Grants for Single Mothers: The Complete Guide to Financial Assistance

Meeting the expenses of everyday living in today's world of rapidly escalating costs is often difficult for most people. For single moms it is all that much harder. It's easy to wander onto the internet and find information on loans, but as a family with, at most one income it's often hard to qualify with the rigorous income to debt ratios. Even if you do manage to qualify you soon have hefty payments putting an increasing strain on an already fragile budget. A recent survey by MSN money estimates that in a single parent family the costs of raising one child until the age of 11 is a staggering $24,940. So how is a single mom with a couple of kids going to afford loan payments, especially when the loan was to help meet basic living costs? For many the financial assistance they need lies in the form of grants.

So What are Grants?

Many misconceived notions exist about grants. The most popular being that a grant is simply a loan with a more user friendly name. Or that a grant is a loan which you don't have to pay back right away. Neither of these are true. In fact a grant is a sum of money paid to a person without need for recompense. In other words, you don't need to pay them back. So what kind of grants are available?

The answer is: Many.

There are grants available for everything from schooling, to personal needs grants, car grants, grants to start up a new business and housing grants. Typically, most "grant" programs are given out to non-profit organizations, businesses, and students. We will look at some of the specific programs later on in the post.

What About a Scholarship?

If you have plans to go back to school or you are trying to drum up money to afford some sort of education program, there's a number of ways to get that funding. Scholarships are one of the big ways. The best way to land a scholarship is to head to your local college financial aid office and get a list of scholarships you can apply for.

There are even special scholarship sweepstakes offered by websites. For example, one of the more popular sweepstake education scholarships on the web is the 10k Scholarships for Working Adults in which you sign up for the scholarship on the web, then get a chance to win 10k draw towards your education expenses. Any mom or dad can apply for this scholarship. For a similar sweepstake contest, there's the $10k Scholarship for Mom program . And if you are a dad, you might look at the $10k Scholarship for Dads.

Now there are a few things we need to get out of the way. First off, despite what many other (fraudulent I may add) websites may claim, there is not this giant bucked of grant money just waiting for every desperate single mom to dig into. It's hard to get free money from the government or any other source. There are no, as far as I'm aware of, federal grants for single mother specifically.  There are no such thing as OBAMA grants (this is a scam by the way).  The federal government ONLY gives out grants for students, grants for organizations, and grants for individuals. There are, however, state grants for single moms of sorts, and various private grants for single moms. The worst part about all these grants is that due lack of knowledge, much of the funding set aside for these grants get used! So let's take a few moments to discuss some grants available to single mothers.

Educational Grants for Single Mothers

By far the biggest selection of grants open to single mothers is in the education subcategory. Primarily because the general consensus is that if a single mother can better her life through education, then she will also be able to provide a better life for her children. There are quite a few different sources for mom, as well as government funded grants, money is available from private scholarships and some universities even offer financial aid for moms.

Now by far, the first most widely heard of grant is the Pell grant. The Pell grant is a government provided grant of up to $5550, which a person can use to fund all or part of their studies. While the Pell grant is not solely for single parents, the application for one requires that you fill in a FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) which largely uses incomes based figures to make it's decision. That means most single moms should qualify. If you don't want to apply for the Pell grant you could try the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG). Again, you do need to have filled out a FASFA in order to apply. Should you need more money almost every state has a grant opportunity for single mothers. Check out the State Higher Education Agency for more detailed information on what is available in your state.

Not all educational grants are supplied by the government. As stated above, the 10k Scholarship for Working Adults awards a $10,000 scholarship every month in a giveaway draw; filling out the form is easy and well worth the 5 minutes it takes for the chance at the money. If you are a dad, there is another 10k scholarship offered to dads.

