How To Find Government Grants For Women
The Government Grants website – Grants.gov – is a great free resource for those seeking government grants for women. The site walks you through finding one of their thousand or so grants and also applying for grants for those that are eligible. That last point there is the trouble though – being eligible – it is the stumbling point for any grantseeker.
A grant is funding given to you to enable you to carry out something that the Government wants you to do. It is not an entitlement aimed to assist your day to day living but rather payment for you to do something useful. As such claims that the Government dishes out free grant money for this, that and the other, are false. Paying off your debts, or starting a for profit business are unlikely to be justifiable as public purposes and hence finding grants for them are going to be virtually impossible.
Most grants are given to non profit organizations, such as those that provide government services, education or public housing. Some for profit organizations are eligible for certain grants and there are a few grants open to individuals.
If you think that you will be eligible for federal government grants for women, perhaps because your non-profit organization provides education and training to women re-entering the workforce, you can use the Grants.gov website to find grant opportunities. You can search by typing in keywords related to your business, or search under the category you want funding for, such as Education, or you can search by the agency that you think is the grant maker. The advanced search function allows you to select multiple options to narrow down your search. You can search the database for free without registering but if you find a grant you want to apply for, you will have to register. Full details about any grants returned in your search results can be found by clicking on the grant title and from there you can also download the application form to complete. Once you have filled in the form, you can submit and track your application on the website. It is then time to sit back with your fingers crossed that your proposal will be accepted.
