US Federal Government Grants

How to apply for business and personal government grants while avoiding scams
By Kathy Crawford, Freelance writer/reporter USA government grants are awards bestowed upon an organization, business or individual by a federal agency. The recipient does not have to pay the money back. Over 1,000 US government grants exist, and you may apply for as many as you wish. Sorting through the federal grant information and applying takes time, however.

Due to the enticement of free money that federal government grants affords, coupled with the hassle of choosing the US government grants that are right for you, scam artists have surfaced. You will see advertisements for companies that offer to find federal grants for business or personal grants. Some organizations truly do that; others do not. To complicate matters further, other groups advertise that they will spend countless hours visiting all of the aforementioned sites to see which ones are legitimate. But they want money, too, for their service. However, US federal grant information is available online, and it’s free, but that doesn't mean applying for a grant is easy.

Some things to think about before you embark on the US federal government grant journey:

1. Scams related to USA government grants are plentiful.
2. Practice the process of elimination so that you apply for the right USA government grants
3. Grant writing can make or break the deal.

More than 1,000 grant programs are offered in categories that include education, agriculture, arts, law and transportation. Individuals and small businesses can apply for grants that include money for research projects, community development, technical projects and more.

Select a service offering you help with federal government grants with caution

Learn some tips for knowing how to tell a legitimate service from a scam.
Try:  Check websites that review online grants and recommend top picks. Ask for client references. You can also tell a lot from the website. If a company has not put much time into its website, providing clean copy and a professional site, odds are they are in business for some fast cash. Read tips from the National Procurement Fraud Task Force.

Determine whether you should apply for business or personal grants

Find out which grants you qualify for before going through the application process.
Try:  On the government’s grant site, you can register as an individual for personal government grants or as a business. You can also search and apply for grants, as well as track your application. The site is comprehensive, and it’s free.

Find tips and tutorials on how to write grant applications

A few tips or a tutorial may be all you need to write an excellent grant application.
Try:  Check out The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance for a tutorial on how to write grant proposals. The US Department of Health & Human Resources also has a grant-writing tip sheet for federal government grants.

• The website for US federal government grants is the first place to start. I was impressed with its organization, tutorials and tools. This site can help you determine the business and personal government grants for which you are qualified, cutting down on your time considerably. With all this site has to offer, you may be able to apply for your own grants, saving you money.