Guy on tv with the question marks on his suit (not the Riddler)?

Question

Has anyone bought his book about free money, grants etc? Is it worth the money?

Answer 1

DEFINITELY NOT. That guy is Matthew Lesko -- while his books and CDs make a good compilation of grants, he misrepresents grants and makes it appear that anyone and everyone can get grants for whatever purpose you want. And this is ABSOLUTELY FALSE

You may want to read the warnings FTC has issued against these "grant" companies:

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, no grants for paying off credit cards, no grants for getting out of debt and no grants for simply fattening your wallet.

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.

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 consumer reporter on TV did a spot on this guy, several years ago. They found everything in the book is either not true or could be found from the US Government printing office in Colorado or elsewhere on the web for free.

Answer 3

i do no longer care if a girl has stretch marks. i'd nevertheless locate her purely as attractive in a bikini. yet you're greater powerful off in case you gained some weight. Being too skinny is what would be a turn off to adult men.

Answer 4

I haven't bought the book, but Borders (and Waldenbooks) carry the book if you would like to flip through it before you buy it. I've flipped through it and didn't see much that would apply to me. Your local library also has it.

Answer 5

It's not free money anyone who payes taxes pays for all those stupid programs that he tells people about.