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Free Government Grants
The truth of the matter is free government grants are not exactly free. These supposedly free government grants come with a price tag too. Free government grants will require you to fulfill certain obligations. Not being able to fulfill them will get you penalties, sometimes severe.
Free government grants are usually awarded to projects proposed by organizations that are perceived to redound to benefit the community. Examples of these projects that received free government grants are: street paving project in the neighborhood, a program to re-train displaced workers in the state, project to bring new businesses to a depressed area, et cetera.
Aside from benefiting the community, the project that merits free government grants must:
Meet strict oversight performance standards
Account for all project expenditures and be subject to detailed audits conducted by the government annually.
Spend all grant funds. Money left must go back to the Treasury.
Develop, approve and carry out all detailed programs exactly as stated in the grant application, any changes must be approved by the government before implementation
Complete al project phases on time
Complete the project successfully.
Failure to comply with the above requirements could result in consequences from economic sanction to imprisonment in cases of improper utilization of public funds.
Free government grants are usually awarded to federal agencies, states, cities, colleges, universities and research organizations. Individuals seldom get free government grants because of the complexities involve in preparing applications for free government grants. As a matter of fact, those who actively pursue grants often spend money to hire staffs that would focus on applying and administering free government grants alone.
The projects proposal coming from agencies, President, states, cities, et cetera will be decided by congress. Congress has the final say as to how much free government grants’ money the program will get.
Upon approval of the federal budget, funds for free government grants projects are available and announced in the Federal Register for the entire year. Projects that can avail of free government grants will appear in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). The CFDA lists all free government grants and assistance programs managed by 57 federal agencies. CDFA’s website is http://www.cfda.gov/.
Eligible persons or organizations with plans that fall under the different project categories approved by congress may apply to the concerned department to get a portion of the total free government grants allocation under that project. For instance, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been allocated by congress with $22 million to develop “Public and Indian Housing Drug Elimination Program”. If you think that your project will contribute to this project you may apply to HUD to get a portion of the $22 million free government grant.
If you have the stamina to go through the rigors of preparing the application for free government grants then by all means do so. Free government grants are available at your disposal. Use these free government grants wisely.
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