Are There Any Grant Programs For My Mother To Start A Pet Business?

There are grant programs that fall under the category of entrepreneurial grant - meaning that they are grant programs that are specifically geared to those wanting to start a business. These kinds of grant programs are available on a national, state and local basis however a LOT will depend on the specifics of the business. For instance I know of a grant program for aspiring entrepreneurs who are a minority and under the age of 35. That grant program awards $20,000 and the award goes to more than one winner. In this case you have to be a minority and under a certain age. All of these grant programs are like this - SPECIFIC!


Another thing is that you have to understand the whole grant process thing. Just because you apply for a grant does not mean that you will automatically get a grant. Theoretically speaking the grant application submitted that best meets the objectives of the organization awarding the grant will - theoretically - get the grant award.


What your mother will have to do is to tailor her grant application for the individual grant programs that she is eligible to apply to. A lot is going to depend on the kind of business plan that she has. Entrepreneurial-type grant programs are most often awarded by foundations and big businesses and corporations so that will be a good place to start to look. The federal government also has grant programs that are "open to all" and/or open to businesses to apply so you can check for those programs at their website.

Grant Programs For Individuals?

Are there grant programs out there for individuals? Of course the answer is YES! For example there was a professor who, at age 64 received a grant award of over $100,000 that had no strings attached (meaning he could spend the money any way that he wanted) simply because of his love of books. Technically this grant is called a fellowship but the award is for individuals of outstanding talent to further continue their endeavors and they don't have to be affiliated with institutions which means that they can receive it as an individual. This grant is open to scientists, artists and even businesses people and entrepreneurs to apply!

There are no credit checks involved. It doesn't have anything to do with what your credit report score is and this is not a loan. It is a monetary award that you can spend in any way that you want. And like I have said many, many times before these kind of grant programs have an objective in mine. In the case of this grant program the objective is to help encourage creativity and education.

So there are "grant" programs of this sort - in this case provided by a foundation. So in spite of what the so-called experts say there are grant programs out there for the individual!

Some Grant Programs I'm Not Too Crazy About.....

In its most basic meaning a grant is money given that does not have to be paid back. That is what a grant is in its most pure and simple form. However there are some grant programs that don't follow this simple and pure form. You should never have to pay money to get a grant and I am finding that there are other requirements that don't adhere to the "pure and simple" form. The latest grant program that I am investigating has a specific requirement that has to be fulfilled by the applicants. No, not by the business that wins the award but by every business that applies for the grant program. To put it quite simply the applicants have to apply for a line of credit. Now since part of the grant award is provided by a bank I think that there may be a conflict of interest - and especially so because the applicants have to apply to the bank that provides part of the grant award! There is a list of the grant recipients so that means that the grant program does get applicants but there are some questions I have. One of the most important has to do with the business applying for a line of credit. Would they do so even if there wasn't a grant program behind it?

A lot of businesses that I know and that I have worked with didn't have the means to apply or be eligible for a line of credit in the first place and that is why they are seeking grants. And doesn't having a line of credit mean that you have to pay it back? That doesn't sound like a grant program to me. While there are other requirements as well this one stood out to me because it doesn't sound (or feel) like a grant program.

Movie Review - Lara Croft Tombraider!

I'm all for independent women and this is certainly one! Lara Croft (as potrayed by Angeline Jolie) is gorgeous, smart and rich! Her father was an archeologist and she seems to have taken on the business after her father's death.

The reason why I'm mentioning this movie is because I had a chance to see it again and I was reminded of why I like this particular movie. Number one that place that she lives in is gorgeous! I especially love that bathroom and the reason why it stood out for me is because I want one just like it! Now you may be asking yourself what this has to do with business or working from home or even grants. Here is my answer(s)

1. Carrying on a father's business - do this sound familiar? Do you know of anyone (male or female) that has taken over the family business? What about you yourself? Are you a part of a family owned business? What about starting a family owned business? What about starting a business that has to do with families? For instance there is a market for helping people find out about their family roots or geneology. You could start a business researching this information for others. It's the kind of home business that you can start and do from your home researching on the internet and even going out to find specific information for others.
2. Archeology - It may seem like a boring topic but there is a LOT of interest in it and as far as it being grant-related there are grants for archeology-related endeavours.
3. Lara Croft - Did you know that there is a newsgroup that discusses this movie and character? How could you turn that into a business? Lets say that you are a fan of the movie. If you make jewelery you can design specific pieces relating to the character and the movie. (However I should note that (of course) the Laura Croft movie and character are copyrighted items so you can't do things like sell images of the character unless you have permission.) There are many fan websites on the Internet and some of them have managed to make a living from their website. So if you are a fan of a specific thing you should seriously consider putting up a fan website!

Top Home Businesses That You Can Start From Home!

Here is a link to an article about businesses that you can start from your home. The first one that is listed is one that I have been recommending for a long time now!

1.Pet Sitting: Imagine the perfect home-based business where you get paid to walk and enjoy the companionship of pets. A pet is often the "children" of the family in more homes today as Americans spend more than $34 billion a year pampering their pets.

