Archive for December, 2008
I know someone that is checking into applying for a grant from NPC National Process(ing) Center (NPC), a company that uses its expertise to help find people grants that are right for them in exchange for a fee. They seem to be legit but a good start would be to check with FAFSA first, if looking for a grant for education.
Found someone wanting to open a private school. These were their inquiries:
I want to be non-profit. I will need to apply for Christian Grants. I will charge tuition and a curriculum fee.
1. What is my first step?
How Do I register the name of the school?
What about Articles of Inc. and Bylaws?
2. Do I file for a Limited Liability?
3. Do I have to have Directors or can it be a Committie of 3-5 people?
4. How do I file for sales tax exempt?
Opening any business like this takes a lot of work and effort as well as knowing a lot of legal ins and outs. I suggest consulting with a professional. Maybe they can also help you find a Christian Grant to get off the ground.
A friend of mine wants to open a Christian Youth Center similar to a coffee house, where where high school/college/young adults can go to hang out, be part of a fellowship and receive God’s word and maybe hear bands play. He’s hoping to find some sort of Christan Grant to help him pay for the permits to get the buildings ready, etc.
When trying to accomplish something like this I think it’s always best to start at home and ask local churches for information. Also, here’s an interesting page to check out:
http://www.youthpastor.com/Resource/index.cfm/Club_Coffee_Houses.htm
You might have a chance of getting a farm grant to restore the property, etc, if it is listed on the National Register of Historic places. Check here to see how to list a property:
http://www.nps.gov/nr
A good place to start when looking for a Christian Grant for business would be your local churches.
One quick web site to find grants for education at is:
fastweb.com
I was talking to someone recently who was hoping that their small business grants, instead of grants for education, in Canada might help fund part of their education. They want to take a small course and then use their classes to help open a home based business.
This is unlikely. Usually a grant is specific in regards to what it will pay for.
If you are looking to go back to school and trying to find a grant for education or scholarships on the internet, the first place to start is FAFSA. There are also government grants websites.
By filling out the FAFSA forms you will get a financial aid letter like you were given from you school. This includes some scholarships, grants, and student loans. I have gotten several different kinds of grants simply by filling out the fafsa, but checking around you’ll find lots of other sites to help you find grant money.
Anyone wondering where to find grants for education, or especially a business, could start with the following links:
www.busineelink.co.uk, www.princestrust.co.uk, www.startups.co.uk.
My friend’s daughter wants to take a class at an on line college. She is working towards a associates degree in animal science to obtain a licence as a veterinary technician. It’s a two year course that will cost $4,000.00. Most on line colleges don’t accept grants. They are hoping to find a grant where the money will be sent directly to them so that they can pay the college.
There are three primary sources of educational grants - the federal government, the states, and the schools themselves. Amongst the three, the federal government is far and away the largest provider of these grants.
If your daughter hopes to qualify for a federal grant, she will need to attend school at an institution that is a participant in the federal aid system. All schools of higher education are eligible to apply, but there are lengthy list of qualifications - so not every school is part of the system. To be honest, that’s a red flag of warning, because the “good” schools can all meet the list of qualifications. You should be cautious about a school that can not.
A participating institution is only the first step - now you have to consider the qualifications of your daughter, rather than your daughter’s school. You’ve indicated that your daughter wants to “take a class”, but unfortunately, there are no federal educational grants that support “taking a class”. To be eligible for aid, your daughter must be a fully admitted student in a program that leads to a degree or certificate. The government offers assistance for students who are studying to become a registered nurse assistant, for example, but they do not offer assistance to someone who wants to take an online class in “Accounting methodology”. The only way to qualify would be to sign up for a degree or certification program.
As for state and institutional aid - the news is pretty much the same. Almost every one of the states qualifies students for financial aid using the same FAFSA form that the federal government uses - and they base their aid offers on that same Department of Education analysis of your financial circumstances. It’s unlikely that a state would offer you aid if the federal government did not.
Institutional aid comes from “excess funds” that the school sets aside to attract particularly promising applicants who might otherwise not be able to attend. Generally speaking, you’ll find that kind of aid at expensive private universities (think Harvard, Stanford and USC), and not at online colleges.
