Over the years, you may have heard that the United States government is continually offering different types of grants for different groups of people. But did you know that some of these grants are specifically crafted for seniors?
Further, many senior citizens qualify for government grants that are not specifically designed for them. And while many of the government grants that are available are for organizations that provide assistance and care to the elderly, there are many grants that are payable to individual senior citizens.
Finding Your Senior Grant
The types of grants that are available to senior citizens include housing assistance grants, debt assistance grants, educational grants, and grant money to help start a business, among others. Finding the grant that you qualify for should begin with a search through the CFDA - Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. The CFDA catalog lists thousands of available grant opportunities from all agencies and branches of the United States of America. You can request a copy of this catalog by mail or download a readable PDF version of the catalog at the government site for grants, www.grants.gov.
Grant Eligibility Requirements For Seniors
Although not all seniors will qualify for grants from the government, a large number will. Many of the grants and the grant money available for grants to seniors goes unused and unclaimed during the offering period and is simply turned back in to the general fund after a certain period of time.
Grant money is different than loan money because you do not repay a grant. The money is yours to use for the purposes specified in the grant. Your eligibility for grant money from the government will depend on which grant you are applying for, and eligibility requirements differ greatly from grant to grant. Some grants are income sensitive, which means that you must be low income in order to be eligible; others have no income limits or caps. The only basic and universal requirement for government grants for seniors is that you live in the United States and are a U.S. citizen, either by birth or naturalization, and that you meet the other specifications for the grant program to which you are applying.
Applying For Your Senior Citizen Federal Government Grant
When browsing the CFDA catalog, you will get a good idea of the type of grant that you wish to apply for. You can apply for as many grants as you wish; there is no limit to the number of applications that you can turn in. Read the guidelines for the specific grant that you are applying for carefully. Some grants may require that you submit documentation with the grant application, such as income tax returns, pay stubs or proof of income, personal identification in the form of a driver license, or other documents that are grant specific. Be prepared to fill out a lengthy application in most instances, and be sure to fill out the application completely. Applications that are partially filled out will be returned to you for completion, which delays the processing of your grant. You should also be prepared for the amount of time that can be taken to approve a grant application, as many of the most sought after grants often have a back log of applicants. You must also be aware of the deadline for the grant application as many grants are available for a short period of time. Missing the deadline will automatically disqualify you from being considered for your grant.
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