You can get help directly from colleges themselves. Many universities and colleges offer financial aid or scholarships to single parents such as:

• The College of Dupage Foundation Single Parent Scholarship
• Kirkwood Community College Single Parent Scholarship
• Minnesota State University Coplan Donohue Single Parent Scholarship
• University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire Single Parent Scholarship

The downside is, of course ,you must be attending that specific university to be able to access the funds which they have available. If you cannot afford to pay for childcare, many study at home universities also offer help for single moms. On top of the government, state and university opportunities there are also grants and scholarships financed by private companies to consider.

• The Jeannette Rankin Foundation Scholarships offers grants to woman based on the belief that education is often the only way that a woman can lift her family and herself out of poverty..
• The Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Awards gives grants out that allow women to open up opportunities for themselves, which they would otherwise not have had access to.
• The Association on American Indian Affairs Displaced Homemaker Scholarships offers funds to American Indians who have delayed their education due to family responsibilities. More info here.
• The Association of Nontraditional Students in Higher Education Scholarships aims to provide non traditional students (IE: single parents) with access to the higher education they might otherwise be denied.

A point to remember is that most of these grants are FASFA based so it's important for you to get your form in after January 1st quickly. If you are a single mother needing money for education then there really are a lot of different opportunities out there. It may take a while to find out which opportunity is the best one for you, but one way or another you should find the education that you desire within your financial grasp.

Housing Grants for Single Mothers

As wages fall it seems that housing costs go up. In Out of Reach 2010 study most of the USA's 38 million renters are struggling to pay skyrocketing rents. In fact to comfortably pay the rent of an average two bed-roomed apartment, (at a national average of $959) a person would have to earn at least $18.44 an hour in their full time job. Based on the national minimum wage of a measly $7.25 per hour, it's easy to see why people struggle. Of course this is a situation made worse for single moms as they  usually have to manage on one part time wage. Add to that the larger sized home needs to accommodate their family, it paints a very grim picture. None the less hope is not lost! There is help at hand. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a number of ways in which it can help single families. Built specifically to offer reasonably priced homes for families, they retain a range of subsidized housing throughout the US. For those who can't move or who own their own home, they do offer a few grants for low income families. Most well known are the hosing choice vouchers issued by the Public and Indian housing (PHA) department of the HUD. These vouchers are issued to families to help meet the costs of housing. You do not have to reside in subsidized housing nor do you need to pay back the funds allocated to you. HUD offers far more than just vouchers, they also have grants. An example of one is the Family Unification Grant. Up for award by December 1st the Family Unification Grant has a $15 million budget specifically designed to help families stay together in appropriate housing. For more information on renting affordable housing in your state click here.

Child Care Grants for Single Mothers

For many singles moms the ability to work relies heavily on the ability to procure childcare at a reasonable rate. Often the hour rate of a babysitter can be as high, or even higher, than the wages paid to a lot of lower income workers. To help prevent the situation where going to work actually costs you money, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) have decided to step in. One grant provided by them is the Child Care and Development Bock Grant. Issued to local states and territories the money is divided up so that single parents and low income families can afford access to adequate, good, quality childcare allowing single moms the ability to rejoin the work force.

Business Grants for Single Mothers

The government usually offers little in the way of grants for individuals, but for people (and moms) interested in starting a new small business, there may be some funding available for you. The government is in love with education, businesses, and non-profit community help organizations and these are the areas that the government will toss down an abundance of grant money. If you are interested in business grants, you NEED to have a legitimate business plan in mind. You will be asked to write a very detailed proposal about your business and there is a very specific set of steps you will need to follow to get a business grant. This is not some kind of grant you fill an online 5-minute application and send it off. Real money is given out here and there are also some real expectations on the part of the government as well. They won't give money out for businesses that are not likely to succeed or for business ideas that have a lot of holes in them. I HIGHLY suggest you read a business grant-writing book for information on how to PROPERLY apply for business grants.

