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Home » Business And Finance Articles » Free Money Through Grants Fact Or Fiction

Free Money Through Grants: Fact or Fiction?

It's posted all over the Internet. You hear it on the radio, and see it on television. The United States government is giving away free money in the form of federal grants. While it's true that the government does indeed award $400 billion annually through its 26 federal entities, the statement of free money through the government doesn't exactly pinpoint the definition of a federal grant.

A grant isn't a gift or a free-for-all giveaway. It also doesn't mean that if you've been awarded a grant, you've won the lottery. According to American Government and Politics by Jay M. Shafritz, 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." The key word in this definition of the word is obligations. Getting a government grant will get you an unbelievable amount of obligations, and not fulfilling your obligations will, in turn, grant you legal problems.

The majority of federal grants that are awarded are the farthest thing from being considered free money. Grants are most often awarded to organizations planning major projects to benefit a community. It could include money to be used for repaving streets in a city. A grant could also be awarded for a nonprofit organization featuring an art exhibit or musical performance. Grants are also awarded for technological research, conservation, and flood control projects. While there are other sources that are awarded grant funding, in general, the free money aspect is lost, and individuals, in general, are not qualified for most grants other than those used for educational purposes such as to pay tuition bills for higher education. Businesses can also tap into the federal grant program, but only by meeting strict criteria through the government agency offering the grant, such as if grant funding is available for research in a particular area that is of specialty to that business.

Once the free money is provided through the grant, the organization that has been awarded the free money must keep careful track of all project expenditures. Organizations that are awarded free money must be prepared for detailed audits, which will be conducted by the Federal government annually or more often. Any money not spent and accounted for goes back to the United States Treasury, and is not extra free money for the organization. Detailed program goals must be developed, approved, and completed by the organization exactly as specified in the grant application without exception. Any unforeseen project changes that occur along the way must receive prior approval by the government agency that awarded the grant. All project phases must be completed as planned, and even more importantly, completed successfully and on time.

The free money offered through a grant program can lead to financial and legal disaster to an organization that does not abide by the strict rules that the grant holds. By failing on a part of the obligation agreed upon when the grant is approved, the organization and/or persons in charge are held accountable. Penalties can range from economic sanctions to prison in the instance of improper use or theft of this free money.

The majority of grants, or free money, that is requested is applied for and awarded to other Federal agencies, state governments, city governments, colleges, universities, and research organizations and businesses. Few individuals have the money, time, and expertise necessary to prepare adequate applications that are awarded free money through federal grant funding. Most active grant seekers, such as universities, employ full-time grant writers to do nothing but apply for and administer Federal grant funding. A full staff of grant writers is not uncommon at a large university.

Because this free money through Federal grants is carefully monitored, the truth is that the money isn't actually free. Applying for Federal grants takes an unbelievable amount of time. Additionally, by even unintentionally not abiding by the grant's requirements, as mentioned, an individual that is unfamiliar with the Federal government's grant programs can find themselves in a financial or legal disaster. With Federal funding cutbacks and the competition for grant fundings becoming more intense, seeking free money through a grant requires not only time, but also money, with no guarantee of success.

Stating it plainly, Federal grants and free money are fictitious. Often, it's more work, not to mention more time and money spent obtaining a Federal grant, than obtaining a low interest loan. Large organizations, such as universities, can benefit from grant funding much easier because they can apply for multiple grants at once, and a skilled, knowledgeable staff can monitor the grant's use carefully. A small business or organization may not see as much success in obtaining a grant due to the time needed to apply, monitor funds, and prepare materials for auditing.

The plain truth is that with federal funding cutbacks and competition for them becoming more intense, seeking a federal grant always requires a lot of time and potentially a lot of money up front with no guarantee of success. Dedication is needed, and is the most important part of attempting to obtain free money through grant funding.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Money Does Talk!

When buying something, you can buy in one of two markets. The first is buying on terms in the retail market and the second is buying in the wholesale cash market. This can be illustrated by referring to the biggest purchase we all make in our lifetime - Real Estate.

In recent years, when you are buying a house it is easy to get financing of the first mortgage, so the seller is not forced to finance the whole sale. What I mean is the seller doesn't become your first mortgage holder, the bank lends the money and the seller get the cash. Moreover, he will most likely make some concessions if he doesn't have to carry back a second trust deed.

Therefore giving the seller all cash, will usually get you a better deal than asking the seller to let you buy the house with a very low down payment, with him carrying back a sizable trust deed. The big savings come when you are buying real estate that doesn't have easy institutional financing available. The purchase of vacant land can be the best example.

My father was interested in buying industrial lots in the city of Montebello, just east of downtown Los Angeles. This was during the 1960's. In those days it was common for a buyer to put down 20% and the seller to finance the remaining 80% for 10 years at 8% interest. For example: a $10,000 lot would cost you $2,000 down with $97.06 payments every month. After 10 years the total of the principal and interest payments would be $13,647.45. If you wanted to build on the property you had to pay off the land loan, first. The sellers then would not have to wait the whole 10 years before getting all their money.

Many property owners sold their property because they wanted money and getting the $2,000 wasn't much money to them. So, my father would offer $5,000 all cash to the sellers. More than 1 out of 5 would take the cash up front instead of waiting for payments over 10 years. By offering the extra $3,000 cash down, my father saved $8,647.45 on the sale ($5,000 on the price reduction, plus the interest on the note). Now that is buying wholesale!!

Buying cars can be done the same way. When you pay retail, the dealer talks monthly payments. If he lowers the price, he'll raise the interest rate. When you are buying for cash, he can only talk price. When you are leasing an automobile, they don't even tell you the price!

The major consideration in leasing a car or not, is made by the leasing company to be all about what the monthly payment is going to be and how much extra it is going to cost you when you drive over 12,000 miles per year. Ever financed a used car from a "no credit check" dealer? He gets you for 36% interest on the balance you borrow, after getting a 50% down payment from you. Then if you miss a payment he takes the car and sues you for the difference. Buy what you can afford in cash and save making the lenders rich.

I read a report once that said that the average man makes $1,500,000 over his lifetime. Of that amount, he uses $600,000 to pay the interest on his purchases. Let's look at the purchase of a home, from a slightly different point of view. A man who makes $1,500,000 in a lifetime will be earning on average about $30,000 a year or $2,500 per month.

He can afford to spend 40% of his income on rent or a mortgage payment. This means that he can afford a $150,000 house. If he can qualify for a 90% loan he would owe $135,000 at 8% amortized over 30 years. That means he pays $221,609.58 interest plus the $150,000 principal to buy this one house and pay it off over 30 years. The interest alone is almost 15% of his lifetime earnings! Buying anything on credit can cost you more than the retail price because you must add the interest to the cost of the item.

My suggestion. Buy for cash and negotiate for the best price you can get. If you must borrow, pay it off in as short a time possible. Also, never borrow for personal consumption. Postpone the purchase long enough to pay cash. If you can't afford to wait until you save the money, you shouldn't buy the item. It is just too expensive. To buy on payments raises the cost even higher than the cash price, so it becomes even more expensive. So if you cannot afford the cash price, you definitely cannot afford the financed price. My suggestion is to pay cash and buy wholesale. BUY THE BEST, PAY CASH