Step 1: Finding a Free Government Grant
b. FEDERAL GRANT - an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States. These grants ARE NOT loans and they ARE NOT federal assistance. They cannot be used to acquire property, and there are no Federal grants that will buy you groceries.
c. PRIVATE GRANTS (from Foundations, Corporations and Agencies) - These are monetary aids awarded based on qualifications met, and which do not have to be repaid. The difference between these and Federal grants is that private grants are more relaxed. Foundations, Corporations and Agencies can look at "the big picture" when they read your proposal, and may be willing to take risks that the Federal government will not. They make decisions more quickly, as opposed to long months of waiting with Federal grants, and they are not snowed under in bureaucracy and red tape, or slaves to fixed schedules.
d. PUBLIC CHARITY GRANTS - These make grants for charitable purposes to charitable organizations recognized as 501(c)3 by the IRS.
e. INDIVIDUAL GRANTS - Monetary or non-monetary awards bestowed upon a private individual as a type of reward or prize after meeting a specific set of criteria. Businesses, Foundations and Institutions are ineligible. In some instances, collaboration between two or more individuals is permissible, but these grants are typically set aside for individuals, period.
f. NON-PROFIT GRANTS - A 501(c)3 grant is for non-profit organizations. These grants are made to assist non-profit organizations in carrying out their specific missions, and must be used for just that. If you don't know what "non-profit" means, don't even think about applying for this one.
g. SPONSORSHIP GRANTS - Certain grants that are earnmarked for non-profit organizations will allow individuals to apply IF they have a sponsor. This is called Fiscal Sponsorship. The Sparkplug Foundation (www.sparkplugfoundation.org) offers just such a grant. If you decide to try for this type of grant, be sure you have a sponsor with 501(c)3 status, otherwise you won't qualify.
Autor: Rita Hubbard http://knol.google.com/ k/everything-you-always- wanted-to-know-about-getting -a-grant-but-were- afraid-to#
Before you can apply for a grant, you must find one that fits the parameters of your project, applicable to your state, and available in the amount you need. Congress allocates a lot of money for grants through the annual federal budget process. Grants are suggested by a variety of officials, but congress has the last word on who gets what. Once the budget is approved, the grants are announced in the Federal Register throughout the course of the year. After the grant projects have been announced, they are listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, CFDA. The CFDA lists all of the federal grant and other assistance programs and you can search the listing for free at your local public or college library. The easiest way to find the grant that’s right for you is to search online at cfda.gov.
**Once at the website, click the ‘grants.gov’ link on the left.
**Click the ‘find grant opportunities’ link on the right.
**Choose the type of search you prefer from the following categories: Basic, Browse by Category, Browse by Agency, and Advanced Search. You can also choose to subscribe to the site for notices whenever new grants become available. All of these services are free.
To perform a basic search, enter a keyword relevant to a grant for which you may be eligible. This will bring a page of listings by the close date of the grant, the opportunity title, the agency administering the grant, the funding number of the grant, and any relevant attachments. All of the entries have links that take you to a detailed description of the available grant including who is eligible to receive the grant.
If you are an individual applying for a grant, you will need to search using the ‘advanced search’ method.
Step 2: Applying for a Free Government Grant
Once you find a grant that you are eligible for and that fits your project, you can submit an application directly from the grant.gov website.
**Your first step is to register with the site and you can apply for any grant listed on the site. You can register on behalf of an organization or as an individual. The registration process takes from three business days to two weeks, depending on how well you complete the registration steps required.
**Once you are registered, you can then download a grant application package and complete it offline.
**Complete the grants application package using Adobe reader. The site offers a tutorial on how to enter and save the information in your grant package. Make sure you complete the entire application package.
**Submit the grant application package online by using the “Save and Submit” button on the cover page of the application package.
Step 3: Tracking your Application for a Free Government Grant
After submitting your application online, grants.gov offers a tracking service so you can keep tabs on the progress of your application. Grants.gov sends you emails including a submission receipt, letting you know they receive your application; a submission validation or, if your application has errors, a submission rejection; an agency retrieval notice when they are actively looking at your grant application, and a tracking number assigned by the agency reviewing your application.
To track the progress of your application, login to the grants.gov website and click the ‘application status link from on the left. You will need the tracking number you received in the email. Follow the status of your grant application until the process is complete.
There is a wealth of information on the grants.gov website that will guide you every step of the way as you apply for a free government grant. You can complete the process yourself, for free, or you could choose to use one of the many grant application services set up to apply for you, for a fee. These services may or may not be designed with your best interests in mind, so make sure you research the business before you give them your money. Scams abound both online and offline, so do a thorough investigation on any company promising you a free government grant if you only pay them for their services.
Source: eHowKnol (http://knol.google.com/k/how-to-apply-for-free-government-grants#)