Free Grant Money: Fact Or Fiction?
With the media plastering it all over the internet, radio and television,
it can be hard to ignore the United States government is giving away money.
While it's true the government does award $400 billion annually through its
26 federal entities, the statement of free grant money through the
government doesn't exactly pinpoint what a federal grant is.
A grant isn't a reward or a prize. According to American Government and
Politics by Jay M. Shafritz, a grant is “a form of gift that entails certain
obligations on the part of the grantee and expectations on the part of the
grantor”. The key word in this definition is “obligations”. Receiving a
government grant will create a obligations, which if not fulfilled, will
produce legal problems.
The majority of funds awarded by the government can hardly be considered as
free grant money. Grants are often awarded to organizations planning major
projects to benefit the community (eg. using the money to repave city
streets). A grant can also be awarded for technological research,
conservation and flood control projects. Businesses can also tap into the
federal grant program but only by meeting strict criteria through the
government agency offering the grant.
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Once the money is provided, the organization that has been awarded must keep
track of all project expenditures. Organizations awarded such funds must be
prepared for detailed audits which will be conducted by the federal
government annually or more often. Any money not spent and accounted for
goes back to the United States Treasury and is not extra free grant money
for the organization. Detailed program goals must also be developed,
approved and completed by the organization exactly as specified in the grant
application. Any unforeseen project changes along the way must receive prior
approval by the government agency that awarded the grant. All project phases
must also be completed as originally planned and in timely fashion.
The free grant money offered through a program can lead to financial and
legal problems for an organization if they do not abide by the strict rules
the grant itself holds. By failing on a part of the obligation agreed upon
when the grant is approved, the organization and/or persons-in-charge are
held accountable. Penalties can range from economic sanctions to a prison
sentence in the instance of improper use or theft of the free grant money.
The majority of government money requested is applied for and awarded to
other federal agencies, state governments, city governments, colleges,
universities and research organizations and businesses. Only a few
individuals have the money, time and expertise necessary to prepare adequate
applications that are award funds through the federal government. For
instance, most active grant seekers, such as universities, employ full-time
grant writers to do nothing but apply for and administer federal grant
funding.
Because this free grant money is monitored carefully, it can be said that
the funding isn't actually free. Applying for grants takes a large amount of
time and it can produce financial or legal problems for an individual who is
unfamiliar with government grant programs. With federal funding cutbacks and
the competition for grant funding becoming more intense, seeking funding
requires not only time, but also money, with no guarantee of success.