Getting Started on your Government Grant

by: Michael Saunders

Grants are not Benefits or Entitlements. A Federal Grant is an award of financial assistance from a Federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States. Grants are not Federal assistance or loans to individuals.

Since 2002, the federal government has been developing and implementing Grants.gov as a collaborative cross-government program focused on streamlining grants management for the Federal grant community.

Most people in the United States are either unaware of, or biased against, government grants. They feel that applying for a grant involves too much red tape, and there is the popular myth that there are always strings attached. In reality, getting government grants is easy, and there are no strings attached because the government is mandated by congress to give these grants away for the benefit of United States citizens. Here are the basics you'll need to start applying for a government grant today.

Requirements for grants - the only real basic requirements for getting a government grant is that you must be at least 18 years of age and a United States citizen. It's that simple. Everything else is dependent on other variables based on the type of loan you're applying for. Additionally, there are even special grant programs dedicated to addressing the common needs of citizens who belong to specific ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds.

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Did you know?

Applying at Grants.gov can reduce your costs and the time required to find government grant opportunities and process your application. The site provides access to multiple grantors and reduces paperwork.

By downloading a grant application package, you can view it offline, giving you the flexibility to complete the application when and where you want.

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Getting Started on your Government Grant
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About The Author Michael Saunders has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He edits a site on Government Grants for Small Businesses and also edits HandsNet - A Human Services News Website.

Additional Government Grants Resources

Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship Program
In keeping with this mission, the Health Resources and Services Administration has recently constituted the Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship Program wherein it aims to increase the number of primary care providers through the provision of training programs to nurses who are pursuing advanced degrees primary care nurse practitioners (NP) or nurse-midwives.

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Planning Grants for Hubs of Interdisciplinary Research and Training in Global Environmental and Occupational Health Project
The National Institutes of Health has collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish the Planning Grants for Hubs of Interdisciplinary Research and Training in Global Environmental and Occupational Health Project.

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What You Need To Know About GovLoans
GovLoans is a website created by the United States Government to serve the public's gateway to government loan information. At present, GovLoans hosts information on loan opportunities from five loan making agencies.

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SunShot Concentrating Solar Power Research and Development Project
EERE has established a funding opportunity to support the SunShot Concentrating Solar Power Research and Development Project wherein it aims to fund revolutionary applied scientific research studies that will help develop highly disruptive Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies in order to help meet the 6 cents per kWh cost target by the end of the decade.

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Government Grants Within The United States Humanities Sector
The field of humanities employs methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as differentiated from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences.

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Democracy, Human Rights, Rule of Law, and Freedom of Expression and the Press for Europe and Eurasia
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs has recently established a funding opportunity entitled Democracy, Human Rights, Rule of Law, and Freedom of Expression/Press for Europe/Eurasia, wherein they are seeking applications and proposals that aim to develop projects promoting democracy, human rights, rule of law, and freedom of expression/press in Europe and Eurasia.

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National Science Foundation: Ocean Acidification
The Ocean Acidification Program is geared towards the acquisition of a better understanding of the potentially adverse effects of slowly acidifying oceans.

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