Federal Government Loans and Grants

Nov 3, 2010
Teri Silver

Government money is available to those who qualify - Teri Silver

The federal government offers grants & loans to municipalities, educational, non-profit and other types of organizations but not for personal finances.

Believe it or not, the federal government doesn’t just rake in the taxpayer bucks, it will loan them out as well, and sometimes give them free to qualified applicants. Now, before you think you’ve found a way to supplement your income, grant assistance typically goes to state and local governments, educational organizations, public housing, non-profits and some small businesses that meet certain criteria. In the meantime, U.S. residents can apply for government loans for business, agriculture, education, housing, disaster relief and veteran assistance.

Grants

Check out grants.gov where you can search for grant opportunities by agency name, category or specific request. Register on behalf of the organization you represent to apply for a grant; it can take from three business days to four weeks to complete the process depending on how promptly the steps are completed. You can download an application, fill it out offline and then include it with your grant request package. The instructions on how to apply for a grant are on the website. You can also track the application status and review other resources such as Frequently Asked Questions and tutorials.

Grants are awarded for: agriculture, arts, business and commerce, community development, disaster prevention and relief, education, employment training, energy, environmental assistance, nutrition, health, housing, humanities, information and statistics, legal services, natural resources, recovery acts, regional development, science and technology, social services and transportation. Grants.gov does not offer assistance for personal debt, Social Security, Medicaid or other social services.

Loans

The specifics for each application process vary depending on the government organizations, but in many cases, applicants should be prepared to answer a lot of questions about taxes, income, assets, employment and insurance information.

Check out govloans.gov for help on choosing the appropriate agency. There you will find information on: the Small Business Administration which helps with disaster relief; the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA,) which helps farmers and farming communities; the Department of Commerce which lends money to help increase economic growth; the U. S. Department of Education‘s Federal Student Aid office (FSA,) which offers students loans and other types of grants; the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD,) which offers loans toward housing and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA,) which provides assistance to veterans and their dependents.

Before applying for a loan, you must determine how much money you will need to borrow. Review all filing requirements that must be submitted with the loan application package, including the specific amount of the loan request. These requirements include (but are not limited to) employment and earnings information, assets, credit-worthiness, collateral and resource management. Preparing a business plan is a good idea because it should help you answer questions in the loan package as to how you plan to use the money. Fill out the application completely; incomplete information could mean a rejection of the loan request.

Personal Financial Assistance

The federal government does not offer financial assistance to individuals, however, people may find help with the challenges they face through local and state government programs or non-profit organizations. Visit benefits.gov to access the links to hundreds of federal and state programs. Fill out the questionnaire; the site will send you a list of programs that may help you in your situation.