grants re they real?

Question

you always see these adds about free govt grants, dont have to pay it back, is this for real or is it a come on or is it to good to be true.?

Answer 1

Yes, government grants are real -- but not in the way that are often portrayed in ads you see on the Web or in the TV. These companies make it sound that anyone and everyone can get government grants for whatever reason they want -- which is ABSOLUTELY FALSE

First off, be warned that there are too many grant scams out there from companies promising to give you grants or write grants for you. Read the warning from the FTC

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/03/grantresources.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt134.htm

Here is also one of the warnings issued by the Better Business Bureau http://www.concord.bbb.org/tips_timesharescams.html

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

A grant does not need to be paid back, although there may be other requirements. A loan needs to be paid back.

Yes, there are government grants. However, you need to apply, be accepted, and follow all the rules. While some get lucky, most are turned down. Applying for grants can be a time consuming task.

If you're looking for an SBA grant, for example, then I'd suggest that you work with SCORE (retired executives volunteer their time and expertise to help people starting businesses) or someone else that's received a grant to polish you business plan, you grant application, and to determine how to target which grants you're going after.

It's not true that the government is giving away money for people to get a Master's degree, just for the asking. Matthew Lesko, the guy with the question mark suit, isn't telling you that there are a TON of requirements to get those grants.

Answer 3

The federal govrnment does give out a lot of money in grants; that part is true. But most of that money goes to established non-profits (including universities); some, to state and local governments. For-profit businesses and individuals are often ineligible. See for yourself:

http://www.grants.gov/

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Answer 4

They charge you to tell you where to go and 99.9999999% of the people don't get a grant. There is that .0000000001% chance. Almost the same as getting a lottery ticket. The lottery ticket comes with a lot less frustration and costs less.