A Government Grant "Scam" Alert!

As someone that does grant research and consultations for a living, it pains me to have to read articles about companies and / or other businesses that are not operating on the up and up! I read an online article about one such company and I will be providing a link to it below the blog post.

It seems that this "government grant" business asks you to pay something like $1 or $2 plus shipping and handling for sending you their government grant cd. BUT you might also be billed monthly on your credit card account! It's supposed to be in the fine print. They are currently advertising on the popular Facebook site(s).

Here is a link to the article. The article itself provides a lot of good information about this company including mentioning how one can get that monthly charge to their credit card canceled.

Like I said I do grant research for a living (you can visit my Grant Basics 101 Blog to find out more information about what I do and if you would like to find out more information about government grant programs that you may be eligible for.)

I'm sure that basically if you are curious about government grant programs one of the most frequently asked question has got to be "Are there any government grant programs to help start a business" and the answer to that is Yes! You can go to my Grant Basics 101 website to see examples of grant recipients who have received money to start their own businesses!

Another popular frequently asked question is about government grants and starting a daycare business - again the answer is yes there are government (and other) grant programs that can help you start your own daycare business! As a matter of fact I sent one daycare-related client over 10 pages of information concerning grant programs that her for-profit daycare center may be eligible for - so yes there are grant programs to help start a for-profit daycare business. You can find out more information about that by going to my Grant Basics 101 - Daycare website and blog. You can also listen to my Grant Basics 101 Podcast in which the first caller asks about government (and other) grant programs for their for-profit daycare business.

As far as working from home is concerned it really depends on the kind of work that you want to do. There are grant programs for writers, artists and even musicians too! There is even a grant program for comic book artists as well!

Your Career By Horoscope?

I'm going to post a link to an article that talks about career choices for people determined by their horoscope / astrological sign. I was very curious to see what mine said:

Cancer (June 22-July 22)

Your traits: Compassionate, energetic, intuitive and imaginative. Your sensitivity, loyalty and organizational skills make you an excellent *caregiver.

* - I was a caregiver to my mother and I have also worked as a nurse's aide.


Compatible jobs: Tap into your nurturing nature with a job in health care, social work, psychology or teaching. You might also consider a career in law, where your desire to protect and defend others would be put to good use.

Since I do a lot of grant research this really would come under the heading of social work because social workers do help those that are having problems. Like I noted above I have been a caregiver to my mother and I have also worked as a nurse's aide so I have done work in the health field. Psychologically speaking the work that I do with both grants and Dream Job Consulting helps to dispel the myth about what a person is capable of no matter what their circumstances are. You may be eligible for a grant to help you financial or you may be eligible for a grant to help you start your own business - but you will never know until you try. The same thing applies to people who are seeking their dream jobs - if you think that achieving your dream job is impossible then it will be. Chances are no matter what kind of dream job you want there is someone who is already doing it!

Jobs for This Sign:

• Social Service Worker: $45,461
  
  
• Public Defender: $83,442
  
  
• Adult Education Teacher: $43,763

To read this article and possibly find out what career is for you just click here

No Grants To Start A Business Huh?

I just got finished reading a very interesting website by a student who lives overseas who got a grant that paid him $200 a week to start his own business. He started an online business that helped other students with their college work. Can you imagine getting a check to help pay your living expenses while you're getting your business started?

I'd also like to mention that when he was promoting his business he found that the most successful promotions had to do with putting up posters that promoted his business as opposed to putting ads in magazines and newspapers. Putting up posters (or flyers) is a promotional method that you can do that doesn't require a whole lot of money.

Paying For Grant Information

A lot of the emails that I receive mention the fact that the emailer could only find websites where they would have to pay to get the grant information. Although I find this surprising since I don't get the same results when I am researching for grant information I thought I'd address this kind of thing.

First you have to understand that when you are looking for information about grants it is sort of comparable to finding a needle in a haystack. This is especially true when you are looking for grant programs that you are specifically qualified to apply for. In your search and research for finding grant programs and information about grant programs you may find many grant programs but they won't be the ones that you specifically qualify to apply for. So what do you do? You dig deeper! I think almost everybody qualifies for at least one funding program that isn't one of those loan programs where you have to pay the money back. And it might make you angry to find out that lots of people with a bigger income have been the recipient of grant programs - Ross Perot and Donald Trump come immediately to mind.

