Personal Grants for Individuals

Money may be required for reasons such as wanting to get out of debt or simply for the sake of tiding over hard times. Considering that people who are financially constrained find it increasingly difficult to repay loans, it's only natural that the demand for personal grants for individuals, personal grants for women and single mothers has caught on in a big way.

Grants from the government are available to people desirous of pursuing higher education. These grants are wonderful alternative to student loans. The Federal govt. provides grants to State governments and non-profits who in turn use the money to provide financial assistance to women, single mothers and other eligible participants. However, Federal grants for personal financial assistance is a myth.

Assistance for Individuals and Families

Personal grants from the government are available to people desirous of pursuing higher education. In addition to college grants, the Federal government provides assistance to low income families so that they can pay their energy bills on time. The government also assists single mothers so that they can provide for the well being of their children despite being single parents.

College Grants: A plethora of college grants are available to individuals desirous of pursuing higher education. These grants, viz. Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant, are both need based as well as merit based.

Federal Pell Grant is a need based grant that acts as the stepping stone to both need and merit based grants. This is evident from the fact that Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) gives priority to Federal Pell Grant recipients although other applicants, who are in dire need of money, are also eligible to apply. For more on college grants one may refer to the article, 'grants for college students'.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is a grant program that is Federally funded and is implemented at the state, tribal, and insular area levels. This program intends to help people pay their home energy bills. The govt. provides home heating energy assistance grants and crisis grants to a family of four provided the annual household income is less than the stated minimum. Generally, an annual household income that is less than $33,075 makes a family eligible for this assistance. As mentioned earlier, this is a grant and not a loan, hence no liens will be placed on the recipient's property. Families that spend a chunk of their income on energy bills and low income families with children, disabled and elderly people are given priority. For more on weatherization assistance, one may refer to the article, 'assistance for low income families'.

WIC Program: Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program provides Federal grants to States so that pregnant or postpartum women and infants and children up to age 5, can receive checks or food coupons to purchase foods rich in one or more nutrients, viz. protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C. Women, whose gross income lies below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), are eligible to participate in the WIC program.

Temporary Assistance To Needy Families Grant or TANF Grant: Administered by the US Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, TANF block grant allows States to allocate resources for the following activities:

• Helping needy families so that children can be taken care of in the comfort of their home
• Promoting work to minimize the dependence of families on government benefits
• Encouraging marriage and reducing the incidence of non-marital pregnanciesEncouraging the maintenance of two parent families

For more on WIC and TANF one may refer to the article, 'financial aid for single mothers'. The article on free grant money applications may be useful to people who are interested in applying for free grant money.

Hopefully, the above article on personal grants for individuals would have dispelled some myths and provided relevant information. People, who are constrained on account of the lack of finances, may consider availing personal loans or personal lines of credit. A number of private entities and non-profits provide personal grants for single mothers. It would be prudent to gather information about private disbursers and present a well drafted grant application so as to put forth one's case effectively.