GRANTS FOR SINGLE MOTHERS

List of Grants for Single Mothers

Single mothers with dreams have been able to make them a reality with grants. Some have been able to seek higher education to prepare themselves for better job opportunities. Others have started their own business or grown one they already had.

Many mothers have just simply been able to care for their children by giving them a roof over their heads, nutritious foods, and quality health care. Grants have helped many women do what they knew they could do, but didn’t have the money to do it.

 What is a Grant?

A grant is money or another form of assistance given to you by an organization, corporation, foundation, educational institution or trust. You don’t ever have to pay it back. This is much different than a loan because there’s no interest attached to it or repayment. It’s essentially money or assistance awarded to you to use for what the grant guidelines specify. The added bonus is grants are tax exempt.

 How to Get a Grant?

Grants are not easy to get. They are the most difficult because there aren’t as many available as there are scholarships and loans. To receive a grant, you must search, apply, and repeat.

One of the best places to find grants is online. Using major search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo will bring up many grant opportunities. By following the links listed, you can usually find grants you can apply to online or by sending the required information by mail. Besides using major search engines, you can also use websites that specialize in helping people find grants for their specific needs. For example, Grant Forward is a site that asks users to create a profile. The profile is used to help them find available grants. Users can also use the site’s search engine to find grants based on keywords. It can be useful to contact associations, foundations, and corporations in the industry you are seeking to use the grant in. Many times, these entities will offer grants for those that want to do something different in the industry or simply work in it by pursuing a higher education. To apply to grants, simply make sure you are eligible first. If you do not meet every single eligibility requirement, do not apply because you won’t be considered. Those giving out grants want to award money to specific people and rarely bend the rules.

If you meet all of the eligibility requirements, you can move on to completing the application and sending all of the information they request. Once you send the grant package in for review, all that’s left to do is wait, and apply to many more.

 Types of Grants

1. Government Grants
2. College Grants
3. Financial Aid
4. Housing Grants
5. Business Grants
6. Small Business Grants
7. Minority Grants
8. Personal Grants
9. Daycare Grants

 Government Grants for Single mothers: Free money from the government

Government grants are given to people and organizations for a variety of reasons. Since U.S. tax dollars is what goes into many of the grants awarded, the government makes sure they are strict with whom and what they give the money to.

The Small Business Administration, which is part of the federal government, awards grants to non-profit and educational organization. They do not award them to small businesses. State and local government programs have the funds to help small businesses in their community.

Some of the grants offered to the community at the state and local level are given in the form of aid. For example, some governments provide financial assistance to child care centers, tourism centers, and entities responsible for energy efficiency technology.

Eligibility Requirements

All individuals using the services provided by WIA must be at least 18 years old. The services are for laid off workers who won’t be returning to the same industry as they did before, displaced homemakers, and those who were self-employed.

Grant Amount

The grant is given to job centers across the United States. The amount each job center receives depends on the needs of each community. The more joblessness there is, the more funding they receive to help job seekers.

From the funding, there are three types of services offered to users of the job center.

1. Core Services: This provides people with labor market information, skill level assessments and help with job searching.

2. Intensive Services: People who have completed one core service are able to move on to intensive services. These people are unable to obtain or maintain employment despite the help they received from the core services. Intensive services provide assistance with personal self-sufficiency to increase the likelihood users will be able to sustain employment.

3. Training Services: If people are not able to maintain employment after receiving core and intensive services, they move on to training services. This program finances training program for individuals, so they have a higher chance of getting a job and keeping it. Every person receives an Individual Training Account to use for the training program selected.

Fund Your College with Free Grant Money

Higher education is an extraordinary expense under the best circumstances, but single parents face even greater challenges paying for college. Often, mothers suspend their educational pursuits to address the needs of their children. When a mom is on her own, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to jump back in and complete her studies.

Grants and scholarships help single mothers, many of whom are living in poverty, advance their upward mobility through education. Whether you are a first-time college student, or a single mother returning to school, there are public and private grants aimed at helping you succeed. As a single parent, your best approach is to capture as much general aid as you can, but also to target funding that is explicitly offered to financially challenged moms. Grants and scholarships are similar, in that they are not repaid, but distinction exist between the two. Grants are usually issued based on the financial need demonstrated by recipients. Scholarships, on the other hand, are tied to performance indicators like grades and test scores. In practice, many organizations responsible for issuing student aid to single mothers use the terms indiscriminately. A wealth of scholarships are in place that do not require applicants to prove their worthiness beyond financial need. For all intents and purposes, these are grants. Don’t allow semantics to limit your search for financial aid.