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PLEASE don't believe the hype.

We have all seen them -- late night infomercials, websites, and reference guides, advertising "millions in free money."  How many of you remember the guy wearing the suits covered in question marks on late night t.v.?  His name is Matthew Lesko, the self-proclaimed “guru of free government grant money”. 

In 2004, the New York State Consumer Protection Board declared that most of the grants mentioned in Lesko's books were actually public assistance programs that many people were not eligible for, and that Lesko misrepresented examples of people who had taken advantage of government programs.

See additional info below...

There is no such thing as "free money."

In general, the entities who give out -- and those that apply for and receive -- grant money, work hard to ensure that the money is used in ways that benefit society as a whole.

Although there are many grants on Grants.gov, few are available to individuals and none of them are available for personal financial assistance. To find an alphabetical listing of federal personal assistance visit USA.gov website’s Government Benefits, Grants, and Financial Aid page. To find out if you are eligible to apply for federal grants, watch this helpful eligibility tutorial.

There are many groups of organizations that are eligible to apply for government grants. Typically, most grantee organizations fall into one of the categories listed in the next column:

Government Organizations

       State Governments

       Local Governments

       City or Township Governments

       Special District Governments

       Native American Tribal Governments

Education Organizations

Independent School Districts

Public and State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education

Private Institutions of Higher Education

Public Housing Organizations

       Public Housing Authorities

       Indian Housing Authorities

Non-Profit Organizations

Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

For-Profit Organizations (other than small businesses)

Small Businesses
Small business loans and small business grants may be awarded to companies that meet the size standards that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has established for most industries in the economy. The most common size standards are as follows:

500 employees for most manufacturing and mining industries

100 employees for all wholesale trade industries

$6 million for most retail and service industries

$28.5 million for most general & heavy construction industries

$12 million for all special trade contractors

$0.75 million for most agricultural industries

With few exceptions, all federal agencies, and many state and local governments, use the size standards established by SBA. You can search for further information and for loan opportunities on the Small Business Administration’s website.

Individuals
An individual submits a grant on their behalf, and not on behalf of a company, organization, institution, or government. Individuals sign the grant application and its associated certifications and assurances that are necessary to fulfill the requirements of the application process. So, if you register as an Individual, you will only be able to apply to grant opportunities that are open to individuals. An individual cannot submit a grant application to a grant opportunity that is just open to organizations.

To find out what grants are currently available for these different eligibility categories, please visit the Advanced Search page.