How Do You Know When A Grant Offer is a Scam?

One of the things that you should definitely look for is "we guarentee that you will get the grant".

One of the things that you have to realize is that no one can guarentee that you will get a grant.  The only exception is when that person is on the committee that makes the decision of who does and who doesn't get a grant - and even then you should be wary of that.

The basic grant process is this:

1.  you apply for the grant

2.  a decision is made as to which applicant(s) will receive the grant funding

3. if you will be awarded the grant you will definitely be notified!

Getting A/The Grant?

If you are new to this whole "grant" process there is one thing that you have to know (actually there is more than one thing but I'll get to that later).

It seems to be a common belief that grants are automatically guarenteed.  They are not!  A lot of people are searching for grants to start a daycare and/or their own business and they automatically assume that once they find the grant that they will automatically receive it.  That is not true.  The truth is that you will have to apply for the grant and you will have to apply using their rules and guidelines.  You can't just take one standard grant application and just send it off to everyone.  You will have to follow the specific guidelines and requirements of each grant program's application process.  One of the main reasons why applications have been turned down or denied was because the application process was not followed correctly.

Your application may be amongst many applications and there may even be the occassion where your application is the only one!  The best rule of thumb to follow is that the application that best meets the objectives of the entity funding the grant will most likely be the application that receives the grant.

You don't get a grant right away by applying for it.  It has to go through of a process of evaluation along with the other grant applications that have been received.

What Type Of Grants Are Available For Childcare and/or Daycare Centers?

There is grant money available for providing childcare/daycare care services at both the state and federal levels.  However these grant programs will only be available to you if and only if you meet certain eligibility requirements.  What are the eligibility requirements?  Well it will depend on each and every individual grant program that you are interested in.  They all have their varying requirements and criteria and no two grant funding programs are exactly alike!  This means that you will have to go over each and every available grant program that you think you are eligible for and see what their specific requirements are.
Here is an excerpt:

"There are specific grants available for infants, toddlers and childcare, ranging from infants with disabilities, special education requirements. These grants for these purposes must be use for specific purposes: quality expansion; infant and toddler quality improvement; and child care resource and referral and school-age child care activities. "

And while non-profit entities are eligible for these programs, for-profits and individuals are also eligible for some of these programs as well.  In fact you may be surprised at the number of funding resources that are available for child/day care services that are run by both individuals and for-profits!

In one county $3 Million Dollars in grant money was provided to those that provided daycare in their homes (as well as other kinds of daycare providers) - they were classified as subcontractors and this grant money was provided simply because the need for child/day care was so great!

"All the research shows kids brains are developed at an early age," S~ said. "We need to emphasize quality child care and early childhood education."S~ said neither of the local counties had a licensed daycare center.  So B~ plans to open her daycare at her residence using $23,600 of the grant funds. Her facility will have four infant/toddler slots and six pre-school age slots. The remodeling is finished. I'm waiting for the children's equipment to come in," she said. "It should be here in the next five days. During summer months she will take kids ages six to 12. K~ plans to open her for-profit daycare in June with $26,800 in grant funds. This facility will have four infant/toddler slots and 16 slots for kids up to age five. "

Grant monies have also been awarded to those providing daycare to women who wanted to finish their high school education.  An interesting example is where in one community neither the school board or the community wanted to provide such a service so the grant program was amended so that a for-profit daycare could receive the grant funding!

There is also a program in place to help provide "seed" money to help with starting up your business.

Can You Get Grant Money To Start A Business Without Buying One of Those Books?

The good news is of course you can. The bad news is that you will have to find the information yourself. With the exception of hiring a grant writer or consultant or getting someone to help you for free you will have to hunker down and find the information yourself. Don't feel bad though because how do you think the books and the others got the information? They went and looked for it. As a matter of fact looking for and finding the information yourself will help you keep up with the
latest and most current grants. For example I recently found out that the IRS will be starting a new grant program in the year 2006 for the 2005 tax year. I have also been able to find out about castles being for sale at a reduced price in Germany.