How to Find a Grant

In summary, there are grants out there for whatever you need them for. Some of them are kind of hard to find, but if you use a site such as grants.gov you will be able to search a vast number of grants available to almost every situation you can imagine. There are a few things worth keeping in mind, most grants are income based so make sure that you have the paperwork needed to prove your income. Never be lie on a grant application or apply for more than you actually need; This will only increase your chance of being rejected. Grant applications are often lengthy and can involve peculiar wording so it may be well worth your time taking your application form to your local citizens advice center or even paying a visit to your local library and seeing if they have a book specifically about filling in grant applications.  The time invested could pay out in time saved, should your application get rejected due to a simple mistake. The most easily accessible grants, and ironically enough, the ones least often claimed are the grants that are available on your very doorstep. A trip to your local town office or library can often bring to light a wealth of grants that many people have simply never heard of. So remember:

• A trip to the library can be invaluable.
• Start local – your town office.
• Search online.
• Have all your paperwork on hand.
• Know how much you are looking for.
• Never lie on a grant application.
• Be persistent.

Other Ways for Single Mothers to Get Money Besides Grants

Don't think that grants and scholarships are the only ways to get money. If you are willing to work, there may be some work at home opportunities that you can pursue as a single mom. Now to be sure, 99% of the work-at-home programs you find online are complete scams. But there are a couple. Filling out Surveys Online is one way to make money. Basically, you fill surveys out and get paid per each survey. It's all legit and while you are not paid extraordinary amounts of money, if you put in a few hours here and there, you get a part time income. I've even heard of some moms going at it full time and paying all the bills. There are also some legit work-at-home training programs you can find as a single mom. If you have basic computer skills and you can write fluent English, you stand a good chance of landing some part time work online, blogging, writing articles for web masters, or assisting with online tasks. I personally recommend RealWritingJobs.com as a good place to seek that work out.

Let's go over a list of SOME of the possible the opportunities online work opportunities

• Fill Out Surveys -- Fill out surveys and get paid
• Write Articles for Web Content -- write articles for money at places like freelancer.com, craigslist.com, etc. Requires you to be able to write well
• Web Development -- learn how to built websites for clients. This may take some schooling on your part -- night classes at a community college for example. There are a number of websites that will match you with an appropriate online school.
• Online Marketing -- you can learn how to sell products and market things online
• Ebay Business -- buy and sell products on eBay. Possible to do quite well like this
• SEO -- learn how to rank websites. There is a big niche market doing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) work for websites

So there you have it, some ways to earn a living or part time living from home. There are way more opportunities out there than just these, but my small list will get you start. Work from home jobs for moms allow you the flexibility to stay at home with the kids while working -- every single mom's dream. Keep in mind that NON of these programs are the get rich quick type schemes many work-at-home jobs offer. If it sounds to good to be true, it ALWAYS IS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, ladies. To earn money, you are going to have to put in the time and effort and nothing comes for free, so don't fall for those type of scams offered online.

Final Word

Remember, you need to explore as many sources as possible. Our recommendation to you single moms and dads is to think deeply about your financial situation and how you can make permanent changes. You want to make changes where you can make a secure future for yourself and your children. What's the point in simply getting a bit of financial help in the form of money only to need more help in a few months down the road? Do you want to spend your life in this situation, living from month to month?

The best way to change your life is to get education so you CAN qualify for better job opportunities. And if you can't afford to go back to school, there absolutely is money there for you to make it possible (you'll still have to work your butt off though). Fill out the FAFSA form, apply for the 10k Scholarship, check out the government's financial aid site, take a look to see if your state provides education assistance, and then contact your college financial aid office for a list of financial aid programs available to you! Working a part time job to save money up for school is also pretty important too -- you might not be able to fund your entire schooling just off student loans, scholarships, and grants alone!

If you do get turned down for a grant don't be disappointed, there are many measures in place to ensure that the grants go to people who need them. Sadly there are some people who don't need the grants who will try to claim them purely for financial gain. Find out why you were turned down. It could just be a simple error on your form. So happy grant hunting and good luck in getting access to money you need.