How do you apply for free government grants? You can do it two ways. You could get the application forms from the federal government agencies, fill it up and submit it or you could go online and access the government sites and fill in the form online. It isn’t that hard applying for a grant. The problem is getting it. There are a whole lot of grant applications that find their way to the dustbin every day. This happens especially if you are looking for a grant for a huge community-based project.



Major projects need to be handled with care. They need specific project proposals. It does not end here. Once you’ve applied for a grant, put in a lot of work and got the grant, your real work begins. You need to justify why that public money was given to you and not to anyone else. You need to deliver – to set time schedules and cost factors. If you do not, it will be treated as non-compliance and penalties could go up to a jail term if suspected and proved guilty of fraud or theft. After all, this comes under the pureview of misusing public funds.

All projects have to have stringent accounting and auditing checks in place. It will have to be audited by the government yearly as well. Whatever is not spent must be handed back to the government, down to the last cent. Just remember, with the money that comes in, there also comes in great responsibility and obligations. Free grants don’t mean you get a whole lot of money to spend on a pipe dream without any kind of payback. Once you get the money, you have to be on your toes. This is no free ride.

There is an art and a science to applying for grants and it is called ‘grantsmanship’. Applying for grants is no joke. In fact, you’ll find many organizations having specially trained staff on their payroll to make sure the application process gets going on oiled wheels. It involves time, effort and of course money to even apply for a grant. If you do get it, you need trained people to manage the outflow of the grant money. Every cent has to be accounted for and every step carefully planned and executed. Grants can add up to a lot of stress and strain.

Ready to take it on? Then you need to see how best to up your chances to get a loan. Look for places where funding is needed. For information about free grants, visit the CFDA (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance) web site at http://www.cfda.gov/. It lists out the government’s assistance programs and tells you where you can apply.

For students, the best web site to visit is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA where you can apply for federal grants, campus-aid programs and loans. Besides which it gives you an easy guide, step-by-step on how to apply.

Free grants are great if you remember your obligations and responsibilities and treat the money you get with care and caution. Remember it is public money that you are handling not a giveaway that you don’t have to answer to anyone for. If handled responsibly, free grants can spell much power and good to the community as a whole.