Another thing that has been bothering me is the whinning and complaining about having to pay for the information. You really don't have to pay for the information if you find it yourself. Another option for not paying for grant information is for one to go to a social service agency. Part of their job is to know of programs to help other people including funding and grant programs. As far as government grant programs go that information has to made publically accessible to the public and it is via the government's website. Information about the government's grant programs is also available in the public libraries. I have even got information about government grant programs from my local newspaper and from listening to the radio.

Why shouldn't businesses and individuals charge you for finding this kind of information for you? I have some words on my grants page that addresses this. In short it says that once you start looking for this kind of information you will see the time and effort that is required and hopefully it will help you better appreciate the work that has to be done to get this kind of information. Now being taken or getting scammed from one of these companies or individuals is a different thing altogether! One of the warning signs is if you are "guarenteed" a grant. No one can guarentee you a grant. You have to apply for the grant and theoretically speaking the application that best fits the objectives of the entity awarding the grant will be the one that will be awarded the grant. So you have to apply for the grant just like everyone else. If you get scammed by one of these companies there are steps that you can take to report them. I have seen many articles of "grant companies" being investigated after so many complaints were received about them. You too can find out about these companies by doing a simple search online.

Grant research and grant writing require a lot of work and are very time consuming things to do. When you start looking for grant information you will find out how true that is.

Answering Some Myths About Grants

You have to have good credit to get grants

No you don't. If you are a US citizen or resident and pay taxes then you are eligible for some of the government grant programs. You could even have filed for bankruptcy - you would still be eligible for some of these grant programs! If you have bad credit then you could still apply for some of these programs.

You have to understand that you don't automatically get a grant. You have to apply for it. I have heard the whole grant process as being compared to entering a contest in that your application has to be reveiwed and assessed to see if you grant request fits in with the objectives of the organization that is awarding the grant.

The government is not the only entity that has grant programs - This is true though the government grant programs seem to award the most in grant monies (but that is not always the case). Organizations, foundations and even big businesses have grant programs.
There is a lot of red tape and paperwork involved in getting a grant - Sometimes yes and sometimes no. A number of the government grant programs require a lot of information and certain specific forms to be filled out but like I said above its not only the government that has grant programs. I have actual copies of grant requests that involve no more than a single sheet of paper that has the grant request on it where you fill in what you need the grant money for and why. The non-governmental grant programs seem to have an easier application process than the government grant programs.

Why do I have to pay to get grant information?

You don't. You have to remember that the government has to make their grant program information accessible to the public. Remember its the government we are talking about and they are using taxpayer money. The government has its own website where you can find out the details of there government grant programs. That includes all the information you need including how to apply for the individual programs. I use this site many, many times and I don't have to pay to use it and neither do you. Now the grant programs by entities other than the government are a little harder to find. You have to seek them out but the majority of them do have websites where you can find more information about their individual grant programs. Even those organizations that don't have a website have an address and a phone number and you can contact them using those.

There are no grant programs for for-profits

Again this is a myth. Big businesses receive grant money all the time. There are even grant programs outside the United States that have grant programs to help people that want to start or grow their own business. Even in the United States I have listed a number of people who have received grant money. Click on this link to go to my grants page to see a list of people who have received grant money.

There are so many myths about the grant process. The only way to show that the myths are wrong are with the actual facts.

Have You Ever Wondered What Happens When Government Grants Go Unclaimed?

The government allocates a certain amount of grant monies to the individual states. If that grant money is not used then it is sent back to the government. If the money is sent back too many times then the grant programs that this money is for are re-assessed - meaning that the grant programs could be cancelled altogether!

The Fastest Way To Make Money.......

Untapped Potential

The Fastest Way To Make Money
The Best Way To Make Money

(Subtitled: Inventors, Inventions and Funding)

Part Two

The best way to getting funding is to take what you love to do and find funding for it. Chances are what you love someone else loves it too!

