What Are Grants And How Can I Get One?

What are Grants?

In a sense, grants can be accurately thought of as “free money.” Unlike a loan, you never have to pay back a grant. The only stipulation is that they are to be used for something specific. The grant issuer provides the grant for a particular purpose and the recipient is obligated to honor that.

You can’t usually get a grant just for spending money or to buy a new car, for instance. If you have a specific goal or aspiration, though, such as attending college, starting a small business, or even being an artist, then a grant may be the perfect way to turn your dreams into reality. A grant proposal, a detailed description of why you need the grant and how you will use it, is an important part of applying for many grants.

Who Provides Grants and Why?

The federal government is the largest issuer of grants in the United States. It offers grants as a way to encourage choices and behaviors that positively affect society. For instance, educational grants are a way of getting more people to attend college. This benefits the individual grant recipient by giving him or her the opportunity to pursue an education and a good career. It also benefits society, which is improved economically, socially, and culturally by having educated, productive citizens.

As another example, grants are provided by the government to individual researchers, groups, and university departments as a way of encouraging scientific progress and innovation. Many important technological developments, such as the computer networking technology that eventually lead to the Internet, was supported by government research grants.

A large number of private organization (and sometimes even wealthy individuals) also provide grants. As with government grants, grants from private issuers cover the full spectrum of funding categories, from education to business to the arts and nearly everything in between.

In general, grants are a means by which the government or a private organization uses its money to encourage activities that improve the country in some way. This could be through scientific advancement, business development, artistic expression, cleaning up the environment, or nearly anything else you can think of.

What Types of Grants are Available?

While a sizable percentage of grant money goes to universities, high profile non-profits and other similar organizations, you definitely don’t have to have any special background or qualifications to successfully apply for a grant. The government has many smaller grant programs that are specifically designed to be accessible to “regular” people. One great example of this is the many grants the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) awards annually to individuals who own a small business or who are trying to start one.

Keep in mind that the government isn’t the only significant source of grant money. Public and private organizations, such as trusts and philanthropic foundations, are also major grant providers. Some of these grants are to support people working towards a particular social good, such as environmentalists, organic farmers, or anti-poverty campaigners. Other organizations offer educational or business grants to people from a minority group, such as African-Americans, Hispanics, or women. Still others offer more general grants for starting or expanding a business, improving your neighborhood, and much more. If you can think of it, chances are there is some group out there that has an appropriate grant available.

How Can I Find Grants to Apply for?

Where you should begin looking largely depends on what you want to do with your grant. If your goal is to receive money to go to college or otherwise pursue your post-high school education, for instance, submitting a Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) is the right place to start. You can then continue on to request specific educational grants, such as federal Pell Grants. Educational grants are among the easiest and most straightforward to apply for. Unlike most other types of grants, writing a grant proposal is not usually necessary.

For non-educational grants, starting your search at the local level is often a good idea. County government agencies, community foundations, successful local businesses, and even your city’s branch of the United Way often offer grants. If you are interested in getting funding for a business start up, networking with local business people can be of tremendous benefit. Men and women who were previously in your situation are often happy to share tips and advice, including where they found grants.

No matter what you are hoping to get a grant for, one of the best resources available is the website grants.gov. This is the federal government’s “hub” for the myriad of grants it offers. The site allows you to search for grants by category, such as business development, education, or the environment, or by the issuing agency, such as the Department of Agriculture or the National Endowment for the Arts.

You can even apply for most grants online, directly from the grants.gov site. Not only is this site a great way to find grants, it is also useful just for getting a feel for what is available. Most people are very surprised by just how many grants are out there and the seemingly endless list of things you can receive money for. Spend some time browsing and you will likely come up with grant ideas that never occurred to you before.

How Can I Write an Effective Grant Proposal?  

Many books, magazine articles, and websites can be found that are dedicated to writing grant proposals. It is a complex topic and there is inarguable a lot to know. Still, many people make it much more complicated than it needs to be. As long as you keep a few important principles in mind and focus on following the directions in the application closely, successful grant proposal writing will likely be easier than you expect

Some people make the mistake of thinking you have to be a “good” writer (in the academic sense) in order to be effective when it comes to grant proposals. This is definitely a misconception. Grant issuers don’t care if you wowed your English teachers back in high school or minored in technical writing in college. A winning grant proposal is all about being clear and direct. You need to communicate why you want the grant and, most importantly, how you would use the money if you were awarded it.

Even though they won’t be making a return on the money, of course, grant issuers think of the grant as an investment. It is their responsibility to choose the applicant who they expect will do the most good or experience the most success with the grant money. If you are vague about how you plan to use the grant in your application, this sends a decidedly negative signal. Particularly if you are applying for a business grant, you should be sure to discuss your specific goals for the venture and how you plan to achieve them. Overall, grant issuers want someone who is capable, focused, and dedicated to putting the grant money to good use.

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