What You Need To Know About Grants.Gov

by: Iola Bonggay

Have you been looking for grants lately? Have you been seeking financial assistance from the government? If you've answered yes to both questions, then here are the most important things you need to know first before you move forward with your search.

First up, it is very much essential for grant seekers to know the difference between a grant and loan. A loan is something that you need to pay back, and often with interest, while a grant is something that is given to you in order to help you carry out a public purpose of support that is authorized by a law of the United States. Thus, a grant is something that you won't ever have to repay.

The United States government has a lot of grant programs that are available for the public. However, only a few of those grants are available for ordinary individuals.

Grants.gov is one the largest websites that features at least 1,000 grant programs from 26 different federal grant-making agencies in the United States. Most of the grants that are found on Grants.gov are mainly for organizations and institutions, only a few of them are for individuals. It is also very important to know that Grants.gov does not offer personal financial assistance such as student loans, medicaid loans, debt loans, and the like.

The eligibility requirements will significantly vary depending on the kind of grant that is available. In most cases, most of the grants that are found on Grants.gov are meant for:

  (continued...)

What You Need To Know About Grants.Gov
  Page 2

About The Author Iola Bonggay is an editor of TopGovernmentGrants.com one the the most comprehensive Websites offering information on government grants and federal government programs. She also maintains Websites providing resources on environmental grants and grants for youth programs.

Additional Resources

category - Applying for a Grant

United States Department of Agriculture: Rural Development
USDA Rural Development is an agency that is operating under the United States Department of Agriculture. The primary goal of the USDA RD is to assist in the improvement of the economy and quality of life in rural areas located in the United States.

---

Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program High Priority Grant Opportunity
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has recently announced the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) High Priority grant, which enables the agency to provide funds to State agencies, local governments and organizations representing government agencies as they as train and educate qualified officers and employees in strict coordination with State motor vehicle safety agencies.

---

National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences
NASA has recently established the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) program for the year 2011, which encourages interested institutions to submit proposals that involve ground-based research and technology investigations that seek to comprehend naturally occurring phenomena, both in the Earth and in space.

---

National Science Foundation announces the Cyberlearning: Transforming Education Program
The Cyberlearning: Transforming Education is a program wherein the NSF will provide funding for research proposals that aim to explore opportunities associated with the promotion and assessment of learning techniques through the help of new technologies, taking advantage of the application of those technologies, and the utilization of those technologies in the process of promoting deep and lasting learning of content, practices, skills, attitudes, and dispositions that are essential in becoming an engaged and productive citizen.

---