I think that this is the harder of the two routes to take but I also think that it is the most worthwhile of the two routes. When you are working on something that you love, that “love” will show through. There are countless real-life stories about inventors inventing something that meant something close to them, not being able to find the funding, funding it themselves and THEN receiving funding for it!

What if you don’t have the money to fund it yourself? Then you will have to seek the funding from somewhere else. That “somewhere else” will depend on your invention itself. Who would benefit most from your invention? Would it be the government, the private sector or a specific industry? Then that is where you should be seeking your funding.

There is NO way around it – YOU HAVE TO DO SOME LEGWORK!. In its most simplest process compile a list of those who would benefit the most from your invention. Then you have to contact them. The internet makes this a much more simpler and faster process – USE IT! Contact them and find out what is their procedure that you will have to go through to make a presentation. If they are not interested then fine (it’s their loss), go on to the next name on your list!

It is a bother but it is a necessity that you have a presentation plan. You have to have something on paper to present to them! You have to show them why (and how) your invention will benefit them and why they should invest their money in it.

As far as grant-funding programs are concerned, the process is a little bit different. Each program has its own set of rules for applying for funding and you will have to comply with each and every one of them INDIVIDUALLY! You can’t fill out an application for one funding program and then submit it everywhere BECAUSE YOU WILL GET REJECTED!

*As a side note I should also mention that the funding is not just limited to the actual production of the invention. Funding is also provided for RESEARCH! That means that there are funding programs that actually exist to research the viability of a product (or invention)

Inventors And Getting Grants For Your Inventions!

Untapped Potential

The Fastest Way To Make Money


The Best Way To Make Money

(Subtitled: Inventors, Inventions and Funding)

Part One

The fastest way to make money is to find a need and fill it. So how does this apply to inventors seeking funding? The same principle applies. The fastest way to getting funding is to find a need and fill it. The more the need, the more (and faster) the funding!

Where is the “need” today? One is military! With the current war going on and the President’s strong stance in continuing the war, almost anything that will help to win the war or make the efforts to win the war go more smoother is wanted and is needed! That can mean anything from designing better (and/or more effective) weapons to designing better provisions for soldiers (ie food preservation/storage, products to help “in the field”). There are countless examples of big companies getting government contracts relating to the war “effort”.

Where does this leave the individual inventor? It leaves him (or her) to fill in the needed “gaps”. Moreover, there are always gaps. How do I know this? Because I read the newspaper, I listen to the radio and TV. I also research the government’s website on a regular basis. Packed with government grant programs, these websites list what “gaps” need to be filled.

Another “need” is finding an alternative resource of energy! Did you know that there is a government grant program in place that awards $40,000 in grant funding to U.S. citizens. There is special consideration given to individual inventors and small businesses that are U.S. owned for inventions that show promise in the energy-related field? That is just ONE government grant program! Another awards $200,000 for the development of the product!

If You Don't Want To Believe Me.......

Here is a quote from The Small Business Informer

Several grants from the government actually go unclaimed each and every year for different reasons. The main reason is that most just don't know the government grants are accessible. Some people are discouraged about the application process for free grants primarily because they've been given incorrect information about the process. Other people don't apply for grants because they are frightened about the unknown.

Billions of Dollars!

Terry Newborn, a researcher for Government Publications in Washington, DC, reported, "There are billions of dollars in grants and loans earmarked for people previously identified as credit risks. Public and private funds are now available for them to buy homes, cars, start a work at home jobs business, consolidate debts,and any worthwhile purpose." In addition, he reported new financial resources have been committed to help the unemployed get job training re-enter the job market or perform work at home jobs.

Are Grant Programs "Fading" Away?

~~~~~~~~~~in reply to a message that was posted ~~~~~~~~~~

I don't think that it has "faded away" in the overall sense because there are many sources of grant programs besides the government . It is always difficult after the funding source that you have been using has itself dried up but that just means that that particular source has dried up. There have been new funding programs that have been created during the time that you were using your funding source so there really wasn't a need to seek others when you had the ones that you were using. There are also grant programs that go begging for applications because none were received - so either the funding money is rolled over into the next year's program or the whole program is scrapped!

Providing funding for educational services has always been a top priority for the government and other entities such as foundations and organizations and there will always be grant programs for it!