Real Federal Grant Links and Info

I have placed some links in the 'Useful Links' section on the right hand side, but thought it would be good to post some of these links with a description.

Grants.gov is the official Federal Grant Information Web Site. On this site you can find information on all current Federal Grants available from the 26 agencies providing the grants, with a handy Grant Search Tool that allows you to search grants by type, group, availability, eligibility, etc.

If you wish to apply for a Federal Grant, you can register and download the grant application package and documentation.

If you are really interested in obtaining a Federal Grant for your organization, I suggest you first search available grants, and look at the Applicant Resources section, which has a lot of information in the form of user guides, animated tutorials, and FAQs.

The GovBenefits.gov website is

... a partnership of Federal agencies with a shared vision - to provide improved, personalized access to government assistance programs.

On this site you can find information on various types of government assistance, such as assistance for housing, healthcare, education, childcare, veterans and many others.



The USA.gov website is the main portal for the Federal Government. Of particular interest here is the section called Government Grants, Benefits and Financial Aid. Like the other sites, the USA.gov site is a good starting point to get information on available Federal Grants.

The US Small Business Administration web site has lots of information and tools that can aid you in setting up your own business, learn about small business loans, etc. The SBA:

"[...] was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation."

The SBA also created a good amount free online training in subjects such as starting your own business, marketing, finance and accounting, etc.

As for grants, the SBA states the following:

"Please Note that the U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, though it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. While the SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments."

In short, grants for starting a business are few and far between.

I hope the links I provided will give anyone looking for information on Federal Grants enough material to get started. I also hope that the information found on these sites makes it clear to anyone that 'grant kit' sites that steal your money have absolutely nothing to do with the grant application process and that they most certainly will not be able to aid anyone in obtaining a check for $12,000 (or so) made out to an individual by the Federal Government: Grants to individuals are very rare and usually very specific!