posted by admin on Oct 3
Show Me the Money….
For some reason, this time, the same story I had heard numerous times, got to me. The person had paid a lot of money to someone to write a grant for them and 
all that they got was a CD and a book with instructions. We got connected because of an ad in craigslist.com, this person was going to pay again to hire another grant writer. I spent the amount of time necessary answering questions and ’splaining so this individual could understand that unfortunately, there are not many grants available for individuals. Government funded projects are awarded to non-profit, education and public organizations, who then disburse them in ways that will benefit individuals. Foundations can only fund non-profits (501(c)3), education and public organizations.
If you are one of those individuals looking for grants to start a for-profit business you need to look at the Department of Commerce’s Small Business Administration, which gives you the real facts about grants for business start-ups. There are great pointers and templates for business plans in this website. The SBA provides guarantees on loans and works through banks to assist individuals with funds for business start-ups and expansions.
The complete listing of government benefits with a explanation of programs can be helpful to understand where some of the federal grant money goes. An example of grants that benefit individuals and are administered by governmental entities and non-profits is the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) American Dream Downpayment Initiative. The program helps eligible individuals with down payment, closing cost and rehabilitation assistance that increases home ownership rates. ADDI locations throughout the United States can be found here.
Another example is Health and Human Services Asset For Independence. The program provides matching funds (Individual Development Accounts) for savings that individuals can use toward education, home ownership and to start a business. AFI locations can be found throughout the United States.
The Department of Labor has the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funds which are administered by Workforce Boards. The WIA funds are available to eligible individuals so they can gain necessary job skills for a local demand occupation, pay for child care and provide career and job training programs for youth and adults. Find the nearest Workforce Board/One Stop near you and go visit to see if you are eligible for assistance.
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:35 am
Do you have a site RSS feed, Margie? I see one on each individual post.
Ruth
http://grant-writing-resources.blogspot.com/
November 6th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I went to your website and learned so much! I read your bio page and you hit the nail on the head with exactly what I’m trying to do…My project is kind of like a non-profit or community project, but I would also like it to generate me some kind of income although
it is not a small business. My initial thought was that maybe grants or private funders/investors could help me cover the expenses of the project and give me some living expenses so I can use my time and talent to work on it.
I’ll tell you a little about my plans for the project, and how about if you tell me what you think the best action would be to get funding for it and if you think you can help me?
November 6th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Do you have a non-profit structure from the Internal Revenue Service?
If the answer is yes, you could be eligible for a foundation grant and line items for salaries for persons who implement the project are eligible activity. The project has to be structured to benefit the community – youth, elderly, disabled… remember -getting a grant award from a foundation is very competitive.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Yes, the organization has a 501©3 but has never used it and is located in Chicago – the project is kind of like an on-going web-based video journalism project. I’m going to find “interesting” people who are active in the community and interview them to make short (5 minute) documentaries on them for a website- and possibly some written interviews with other people among the videos (since the videos are slightly time-consuming to make and I want to update the site often)
November 6th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Are you familiar with the Chicago Community Trust Foundation? – http://www.cct.org/ – they fund worthy causes in the Chicago area – they have a cycle calendar list when they accept proposals. Look at the guidelines it will give you a better idea of what you will need to prepare – you will need a copy of the non-profit certification (501(c) 3 – these type of local foundations give to local providers which makes it a little less competitive. Go to Guidestar.com and look them up to see what kind of projects they have funded in the past – get to know the funding stream and try to shape your project to fit their grant giving criteria.
Remember your project has to be shaped into a project that will benefit the community – kids, adults…. teach them how to make videos – they will get skills that can be transferred to other occupations… they will learn how to communicate… they will learn teamwork… they will become more vested and engaged in the community…think of positive outcomes that will be met if the project is funded and takes place in your area.