Many conventional grant funding resources don't have ALL the grant funding resources that are currently available. Did you know that there is a competition for the best business plan using a particular piece of software and of course it is being sponsored by the software company itself. A 2004 recipient of that grant started a lingerie boutique! There is a grant awarded to 5 minority applicants for the best business idea/plan and the grant award is $20,000 and the program itself is
annually. There are also quite a few programs out there where the main requirement is coming up with an endeavor/vision to help community and society as a whole - the largest grant award that I
have seen so far is $100,000! These kinds of programs are from more than one source and while they are not impossible to find they do seem to be quite hard to find - especially the grants relating to starting a business. That helps you because the less people that know about them the less competition there is for you when you apply.

How does grant money work?

As I have said many, many times before no two grant programs are alike so this also means that the way(s) that one receives grant money will not be the same.  However the answer that a lot of people want to know is if they will get the money in check form.  The answer to that is that it will depend on the grant program itself.  Yes there are some grant programs that issue a check made out to the person (or organization) that has won the grant award and I can tell you that in an example my client was issued the check, it was deposited and it took 2 days for the check to clear.  In this particular case the money could be used for anything and that is EXACTLY what it was used for - ie buy food and paid some bills!

In other cases the grant money is not paid directly to the person it is paid to a creditor, supplier, merchant, etc., - it will depend on what the grant is being used for.

So as with all questions about grants there is no one simple answer.  It will depend on the individual grant program itself.

Are there any grants to buy a car?

The answer is "Yes" and maybe.

Disabled Vets and those in the armed forces are eligible to apply for a grant to buy a car.  But don't get greedy because this program is for buying a used car and not a new one!

One program got a million dollars to use hybrid school buses.

If you are applying to a grant program that allows it you may be able to get enough to buy a good used car IF and only if you can prove that having a vehicle is necessery for what you want to do.

There is also talk about being able to provide money for buying a used car (or "transportation money) for needy families but this isn't official yet.

"Writing Grants............."

This is a very broad and often misleading term.  Grant programs come in all shapes and sizes and how you "write" a grant will depend on the specific grant program's guidelines.  As far as "writing" grants go the process can vary widely from a simple telephone call all the way to a complex myriad of forms and additional information like copies of documents that have to be submitted.

Anyone that tells you that "one form fits all" is ENTIRELY wrong!

"I Have Found The House of My Dreams.........

I have found the house of my dreams +, it has all the amenaties to start my own business of Bed and Breakfast. It would be in the O~ county, in the country. I am in need of $200,000.00 to purchase the home and the 2 small single dwellings that come with it. Can ANYONE help me find the funding or fianancing for this? I am 53 yr, disabled, low income, and really want this place. I mean it just screams "g~, buy me".


I do know of a grant program that helps people pursue their dreams and have often recommended this grant program to my clients since it is open to both profit and non-profit endeavors.  If I were you I would find out more about this program and see if you qualify because their grant award is currently for $500,000.  Unfortunately it is not all paid at one time but if you think you qualify to apply then you should definitely find out more about this particular program since it is a grant program and not a loan program which means if you are granted the award you don't have to pay the money back.

Working From Home?

I see lots of people are doing searches looking for information on how they can work from home.  A lot of these searches have been from people trying to find out how to start their own porn and/or webcam business.

I have oftentimes given suggestions about successful businesses that one can start from their own home such as starting a cleaning business, starting a daycare and even starting a dog-walking business.  Each of these types of businesses have been recommended by others besides me because these are businesses where these kinds of services are in great demand.

A lot of people want to be able to just use their computer to work at home but they don't want to start a business of their own.  They want to work for a company.  I'm sorry to say that most times these "work at home" offers are scams but I am glad to say that I have found some legitimate work at home opportunities too.  For example a woman works at home using her computer for an automotive company and another works at home for a federal organization.  So there are legitimate work at home opportunities out there.  You just have to be able to tell the good from the bad.

Questions About Grantwriting?

Rose,

Hello, my wife and I are just now starting down this long road of trying to find assistance in starting a daycare in a newly developed area in Colorado. I understand the service(s) that you provide, and have a couple questions. Mainly, I know your research services are $875, but I did not see your fees for the actual grant writing services...It appears to me that just as important as finding the grants is making sure you know how to fill out the forms properly. Second, this would be a for profit daycare, does that severely hinder the ability to get a grant? Third, S~ is the developer in our area, do you check with private organizations in your search for grants?

