personal Grants

Get the Personal Assistance Funding

You Need from the Government Public Assistance Programs and other Sources

Section A: Understanding Grants, Loans and Public Assistance

It is fundamentally important to understand the differences between funding from various public assistance programs and other funding, particularly funding programs available from government. I say this because of all the marketing hype we all receive every day -- in our e-mail, television or classified ads, and the internet.

This course is not marketing hype. It is just the facts and useful information about what, where, when and who can apply for government/public assistance (and who cannot). You will also learn how learn more about the programs that really are available for your and your family includes extensive links to resources, a glossary and a current directory of public assistance funds to meet your personal needs, from health care to housing, energy, food, and social security and other personal needs that are available to you.

These programs all share one thing in common that separates them from grants, loans and other forms of financial assistance that are the subjects of other E-Learning Center courses. They are all government entitlement based on your status as an individual or family low-income, age, disability or other entitles you to participate in the programs (eligibility) and receive these funds.

It is important to remember that each program may have its own eligibility criteria and application procedures.

Public Assistances vs. Grants vs. Loans

Unfortunately, as part of their efforts to sell their books or services, some public confusion by including government assistance programs such as food stamps and welfare as government grants, or particular has admitted that he includes these government assistance programs in his rhetoric about the dollars of free and easy money waiting for you from Uncle Sam Scams.

Reality check: Government entitlement assistance programs are very different from grants or loans.

The only similarity between government entitlement programs and grants is that neither has to be paid back. Both involve the government (federal, state or local) giving money to you for a particular purpose, usually under authority of a law or agency program regulation.

This is where the similarity ends.

Public entitlement assistance are given based on individual or family status. Unlike grants, there are not hundreds of thousands of different entitlement assistance programs, with new opportunities published every week. Though you will want to so some research to learn what assistance programs are available to you, you don't through an intensive and time-consuming research process like you do for grants. Finally, you don't need to devote the time writing a detailed proposal as you do for grants.

Unlike grantors that award grants to recipients (grantees) to provide or perform particular services in exchange for its grant money (typically for projects that benefit a community or support a public service other causes favored by the particular grantor; entitlement funds are given to people who meet defined eligibility criteria based on your personal status, and/or need for the money, products or services. You just have to know where to look and how to find them. As we will see in Section 2

You will have to be sure that you meet the program intitlement program.

Finally, contrary to another myth perpetrated by web marketers and other so called experts, grants are rarely if ever awarded to individuals for personal needs (buying food, paying rent, paying for energy, health care or insurance). Compare this to public entitlement funds, which generally are given to individuals and families to meet such basic personal needs.

Notice I say that grants are awarded. Entitlements are not competitive. They are given to you, or denied based on objective criteria (income, age, other), without any comparison to other applicants. (see Section 4 , Appealing a Denial of you Benefit Application)

Reality check: This, again, cuts through the myth that grants are government agencies or private foundations or corporations do not give away qualified applicants.

Unlike loans, government personal entitlement assistance is not a debt that you need to repay. Your eligibility is not based on your personal credit or credit history/score. You are not approaching private lenders (banks, credit unions or other lenders) for the funds.

Given these important differences, here is a brief listing of the various types and forms of government assistance they are based. More details on each will be provided in Section 2 (Research) and 3 (Applying), Directory and Resources.

Government Funds are Distributed by State and Local Agencies, Not Uncle Sam Funds), government-funded personal entitlement programs are generally managed by states, with each state administering both the federal program and, in many states, combining federal with other state programs.

You will likely receive funds from state or local agencies or non-profit organizations that received the grant funds (a/k/a grant recipient/grantee) and other funding from Federal and/or state agencies. These various funding programs and alternatives are discussed in detail later in this Section (and in Section 2, Research).