Tag Archives: grant
Home Improvements With Free Grants
If you are like so many of today’s homeowners you may be considering greening up your home. Hey, why spend your own money to cut your carbon footprint when you can use free grants courtesy of the US government? After all, it is your tax dollars that you paid in!
Remember one thing and that’s that grants are not loans, so they will not have to be paid back. However there are two basic factors that they will want you to provide them information on. Also understand that there may be a fair amount of paper work.
The government will want to know how much it will take bring your project to completion. That is how extensive is the the work that will need to be done to cut your utility costs. They are also going to want to know how much it is estimated that it will raise the value of your home.
What many people are unaware of and you may be one of them, is that grants for straight forward non-energy related home improvements are also available. One of the most common and easy to get is a grant to make your home wheel chair accessible.
In many of these cases they may require you to have a specified contractor do the work. However; this is in most cases your best option, as the contractors have been pre-certified to do the work and in many cases their fees are also set or capped.
In some rare cases, people have gotten free grants for home improvements after having their home declared a historical landmark. It’s highly unlikely that this is something that you would qualify for but if you do, the amount of renovation and restorative work you can receive at no cost can be quite extensive.
You will not have to be concerned with your beacon score, or collateral or repayment terms, because there are none. The government is not worried about those factors either.
Many people apply for the free grants for home improvements when they are interested in larger home improvement projects. Like new heating or air conditioning units, weatherization or solar panels to conserve energy. These larger projects are the ones that interest homeowners in getting assistance with the bill, which usually comes back to the homeowner in the form of tax credits and decreased energy bills.
But, there are also straight forward grants, if you qualify, that you can get to upgrade your home and make it a safer, nicer place to live. As long as you have a solid plan on the reason for the money, you should be fine. But make sure you have thought it through. Talk to contractors and priced equipment. These will all need to be assessed in the grant application process.
And let’s not forget that the government is encouraging homeowners to weatherize their homes in order to help lower the energy bills and conserve the earth in the long run. When considering weatherization, make sure you think of the front all the way to the back. Remember, it does not help to weatherize part of it; you need to do all of it.
These grant application processes can be tricky, but just be certain that you review everything. Read everything and if you have any questions, ask someone. It is very important you understand what you are applying for. Once you are awarded one of these free grants for home improvements, have fun with your renovation and enjoy the final product.
How to Prepare for Government Grants to Start a Business
The fact is that the US government gives out billions in government grants to start a business each year. Sound like a lot of money? Well would you believe that the federal government gives away a total of $25 billion in domestic business aid, all together each year?
However; the truth of the matter, is that in spite of there being such a large available pool of money, competition is stiff. This of course means that the people who are the most prepared and knowledgeable, generally tend to walk away with the lions share.
The First Thing to Do
The very first thing that you need to do is to come up with a complete and comprehensive business plan. Not just a good plan but rather, an excellent plan. Consider using the Internet to conduct your market demand research.
Your plan should also demonstrate your complete familiarity with all the products involved in the business you are proposing. You should also be able to demonstrate a complete familiarity with employee wage scales for the type of labor performed in the course of your business.
The Second Thing to Do
The second thing you can do, is to begin to work on your presentation skills. You see, you have to understand that aside from all the paperwork you’ll have to submit, there will be personal interviews. People you will have to convince that your plan is viable.
The Third Thing to Do
The third thing that you will need to do is to familiarize yourself with the entire process of getting government grants to start a small business. This is no time to learn on the fly. There’s just too much at stake. Consider paying for the services of a consultant.
1) Before you start applying for grants, make sure that you have your business planned meticulously. Be prepared with an excellent business plan, with the exact amounts and figures that you require in every aspect of your business such as overhead, manpower, facilities and other expenses. Once you have the figures in place, add an extra 25-30% to this amount as a contingency measure to safeguard you against unexpected expenditure. A well-planned business plan could work wonders towards you obtaining a good grant to help you with your business.
2) Engage in the services of a consultant to help you find and obtain a small business grant. Although this may prove to be slightly costly to you, but the experience and knowledge that the consultant brings for your grant application could prove to be priceless, and may be the deciding factor in you obtaining it, or failing in your bid.
3) Use the internet and available website to good effect. Visit relevant sites such as the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) where you could find a list of small business grants that you could apply for, as well as the Small Business Administration (SBA) website where you would discover all the information required in regards to grant applications here. Other useful sites especially for women entrepreneurs include usagovernmentgrants.org, and of course grants.gov, a government-linked site where your grant-seeking activities could bear fruit.
4)Do not forget to work on your presentation skill as well, as you would be required to present in front of a grant-awarding committee. Thus be prepared to impress them with your proposal, and all the best in obtaining the small business grant for yourself!