Grants And Loans

Get 10000 From Your Boss To Buy A Home

Some universities give employees $1,500 grants to help them buy a home. Companies in Minnesota are offering up to $15,000 to employees to buy homes. City governments in Washington offer employees $10,000 to help buy a home if they perform 100 hours of community service. Make sure you find out what your employer or potential employer has to offer. And learn more about programs like these at

Visit: www.npcr.org/copc/reports/copc3/copc3.html

Venture Capital

Some people consider this money from angels, but they are known in the business world as venture capitalists. These are individuals, government-sponsored organizations or private organizations who invest in your business because it is a good idea. These people also want to own a percentage of your business. So they really become your partner. But remember, the point is you want to get your business going. Who cares if you have a partner? If a partner is going to make it happen, it is better than sitting at home with no business at all. The federal government has two major venture capital programs. You can go to these web sites to get a list of government sponsored angels to contact: Venture Capital for Small Businessand Venture Capital For Low Income. But you can’t stop there. There are thousands of other private and public venture capitalists who help small businesses. A good starting place for locating these people is a good reference librarian at your public library.

Visit: www.sba.gov/INV/overview.html

Quick and Easy 10 Downpayment Assistance

is available in less than an hour, at no cost and with no application to fill out. Low- to moderate-income families can earn up to 10 percent of the purchase price of their new home and never have to repay the money. The program is open to all homebuyers without regard to income, property price, or first-time ownership. Furthermore, the Harford Food Bank does not require the homebuyer to put money down or have cash reserves in order to qualify for gift funds. Homestead Trust, 3450 Ellicott Center Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21043, 410-480.1967

Visit: www.homesteadtrust.org/

Venture Capital Funds for New England Entrepreneurs

anyone interested in starting his own business or expanding an existing one may do well to look into venture capital. Venture capitalists are willing to invest in a new or growing business venture for a percentage of the equity. The Venture Capital Fund of New England is one source for those with high tech related business ideas

Visit: www.vcfne.com

Free Care By The Best Doctors In The World

Bob Dole and Sam Donaldson knew where to go to get treatment – The National Institutes of Health (NIH). Each year, close to 75,000 patients receive free medical care by some of the best doctors in the world. To see if your diagnosis is currently being studied, you can contact the Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Patient Recruitment, 6100 Executive Blvd., Suite 3C01, MSC 754, Bethesda, MD 20892; 301-496-2563; 800-411-1222; www.cc.nih.gov; National Institutes of Health, Office of Communications, Building 1, Room 344, 1 Center Dr., MCS 0188, Bethesda, MD 20892; 301-496-4000; www.nih.gov; or to search a database of research programs, contact CRISP, Office of Reports and Analysis, Office of Extramural Research, 6700 Rockledge Dr., Room 3210, Bethesda, MD 20892; 301-435-0656

Visit: www.cc.nih.gov

Free Preventive Health Services For Seniors

A report from the U.S. Congress estimates that over 29 million seniors don’t take advantage of free preventive health services like flu shots, tetanus shots, pap smear, mammography, vaginal cancer screenings, colorectal cancer screening/colonoscopy, osteoporosis – bone mass measurement, prostate cancer test, and glaucoma test. They are all covered under the Medicare laws, but most doctors are not aware of this. 800-633-4227.

Visit: www.medicare.gov

50 Discount On Air Services To See A Sick Relative

according to a study done by the Federal Trade Commission. Six out of 10 Americans are overweight. It’s the second most preventable cause of death after smoking, resulting in over 300,000 deaths per year. I keep telling my kids that the 2 hardest things to figure out in our society are relationships and weight control.

Visit: www.ftc.gov/bcp/reports/weightloss.pdf.

More Money From Indiana’s Prescription Drug Program

Depending upon your situation with Medicare and Medicaid, you may or may not be eligible for this program, but it is worth a call for clarification. It is also helpful to know about this in the future if your situation changes. Eligibility issues: Indiana resident for at least 90 days and age 65 or older. May not have insurance that includes a prescription drug benefit. Must have a monthly income which is less than $997 for individuals or less than $1,344 for couples. Contact HoosierRX, P.O. Box 6224, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6224; 866-267-4679

Visit: www.state.in.us/fssa/hoosierrx/index.html

500000 Grant To Work On An Education Related Invention

do you have an idea for a product? Or do you have an idea that would enhance an existing product? Well the government will give you up to $500,000 if it will in some way help kids learn or help teachers teach. This money is set aside for small companies or individual inventors. It’s called the Small Business Technology Transfer Program or the Small Business Innovative Research Program.

Visit: www.ed.gov/offices/IES/SBIR/index.html

Call 211 For Free Money

that’s right! I didn’t say 911, I said 211. It’s a hotline number the Federal Communications Commissions set up for communities to use to refer people to social services that provide medical help, job training, transitional housing, child care, help for seniors, rental assistance, and more. These numbers are operating in 23 states. Go to the phone and dial 211 to see if you have this service in your area or see

Visit: www.211.org

Money For Food

Program providers receive reimbursement based upon the number of meals served. Participants are required to attend training and renew their application for the program each year. Office of School Readiness, 10 Park Place South, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30303; 404-656-5957; 1-888-4GA-PREK; Fax: 404-651-7430. Head Start/Early Head Start: Head Start and Early Head Start funding is granted by the federal government to local communities grantees to provide quality child development services to low-income families and children with disabilities. They largely target three and four-year olds. These grantees may be public or private, for-profit or non-profit or a public school. If a grantee gives up or loses funding, the Head Start Funds remain in the community and are awarded to another eligible organization. Georgia’s Head Start Collaboration Project was established to help facilitate the partnership between federally funded Head Start programs and state-funded early childhood programs. Office of School Readiness, 10 Park Place South, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA, 30303; 404-656-5957. Or, contact the Regional Head Start Office for Georgia, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street, S.W., Suite M60, Atlanta, GA 30303; 404-562-2833; Fax 404-562-2980; 866-763-6481

Visit: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/sehub/index.htm

Seed Money To Start Your Day Care

Venture Grants are time-limited grants for innovation. One form of venture grants is seed money grants. These are intended to provide short-term support for start-up, development or stabilization of new programs. For more information contact United Way of Northwest Georgia, P.O. Box 566, 101 Selvidge Street, Dalton, GA, 30722-0566; 706-278-9230; Fax: 706-226-1029

Visit: www.ourunitedway.org

15000 Loan Forgiveness Paid Directly To You

This program is offered to individuals attending a program of study designed to prepare them to become a licensed dentist. Selected participants are eligible for up to four years of loan forgiveness. There is a minimum service obligation of three years. Each year a participant must deliver service totaling 25 percent of their yearly patient encounters to a public program or sliding fee scale patients. In turn, the ORHPC will pay directly to the participant an annual lump sum of approximately $15,000. For more information contact the Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care, Attn: Loan Forgiveness Program Officer, P.O. Box 64975, St. Paul, MN 55164-0975; (800) 366-5424

Visit: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/dentist.htm

475000 To Start A Winery On Government Property

Who would have thought to look to the government to start a winery but the U.S. National Park Service has been doing this on the grounds of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio since 1999. An organization called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is responsible for identifying the project.

Visit: www.ems.org/nws/2004/08/25/national_park_se