Government Stimulus Grants

Fearing a repeat of the great depression of the early 1930s where a large number of population was out of work, the government decided to pump large amounts of funds in the market to revive the economy. Stimulus grants for education, research, health care, infrastructure, etc. are seen as an effective measure to cushion the economy. The rationale of a stimulus package to reinvigorate the economy come from the Keynesian economics formula which was used successfully after the world wars. It states that the fiscal policy actions by the government should be changed to stabilize the business output. The Keynesian economics formula also propagates a wider role of the government in maintaining economic stability.

To pull the markets out of the downward spiral and give a much-needed impetus to the ailing economy, the Obama government announced a 787 billion dollars national debt relief stimulus plan. Out of the 787 billion dollars, 275 billion dollars were grants for education, health care, business, etc.

Grants for Education

Sensing the need to bridge the gap between businesses and skilled workers the package has allocated millions of dollars as institutional and individual grants. These grants will gear community colleges to form partnerships with businesses to create a work force with specialized skills.

Under The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, the government has provided 2 billion dollars to community colleges. The amount is to be disbursed over a period of 4 years to help community training programs. It will enable community colleges to work with businesses, teach basic skills, develop online courses.

The government has also doubled the budget for the federal Pell grant amount thus enabling more deserving students to get the best of education. It has also tripled the college tax credit and many of the eligible candidates can avail a full tax credit of USD 2,500. This tax credit is now known as the American opportunity tax credit and there is a lot of information about this on the internal revenue service website.

Business Grants

To help rebuild the US economy, the government is giving grants to nonprofit organizations to help them set up businesses that will create jobs in the community they serve. Some government grants were also given to profit-making organization, as these organizations hired more workers with the capital they got in the form of a grant.

The grants also targeted the rural population by allocating funds for research and development of renewable energy. The recovery act has set aside USD 27.6 billion dollars for rural development. Under this act, it will provide rural cooperative development grants, micro-entrepreneur assistance, grants to minority producers, etc.

There are grants for women to ensure that they are not marginalized and get an opportunity to come into the mainstream of the business community. Most of the grants are reserved for women from low income families and the ethnic minority.

Grants for Homeowners

Identifying the need of government assistance to help individuals who have suffered due to the economic recession, the government has increased its contribution in several grants programs. Home owners have emerged as one of the group of people who need assistance in these times. The Obama debt relief act has set aside billions of dollars so that homeowners could refinance their homes for decreased fix interest rates.

The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department has also made home improvement grants available for families with low income. These grants will enable people from low income families take care of any health hazards in the house and make essential repairs.

It is come to the notice of the policy makers that many American families pay a lot of their hard-earned income towards energy bills. The government has started a scheme known as weatherizing under which experts will come to your house and install application that will help homeowners save on their energy bills. Experts from community action agencies and state weatherizing agencies will install furnaces, water heaters, insulation, weatherstripping, etc. in houses across America.

There is a list of government grants available on the government grants site. You can also refer to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) website for more information about applications and processes. These grants will go a long way in helping the population deal with the economic slowdown.