Government Grant Money

Government Grant Money

Most ads have been talking about nothing else. Government grant money – does such a thing really exist? The answer is yes, it does exist, but you have to be careful what you mean by “grant money.”

Contrary to what people and the ads may say, the U.S. Government is not giving away free grant money. A government grant money is not a Christmas present, nor a gift with no strings attached.

“A grant is a form of gift that entails certain obligations on the part of the grantee and expectations on the part of the grantor,” explains Jay M. Shafritz, author of the book American Government and Politics.

Too many people have been misled into believing that the government is so rich that it's giving away free money to anyone who applies for it. The truth is that government grant money is not available to everyone for often, grants are awarded to groups or organizations that have projects designed to benefit the community.

For instance, government grant money may be awarded to a civic group who is planning to finish any of the following projects:

* A neighborhood street paving project
* A state-wide program to re-train displaced workers
* A project to attract new businesses to a depressed downtown area
* A regional water conservation program
* A county-wide flood control project

If you notice, all these projects are in one way or another community-oriented or community-based, which should give you some idea on what government grant money is for – a good cause. So all these ads you read or see telling you that government is giving away free grant money to help you with debt consolidation or start up your small business may not be all together true.

Government grant money is not given to individuals for purely personal reasons. You have to have a good cause or a project that would benefit your community in order to qualify. And even then, the competition is tough. Some non-profit groups even hire their own staff to handle the grant application process on top of their own regular staff who'll administer the grant once approved. For this reason, not many ordinary citizens qualify to receive government grant money.

The plain truth is that with federal funding cutbacks and competition for them becoming more intense as times goes, seeking government grant money always requires a lot of time and potentially a lot of money up front with no guarantee of success.

However, if you have a worthy project in mind, then try out the following government grant money resources below:

* Department of Education Grants and Contracts Information at GCS.ed.gov
* Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at HHS.gov – over 300 HHS grants are administered by several agencies. You may find them listed in the CFDA listings.
* Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at HUD. Gov
* Department of Justice (DOJ) at OJP.USDOJ.gov
* Department of Transportation (DOT) at DOT. Gov
* Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at EPA.gov
* Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) at FEMA.gov