Free Money Through Grants: Fact or Fiction?

 by: Rebecca Game


It's posted all over the Internet. You hear it on the radio, and see it on television. The United States government is giving away free money in the form of federal grants. While it's true that the government does indeed award $400 billion annually through its 26 federal entities, the statement of free money through the government doesn't exactly pinpoint the definition of a federal grant.

A grant isn't a gift or a free-for-all giveaway. It also doesn't mean that if you've been awarded a grant, you've won the lottery. According to American Government and Politics by Jay M. Shafritz, 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." The key word in this definition of the word is obligations. Getting a government grant will get you an unbelievable amount of obligations, and not fulfilling your obligations will, in turn, grant you legal problems.

The majority of federal grants that are awarded are the farthest thing from being considered free money. Grants are most often awarded to organizations planning major projects to benefit a community. It could include money to be used for repaving streets in a city. A grant could also be awarded for a nonprofit organization featuring an art exhibit or musical performance. Grants are also awarded for technological research, conservation, and flood control projects. While there are other sources that are awarded grant funding, in general, the free money aspect is lost, and individuals, in general, are not qualified for most grants other than those used for educational purposes such as to pay tuition bills for higher education. Businesses can also tap into the federal grant program, but only by meeting strict criteria through the government agency offering the grant, such as if grant funding is available for research in a particular area that is of specialty to that business.

Once the free money is provided through the grant, the organization that has been awarded the free money must keep careful track of all project expenditures. Organizations that are awarded free money must be prepared for detailed audits, which will be conducted by the Federal government annually or more often. Any money not spent and accounted for goes back to the United States Treasury, and is not extra free money for the organization. Detailed program goals must be developed, approved, and completed by the organization exactly as specified in the grant application without exception. Any unforeseen project changes that occur along the way must receive prior approval by the government agency that awarded the grant. All project phases must be completed as planned, and even more importantly, completed successfully and on time.
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Free Money Through Grants: Fact or Fiction?
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About The Author


Rebecca Game is the founder of Digital Women ®, an online community for women in business. A 30 year entrepreneur and dedicated to helping other women find business loans. Visit her site: Loans for Women.

http://www.digital-women.com







Additional Resources



category - Applying for a Grant

National Endowment for the Humanities: National Digital Newspaper Program
The goal of the National Digital Newspaper Program is to crate a national digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between the years 1836 and 1922, from all of the States and its territories.


Grants From The National Science Foundation
Since its creation in 1950, the National Science Foundation has been constantly promoting the progress of science by way of advancing national health and prosperity and financially supporting research and development studies in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering.


Agriculture and Food Research Initiative: National Institute of Food and Agriculture Fellowships Grant Program
The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant program revolves around the premise of providing funds to both fundamental and applied research studies, education, and extension that would hopefully address concerns related to food and agricultural sciences.


What You Need to Know About the Grants Policy Committee
The Chief Financial Officers Council, one of the largest federal agencies that works towards collaboratively improving the process of financial management in the United States Government, has established the Grants Policy Committee(GPC).







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