The U.S. Department of Education is one of 57 federal agencies allocated with free government grant money by Congress.

In a government-wide effort to coordinate and streamline the grant application process online, the Department has come up with several measures designed to improve online applications for free government grantmoney.

Among these measures is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) designed to facilitate free government grant money application for students.

Another is www.Grants.gov, the website which was launched in October 2003 designed as an online database where grant seekers should be able to view offerings from every federal agency.

However, despite these, those who like to apply for free government grant money electronically so far haven’t been afforded as many opportunities as the Department had hoped for.

As of late April, the Department had only placed about 80 percent of the grant offerings it had expected on the Grants.gov website.

The plan was to put 40 free government grant money application packages online at Grants.gov by late April. But, the Education Department was only able to place 32. While some other agencies hadn’t gotten involved at all, many others had met or exceeded the goals.

Are you tired of the day-to-day grind of corporate environments? Are you thinking about starting your own small business but worried about where to get your start up capital? If so, consider how grant money for small business can help you along.

But first thing’s first. What’s this you’re hearing about “free money” scams? A lot of people are saying that there’s no such thing as grant money for small business since government does not “give away” money so you can start your own for-profit business.

In fact, government grants are often limited to community-based projects or those that would do the general public some good like research on a cure for cancer for instance, or something simpler like a street-paving project.

But to say that grant money for small business is nonexistent is a bit going over the top. Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of funders out there, besides the governments that are willing to provide you with funds so long as your project or your idea fits their funding objectives.

The only problem is that while grant money for small business is out there, especially from the government, there’s often a lot of red tape involved. The key, therefore, is to remain dogged in your quest for seed money.

Planning to start a business but no capital to get things started? No problem. One reliable source of funding for starting a business is grant money.

Unlike a loan, grant money for starting a business does not require you to pay back the amount. In fact, that’s the reason why many people refer to grant money as “free money” because it is, technically, free, though there may be obligations and sanctions imposed.

But grant money for starting a business is few and far between. In fact, when it comes to federally funded grant money for starting a business, the only reliable source you have is the CFDA or the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance at CFDA.gov.

The site lists all the federally funded grant programs available for students, entrepreneurs, and other enterprising individuals.

A search through the Catalog will lead you to only two types of grant money for starting a business: one for rural businesses and one for minority business enterprises. And even for these, there are certain qualifications and requirements that you must comply with.

Rural Business Opportunity Grants

The Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service offers rural business opportunity grants on a project basis to promote sustainable economic development in rural communities with exception needs.

According to a report recently released by the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, minority-owned businesses grew more than four times as fast as U.S. firms overall. Since 1992, these businesses have increased from 2.1 million to about 2.8 million firms.

Part of the reason for this unexpected growth is because government is making more minority grant money available. Minority grant money is a type of funding given to deserving individuals belonging to a minority.

The funds may be for the purpose of fostering minority education, benefiting a community where most of the population is made of minorities, and generally facilitating development of minorities in every avenue.

Minority grant money may also be given for projects, or for things like research, scholarships, or seed money. A project or a program is a creative plan of action that has a specific goal, usually community-based.

Grantors generally want to fund new and innovative programs. So if you have a new program in mind that has never been done before and designed to help forward the cause of minority groups, then it’s possible for you to get government funding for that program.

A lot of people today are searching for small business grant money to start their own for profit business and thinking that grants are nothing more than “free money.”

Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but small business grant money are hardly “free money” at all.

In fact, they are more like contracts with their own set of obligations and restrictions that you must comply with or risk suffering sanctions imposed by your funder.

In the case of government grants, the rules are even stricter. Every year, Congress allocates something close to $67 million in the form of grants to be distributed to several of the agencies under the Federal Government.

These grants are usually awarded to deserving individuals or nonprofit organizations who have some community-based project in mind, such as a street-paving project and the like.

Rarely will you find a government grant awarded to help you set up your own for profit business. That’s why when searching for small business grant money; you shouldn’t turn to the government for funding resources.

But if you can’t turn to the government, then what is your recourse? And considering how rampant scams are these days, how can you stay assured that what you’re applying for is legitimate?

