So What is a Federal Grant Anyway?

All of the Government Grant scam sites employ similar tactics; they make you believe that you, as an individual will be granted access to invaluable information that will greatly increase your chances of becoming a grant recipient ("results not guaranteed", "results not typical"...). All of them try to piggyback on the economic stimulus packages such as implemented by the US Government.

But what is a Federal grant anyway? Looking at the official definition from grants.gov - the official US Government Federal Grant information web site - it quickly becomes obvious that grants to individuals are very uncommon:

"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. Federal grants are not federal assistance or loans to individuals.

A federal grant may not used to acquire property or services for the federal government's direct benefit. The 26 federal agencies offer over 1,000 grant programs annually in various categories."

Well that makes it clear. In the section 'who is eligible for a grant?', we find:

"We have all seen them, late night infomercials, websites, and reference guides, advertising "millions in free money" Don't believe the hype! Although there are many grants on Grants.gov, few of them are available to individuals and none of them are available for personal financial assistance."

The grants.gov site has an advanced grant search tool that allows you to search for grants by type, eligibility, etc. When you search for all available individual eligibility grants, the list of more than 1000 available grants shrinks to 23. And the types of grants in this category are things like:

• Klamath River Tributary Fish Passage Improvement Project
• Asian Elephant Conservation Fund
• Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants
• Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act Partnership Grants
• NEA Literature Fellowships: Creative Writing, FY2010

Well there you go.

Anyone claiming they can assist you in obtaining a federal grant check to 'start a personal business', 'buy a house' or 'pay off debt' is obviously lying. Why would they do that, you may ask. The answer to that question is simple: they want your money and do not care how they get it.

It is greed at its ugliest.