InfoGuides: Grants: Funding for Personal Needs

Overview

The concept of what grants can do for people is often misunderstood. Grants are generally funding for a particular project given by a grantmaker, usually a nonprofit organization called a foundation, to another nonprofit organization working in an area on which the grantmaker is focused.

The restrictions on who can apply for a grant are set by the grantmaker on a grant-by-grant basis so there is no one rule. However, the majority of grants awarded are not given out to individuals. Individuals can receive grants, but these grants are generally in the educational fields, often in the form of scholarships.

This page contains links to programs that individuals may use in finding funding for whatever their needs may be. Visit The Foundation Center's website for additional resources for individual grantseekers.

Helpful Links

Benefits.gov
Benefits.gov is here to serve you! Find over a thousand Federal and State benefits including housing, food/nutrition, education, grants/loans, disaster relief, and Medicare/Medicaid. There's truly something for everyone.
Disability.gov
Disability.gov is a federal government Web site that provides quick and easy access to comprehensive information about disability-related programs, services, laws and benefits. Through the site, people with disabilities, their families, veterans, educators, employers, service providers and others are connected to thousands of resources, updated daily, from federal, state and local governments, educational institutions and non-profit organizations.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) provides a full listing of all Federal programs available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally-recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi- public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Vocational Rehabilitation, the flagship program of Louisiana Rehabilitation Services, is a one-stop career development program that offers individuals with disabilities a wide range of services designed to provide them with the skills, resources, attitudes, and expectations needed to compete in the interview process, get the job, keep the job, and develop a lifetime career.
U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. We recognize that small business is critical to our economic recovery and strength, to building America's future, and to helping the United States compete in today's global marketplace.