Grant money is a crucial part of funding for starting a new business.

Although poor management is said to be one of the top reason that new businesses do not succeed, inadequate or improper financing is a close second.

That’s why sufficient startup capital is essential, whether you are starting a new business or expanding an existing one.

When it comes to grant money for new business, government and organizations grants are always a viable option. Often, the purpose of government-funded grant money for new business is to aid in the development and finance of new businesses in all fields.

However, there are certain types of financial assistance that are better geared for some business than others. The factors that affect what kind of government assistance you need include type of business, location, future plans, and amount of financial aid needed.

Knowing all this could help your bid or application for grant money for new business get quickly approved.

The Federal Government announces available grant programs in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). The site, found at CFDA.gov, serves as an online database, containing listings of all available grants provided by the government.

When it comes to paying for a college education, the biggest source of direct student aid is grant money for college.

After all, the best money is free money, and while loans and scholarships make up more than 50% of student aid, grant money for college are widely preferred because you don’t have to pay the money back.

The qualifications for grant money for college, however, can be very strict. Unlike in loans and scholarships where money may be awarded based on your credit standing or merit, grant money for college is usually based largely on need.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid Program under the Department of Education even has a specially designed formula to determine whether or not the student is in dire need of financial assistance from the Federal Government for his education.

Grants aren’t just given to anybody; you will have to prove that you or your parents do not have the means to support you in college.

In addition to the economic restrictions, grant money for college is often parceled out on a first-come, first-serve basis. Government funds are limited and you certainly cannot expect government to fund every student in need that comes their way.

Grant money is common these days. Not common in the sense that it’s available to everybody, because chances are it’s not, but common in the sense that this probably isn’t the first time you’ve stumbled on the term.

We’ve all heard the story. Some enterprising organization has a community-based project in mind and wants to seek corporate, foundation, individual, or government grants for funding.

Sometimes, the project may even be personal, like consolidating your debt, for instance, or helping you set up your own starter business, although that fact may be dubious.

Nevertheless, there’s no disputing the fact that grant money is available and it is being actively sought out by almost everyone.

More than anything, grant money is provided by government for the purpose of funding some project or another that would benefit a community or certain specialized groups.

In fact, every year, Congress allocates about $67 billion in grant money for various kinds of projects. One of the government groups that benefit from federal grant money are public libraries.

Every U.S. city is expected to provide library or information services, along with essential services like fire and police. And for overhead, and ongoing day-to-day working expenses and operations, public libraries get their funding from grant money.

The art and science of apply for grant programs is called grantsmanship, and you can be assured, that it’s no walk in the park and no stroll on the beach.

Grant applications take a lot of skill and a lot of effort on your part. It may even cost you money and time.

There are many things you ought to consider during grant applications. Below are some of them:

Make a difference in the world.

That is the point of grants after all. Keep this in mind even before you approach that agency and apply for a grant.

Make sure that your project is something that is going to help them do that. Your grant application should be in consonance with the overall goal of your prospective funder.

Know the specific goals of your funding source.

Alright so the general goal is to make a difference, but you also need to know the particulars for grant application. Ask them. They will be all too happy to tell you.

Also, you can ask them if they give funding to your local area. It is possible that some of these agencies provide free grants to entrepreneurs operating in a particular area. If you are one of these entrepreneurs, you stand a better chance at getting a local grant than a national one.

Most ads have been talking about nothing else. Government grant money – does such a thing really exist? The answer is yes, it does exist, but you have to be careful what you mean by “grant money.”

Contrary to what people and the ads may say, the U.S. Government is not giving away free grant money. A government grant money is not a Christmas present, nor a gift with no strings attached.

“A grant is a form of gift that entails certain obligations on the part of the grantee and expectations on the part of the grantor,” explains Jay M. Shafritz, author of the book American Government and Politics.

Too many people have been misled into believing that the government is so rich that it’s giving away free money to anyone who applies for it.

The truth is that government grant money is not available to everyone for often, grants are awarded to groups or organizations that have projects designed to benefit the community.

For instance, government grant money may be awarded to a civic group who is planning to finish any of the following projects:

• A neighborhood street paving project