Darlene Ehlers of Pampered Pets Home Care in Blue Jay, Ohio and Pet Sitter of the Year couldn't imagine the potential of a home-based business opportunity. "I started as a part-time business and never dreamt it would be a full-time business. It just keep growing and growing," says Darlene.

With busy work schedules and the choice of leaving their "best friend" in a kennel, more and more pet owners are hiring the services of a pet sitter to walk the dog and provide companionship while at work. With the current dog and cat population in the U.S. at 135 million, according to The Pet Food Institute, this is one home business that should purr for years to come.

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The link to this article is: here

Hurricane Katrina-related repairs

It is expected that over $1 Billion Dollars in grant monies will be awarded to help apartment owners repair storm related repairs to their apartment buildings.

Homeowners are expected to receive over $7 Billion Dollars in grants for Katrina-related repairs!

Short But Sweet!

The federal government awarded more than $380 billion in

 

contracts last year and gave away another

 

 $300 billion

 

 in grants

No 2 Grant Programs Are Alike!

Unfortunately that is not entirely true.  A non-profit daycare does not have to be funded by the government.  As a matter of fact there is one grant program for non-profit daycares in one area of California that has 4 different grant programs for non-profit daycares.  Basically speaking non-profits are so named because their objective is not to make a profit but to reach their goal whether it be saving animals, providing daycare or bringing a greater awareness to a specific medical condition.  Very good examples of this are the fundraising events and volunteer work that is constantly being done.

 

My personal opinion is that it would be smart to operate your daycare as a combination of both a "for-profit" and "non-profit".  The irony of operating as a non-profit is that if you don't generate enough funding you run the risk of going under.  The same thing is true for for-profits as well. 

 

Another misconception is that grant funding can only be had by government programs, which is yet another myth.  There are many organizations, foundations, groups, businesses and individuals that have grant programs.  There is also a small but growing trend in the belief that for-profit businesses can serve in the "non-profit spirit" - which means that more (at a slow pace) grant programs are being made available to for-profits so that they are eligible to apply.

 

I would say that 6 months is a good average time period to expect to receive a grant reward.  BUT I want to emphasize that word "average" because like I have said many times before no two grant programs are alike.  I have dealt with one grant program that took only a few days to provide the award.  There is a grant program that provides a $500,000 grant award to help people "pursue their dreams" - but it is not paid out all at one time - it is paid over a period of years.  So again no two grant programs are alike.

More Information About Financial Assistance For Teachers!

Yes there are financial programs out there that actually help teachers with their mortgage payments.  There is a national program that is available to teachers who teach in the public school system BUT to be eligible to apply for the assistance you have to be teaching a certain subject.

 

As well as the national program, there are also financial assistance programs being provided by different states to help teachers with paying back their student loans.  For example in Florida there seems to be a shortage of qualified teachers so a financial program was developed to:

 

"provide financial assistance to eligible Florida teachers for the repayment of undergraduate and graduate educational loans which led to certification in a critical teacher shortage subject area. Full awards may be an amount up to $2,500 per year to repay undergraduate loans, and up to $5,000 per year to repay graduate loans received prior to becoming a certified teacher in a critical teacher shortage subject area. Graduate courses which did not result in a graduate degree in an appropriate critical teacher shortage subject area may be awarded at the undergraduate level. A total annual award may not exceed $5,000. Applicants may receive up to a maximum of $10,000 for the duration of the program."

Student Loan Forgiveness Programs For Teachers?

Well I'm having the hardest time posting a reply to the teacher that posted to ask if such programs are available so I will post the answer here on my blog. The answer to this is Yes HOWEVER each program is different. For instance there is one particular Student Loan Forgiveness Program for teachers that let them apply for $2500 each year until a total amount of $10,000 has been applied towards paying off their student loan. However this particular program has its own set of requirements and eligibilities. For instances teachers who teach K-12 are eligible to apply but must teach in either a rural or urban area.

Scholarships - Where There Is A Will There Is A Way!

There are many local organizations that have scholarship programs of $1,000. Now you probably think that that is not a lot - especially when you talk about the cost of going to college. But one enterprising student applied for (AND GOT!) 11 OF THEM!

More Proof That There Are Indeed Grants Available For Small Businesses!

An article in a major publication about how the big companies and organizations are taking advantage of all the grant programs that were intended for small business owners!

 

Over 20 Billion Dollars were allocated for 9/11 recovery grants but the bulk of that money went to giant corporations!

Still Don't Believe Me About Government Grants Being Available?

Here is an excerpt from the "American Chronicle"

 

"Buying a New Home, Paying For College and Starting a New Business has never been so easy!

A Government Grant is an aid program specially designed for helping those who have financial difficulties and cannot achieve, due to lack of finance, certain goals the government is interested to promote.

Government Grants Explained

Though there are many different government grants for a lot of purposes, as noted in the first paragraph, most of them concentrate on three goals: Helping people start their new business, helping people pay their way through school or college and helping people buy their first home.

