I don't know about you, but hardly a day goes by I don't receive spam
emails about grants. Spam that absolutely promises me I can buy a book
and get a $30,000 grant, just for being alive on the planet. Spam that
assures me there are grants available to pay my credit card bills, start
any kind of business, or buy a shiny new car.
To
some degree, those spam emails are why I established a website devoted
to grants. Because I have been a grants consultant for thirty years, I
know the truth about grants, and I want to share that truth with you.
The truth about grants is a good news/bad news proposition. Let's get the bad news out of the way first:
Nobody
is going to award you a grant of $20,000 or $30,000 to spend at Saks,
or pay your bills. Nobody is going to give you cash to start a network
marketing business. Nobody is going to buy you a new Mercedes to drive
around the neighborhood.
But really, in your heart of hearts, you already knew that - right?
Now for the good news about grants...and there is some very, very good news indeed:
Every
year in the United States alone, $360 billion is available in grant
funding for individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations. This
is the real thing, money that is genuinely available from solid,
dependable funding organizations.
There are grants for college,
grants to pay for medical care and drugs, and grants to support research
and study projects. There are some government grants available to
certain established businesses, and a very limited number of grants to
start new businesses.
There are grants for women and for
minorities, grants to buy homes, grants to acquire and repair rental
properties, and grants to develop new products that will help the
environment. There are grants to fund a virtually unlimited number of
community projects. If you have a project that offers some social value,
there is probably a funder who has a grant for which you can apply.
Government
agencies, foundations, and corporations all make grants. Almost
universally, grants do not need to be repaid, and grants are tax-free.
Are you beginning to see the scope of this?
To
help people understand just how much potential there is in grants, I
often describe grants funding as a "parallel economy". There is the
standard economy, where goods and services are bought and sold, and
taxes paid. Then there is the parallel economy of grants, where gifts
are requested and received.
Not just a few gifts. Three hundred sixty billion dollars in gifts.
So
is there a trick involved in getting grants? No. But, as is true in any
situation in life, there is a framework within which the successful
grantseeker must operate. If you want to profit from grants, you must
put forth the time and effort to learn how this parallel economy
operates, and how to play by its rules.
First, grants are all
about purpose. Every grant is offered and awarded in order to accomplish
a specific purpose. Every funding agency has a mission it wants to
carry out, and grants are given to further that mission. So if you want
to start a children's orchestra in your town, you must find the funder
who considers musical programs for children part of its mission. If you
have invented a better trash compactor, then you are looking for a
funder with an environmental mission.
Second, there are a host of
resources for finding and identifying grants. You must learn about the
types of grants, who is making them, and how to locate them. You must
learn how to tailor your project to potential funders.
Third,
there is a specific format for requesting grants, called a grant
proposal. Although there are many different types of grants, the basic
grant proposal format can be adapted to all of them. You must learn how
to write a good proposal, and assemble all the information a funder will
want to see.
This all sounds a bit more complicated than just buying a book, right? So the question becomes, is it worth the effort?
Well,
I've raised millions of dollars in grant funds for my clients, and for
myself. I bought an apartment complex free and clear, without a penny of
my own money, with a grant. I absolutely believe it's worth the time
and effort involved. Where else but in the parallel economy of grants,
can you ask for what you need, and receive it as a gift?
