Government Grant Scams

There are thousands of government grants available worth billions of dollars. At any given time, you may be eligible for a number of grants so, the most difficult part in the process can be deciding for which grant to apply.

One way to apply for grant money is to visit www.grants.gov, the only government run grant web site. Once registered, you can access information about thousands of grants. The site has information about eligibility and application requirements. You can apply to multiple grants, so record the Opportunity Numbers of all the grants you are eligible for that fit your needs. You can use this site to not only find and apply for grants but to also track their progress.

Another option is the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, which can either be mailed to you or downloaded from www.cfda.gov. The catalog has information about all the Federal programs that are available to everyone from individuals to state and local governments. When using the catalog, once you have found the grants for which you want to apply, it is up to you to contact the administrating office for the application and further instructions.

Before starting the application process, it is important to make sure that your plan for the grant money is well thought out. You will be asked for all the details about your venture, having a clear plan will facilitate completing the application. Keep copies of all the elements of the application since the administrating office for the grant may contact you regarding your application. It is better to be able to refer to a copy of the application than to rely on your memory.

Some feel that the process of applying for grants seems daunting. There are professional grant writers available for hire. If you are applying for a grant for a business or large organization, the amount is $10,000 or more, or both, it may be a good idea to hire a grant writer since they are familiar with the process and can help make sure you are as prepared as possible.

There are many resources available online that can help with the application process. Complete the entire application, including the detailed outline of the project for which the grant money will be used. Make sure to send the completed application in by the deadline, you cannot be considered for the grant if your application is not received.

I got busy applying for government grants, bought a business and paid off my bills. Find out how I did it - in just 3 months time.

There seems to be no end of scams offering free government grants. They all seem to ask for an upfront fee and then get you nowhere. There is government grant money to be had, and it doesn't cost anything to get it. All you have to do is find the grants that suit your needs and fill out the government grant applications. Finding the right grants is as simple as knowing where to look.

The only grant site that the government has is www.grants.gov. This is a no charge, full service web site that is dedicated to helping people find and apply for grants. With access to thousands of grants worth billions of dollars and all the support and application tools you need, www.grants.gov is the perfect place to start looking for grants and filling out the government grant applications. Once you have registered with www.grants.gov you can find grants, apply for them online, and track their progress. The site also offers several applicant resources including checklists, tutorials, and user guides.

Another site that offers free resources for finding and completing government grant applications is http://creditfederal.com. One of the free resources this site offers is access to the online federal grants catalog. There are also application forms along with instructions available on the site that can be downloaded as either Microsoft Word or PDF documents. For some of the grants http://creditfederal.com offers online application submission.

A wide variety of government funding sources is www.fundsnetservices.com. This site has links to several federal and state grantors. The eligibility requirements for the grants are found on most of the listed web sites. The site has information about the grants organized by type, making it easy for people to find the grants that are best suited to their needs.

When looking online for government grant applications and grant resources it is important to be aware of the scams that are out there. You should never have to pay for information about a government grant - this information is offered by the government free of charge. There are several reliable, safe, and free resources available on the internet to help people find and apply for the grant that is right for them. Taking time to visit sites like www.grants.gov, http://creditfederal.com, and www.fundsnetservices.com is well worth the time and effort.

I got government grant applications, bought a business and paid off my bills. Find out how I did it - in just 3 months time.

The internet seems full of ads for free grants for just about any purpose imaginable - education, home repair, or starting a business, just to name a few. The ads go on to say that the money received from the grant does not need to be repaid, which makes the offers even more enticing.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that grant offers like these are scams more often than not. These ads are placed by scam artists in classifieds and on the internet, often with a web site to visit or a toll free number to call to claim the grant money. Other government grant scams are more direct with someone calling you to say you may be eligible for a government grant.

Telephone Scams

Whether it is someone calling you to say that you may be eligible for a grant, or you calling the toll free number from an ad, telephone government grant scams tend to work the same way.

-They will congratulate you an being eligible for a grant
-They will ask for identifying information, like your social security number, in order to check your eligibility
-When they tell you that you have qualified, they may ask for banking information in order to charge a one time processing fee or to directly deposit the funds
-Their "money back guarantee" will have conditions that are nearly impossible to meet
-Instead of one application, they will send you a list of grantors that you have to contact yourself

Web Site Scams

Watch out for web sites that provide bogus grant information. A government grant scam web site is likely to have:

-Out dated grants
-After paying an access fee, an unorganized list of grant programs with no assistance filing the applications
-No customer service or contact information
-Poor quality web sites with broken links

Facts About Legitimate Government Grants

Government grants are usually awarded to groups or individuals who are using the money to help their communities, not to individuals for personal use. The government also does not charge a processing fee for their grants as their services are funded by tax dollars. Another key difference between legitimate government grants and scams is that you will not be asked to provide personal information over the phone.

I avoided government grant scams, bought a business and paid off my bills. Find out how I did it - in just 3 months time.