Grants are provided by government agencies all over the country and at all levels of administration: There are Federal Government Grants, State Government Grants and Local Government Grants.

Each agency has its own requirements and though qualification is not as difficult as it may seem, the truth is that you need to be informed in order to successfully apply for a Government Grant without fear of being declined.

Grant’s amounts range from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. As the loan amount get’s higher, it becomes increasingly difficult to qualify for. So you ought to know the requirements beforehand and apply as early as possible. It is known that most Government Grants are granted on a first arrived, first served basis, so timing is a very important issue not to be bypassed.

The smartest thing to do is, by analyzing grant’s requirements, to select the Government Grant you are best qualified for and concentrate on applying to it. There are certain grants restricted to citizens of certain states or towns. Others are restricted for those working on certain fields or for those coming from certain economic conditions.

A 490 Page Document!

That's not even a document - that is a book! But oh what a book! This is a 490 page pdf "document" that lists available grant programs for both school districts and teachers. I have a lot of reading to do!

Internet Radio?

I was a DJ for a lot of years. I stopped when the last station that I worked for fired 95% of its airstaff and replaced us with a feed from California. I do miss it though. I did have an Internet radio station at one time and am considering renewing it. But I have browsed the message forums and saw one post from someone that wanted to work for an Internet radio station. What I suggested was that he start a website. With a website you can post your voice so that others can hear it. Include some contact information like an email address so that they can contact you in case they are interested in using your voice.

There are a lot of things that you can do to "advertise" yourself. I have a basic PC and one of the programs that comes with it is a simple sound recorder that I have used numerous times to record my voice and put it on my website. You can get really creative and add sound effects and even add sound effects to your own voice. You can hire yourself out as voice talent. I have come to find out that there are a lot of people that have Internet radio stations but they don't like the sound of their own voice - so they can use yours instead.

How would you make money with this? Well you can hire yourself out as voice talent. You can set up a webpage listing all the general information like what you charge and what you charge for. I even read about a woman that started her own business doing answering machine voices/sound effects for others.

This may sound like a complicated thing to do but for those that have an interest in this type of thing it is another example of how you can start a business from your home doing something that you love!

Scholarships/Grants For A Disabled Single Mother Wanting To Continue Education?

I am a single disabled mother living in a small town. I have just returned to college here and plan to graduate in spring of 08 and transfer to the University of Bakersfield. Are there any scholarships that I could apply for and is there something that would help me catch up on my heating bill and get me a good computer? My email address is K~. Just in case you needed to know my major is social science. Thank you.

I will address your first question. Time and time again I have noted on both pages about grants and grant-related information about the availability of grants/scholarships and funding for those that are disabled, single working mothers and or those wanting to continue their education. The answer to your question is "Yes" there are scholarships and funding that you can apply for. As a matter of fact the number of funding programs that you are eligible to apply for increases because of your disability and the major that you have chosen. I know for a fact that there is an organization devoted to helping single mothers and will even help in them paying back their student loan. I found out about this organization when I was finding grant programs for a client who is also a single mother. And this is just one of many programs.

You have to understand that these funding programs (including the scholarship programs) were put in place to help fill a need. In your specific case the fact that you want to continue your education in the field that you mentioned above is one of the reasons why there are scholarship programs at all.

Student Loan Forgiveness Program For PA Teachers.....

There is a Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program in my state (PA): Eligible applicants are permanent classroom K-12 school teachers.  Applicants must spend the major portion of the school day during the school year teaching in a classroom at an eligible urban or rural school district. The program offers up to $2,500 in forgiveness for each year that the teaching commitment is fulfilled and up to $10,000 will be forgiven for any participant.

 

If you're not a teacher in PA you should still check and see if there is a similar program available in your state.

Paying Back A Teacher's Student Loan - Speaking of....

"Are there any grant programs that will help a teacher pay back their student loan(s)?"

When you start to find these programs you are going to find that you are going to have to be more specific about your information. There is not a program for all teachers however there are programs for teachers that meet a certain criteria. For instance there is one program that pays $2500 a year towards the teacher's student loan - up to $10,000. However not every teacher qualifies for this program.

"12 Jobs That Will Never Disappear"

Ever wonder what jobs (and what job markets) are stable? Here is an article from AOL

12 Jobs That Will Never Disappear

Here are a few excerpts:

"

• Teacher - Why it's everlasting: There will always be a need for education, and there will always be a need for people to do the educating.
  What it pays: The median annual earnings of kindergarten, elementary, middle and secondary school teachers ranged from $41,400 to $45,920.
  

• Barber - Why it's everlasting: People will always need to have their hair cut and groomed. What it pays: The median annual salary is $21,200.
  

• Farmer - Why it's everlasting: One of the basic human needs is food and, even though farming is increasingly consolidated, there will still be a need for someone to grow it.

What Does A Grantwriter/Researcher Eat For Breakfast?

This is usually when I'm in a hurry and need something fast! Sometimes I don't even eat breakfast at all which is something that I really should be doing. See the coffemaker in the background? THAT comes in handy too!