My wife has approximately 8 years in home daycare experience. She also
has a B.A. in Behavioral Sciences, is a licensed teacher, and has her
M.A. in Early Childhood Development...She is looking to create a
literacy based childcare center with a pre-K program, Kindergarten
program, as well as before and after school program...This particular
area has been deemed by our county as an "economic growth" area, they
offer plenty of tax incentives but no "grants"...Anyway, the specific
grants we would be looking for would be for new construction,
educational resources, equipment, etc....

Any help is greatly appreciated, I look forward to hearing from you.


Every client is required to fill out the questionaire that appears on the same page as the payment information sheet which is located at:

http://members.aol.com/Roseb441702/payinfo.htm

Amongst other questions, one of the questions asked is whether the project will be operated as a profit or non-profit or both? I ask that you please refer to this page because it answers some of your questions. For-profit daycares have received and will continue to receive grant funding.

Since the research that I do requires me to send the client ALL the information about the specific grant programs that information includes how and what is needed to apply for the funding program. Not all requirements are the same and some grant programs have simple application procedures while others are more complicated. No two grant programs are the same. Once the client has this information they can decide whether or not they want to apply on their own or whether or not they will want to hire a grant writer whether it is me or someone else.

My basic grantwriting fee is the same as the research BUT it will depend on the individual grant program that is being applied for and what is required for the application. The more information that is required and the more application work that has to be done - the higher the fee will be. So it will depend on the individual grant program and what they will require as far as application procedures are concerned. No two programs will be alike in what they require.

Becoming A Webcam Model?

Unfortunately this brings some very dangerous situations to mind.  I'm sure some of you have heard on the news about the woman who was killed because she answered a "webcam model" ad.

However if you still want to become a webcam model you might just want to consider doing it on your own.  It is a lot safer and you will be cutting out the middleman and you will be your own boss.  All you need to start is a webcam, of course.  You should also have a website - even if you use a free hosting site to start - there are even some hosting sites that are specifically for adult fare.

"Clearing the air"

It would be good to clear the air and understand some of the basics of the "grant" process.  Basically speaking you must first find the grant program(s), read their guidelines and application instructions to make sure that you qualify.  Once you are sure that you qualify you can then submit your application.  the grants are awarded to those applicants that best fit the objectives of the person/organization that is funding the program.

If you are asking about me and my services  I find the grant programs that the individual or entity is qualified to apply for.  Take for example my latest completed research job which was for a single mother.  She is currently in school and wants to start a business of her own.  Doing 20 hours of research for her included a grant program that provides one award of $50,000 to a minority to start their own business.  Past recipients of this award were both women - one who used the award to start her own film company and the other that used her grant award to start her catering business.  Also included was a program specifically targeted towards single mothers especially those who are in bad financial shape and this program helps with paying back the single mother's student loan!  Now how many people know about THAT program?  Apparently not enough because if there were a lot of people that knew about this program - especially when it relates to helping to pay back student loans - then this organization would be inundated with applications but it is not.  I prepare all the information about these funding programs and 95% of the time the information about the grant programs are emailed to my clients - usually in zip format because the copies of the applications and other material(s) from the grant programs are also included - including as much contact information as I can find.  It is then up to the client whether or not they want a grantwriter to handle the work or whether they feel confident enough to do it themselves - but that decision is up to them.  Sometime the application process can be as simple as a simple "letter of intent/introduction" and a lot of people feel confident enough to do that on their own.  But again I leave that final decision to the client.

How Can You Tell When A Grant Offer Is A Scam?

One of the things that you should definitely look for is "we guarentee that you will get the grant".

One of the things that you have to realize is that no one can guarentee that you will get a grant. The only exception is when that person is on the committee that makes the decision of who does and who doesn't get a grant - and even then you should be wary of that.

The basic grant process is this:

1. you apply for the grant

2. a decision is made as to which applicant(s) will receive the grant funding

3. if you will be awarded the grant you will definitely be notified!