It’s generally assumed that veterans have a sweet deal with all kinds of school benefits and educational grants. The reality, though, is that there are various programs and qualifying factors that mean that some can receive educational grants, while others struggle to pay off hefty student loans, just as civilians do.

If you are an American homeowner whose mortgage is (or was) with Ally Financial, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, or JP Morgan Chase, you’ll be interested in this news. You may be eligible for part of a financial settlement to help avoid foreclosure. The settlement will provide as much as $25 billion in relief to distressed borrowers and direct payments to states and the federal government.

You need money to fulfill your business, education, or real estate goals. The best option for each of these is a government grant. But sometimes you may either be waiting for grant money or find that you need to supplement the free government grant. What do you do? One of the next best choices is a low-interest or no-interest loan. Here’s why these are great deals for you.

Student loan consolidation is the process of taking multiple outstanding loans and reorganizing them into a single loan, sometimes with a longer repayment period and therefore a lower monthly payment. If you’re in serious debt and ineligible for student loan forgiveness, consolidation could offer the solution you need. Here’s what you need to know.

Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism advocacy and science organization, today announced that it has awarded $450,000 in grants for two projects focused on developing independent functioning and increased participation in community life for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

The Pet Fund is a registered 501(c) 3 nonprofit association that provides financial assistance to owners of domestic animals in the United States who need veterinary care. Find out how!

If you’re an American who lives in a rural county, you may be eligible to get a government grant to help your housing situation. The Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program (RHSP) is designed to provide assistance for rural counties to re-house or improve the housing situations of individuals and families who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or in the worst housing situations, stabilize the housing of individuals and families who are at risk of becoming homeless, and improve the ability of the lowest-income residents to afford stable housing.

Another article, A Good Grant Proposal Tells a Story, describes the benefits of creating an interesting narrative in your grant proposal. Briefly, you get a grant more easily if your proposal tells a story. Most of us are not born storytellers, so we need to learn the elements of a good story, the order to present them, the purpose of each, and how to convey them all in the most effective way.

One type of government grant that local government like to make available are community grants. They are awarded to neighbourhood organizations for the purpose of making the local community safer, cleaner, and more pleasant. Sometimes, neighborhoods will compete for limited funds by describing how they plan to use the grant money to make an impact on the livability of their area.

Grants are often designated for specific groups of people, and one group that receives many different types of funding are the older members of our society. One of the most basic needs for a senior is having a safe, secure energy-efficient home. Government grants for real estate (also called government grants for properties in some places).

What does microfinance lending have to do with the small entrepreneur, the independent contractor, or self-employed? It turns out, plenty.

Have you ever heard of microfinance? You might have, especially insofar as the developing world goes. Traditionally, microfinance has occurred in third-world countries where, say, a farmer gets a $100 loan to buy some cows so as to become self- sufficient. That’s microfinance.

Students from a high school in Decatur, Ga. got the surprise of a lifetime last week. Southwest DeKalb High School gathered 14 scholarship applicants on April 18 to learn which one of them had been chosen as the recipient of the scholarship — they all believed there would be only one winner. See what happens next.

Picture the typical college or university student. You probably envisioned a teenage or twenty-ish kid who’s living it up at college, Animal House-style. Well, it may be time to rethink that. The average age of the college students has been rising, mostly due to adults returning to school. What are called “non-traditional” or “mature” students are becoming more the norm now.

Jackpot! You received notice that you have already qualified for a grant, one that you didn’t even apply for. A company that you’re not familiar with is selflessly notifying people that the government wants to give them grants they didn’t even ask for. The reasons given that you qualify for this grant may vary from “because you’re a taxpayer” to “as a citizen, you’re entitled to….”

How do you help make a healthy community even healthier?

Recent research from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation suggests that sometimes our zip code can have a bigger impact on our health than our genetic code.

In other words, much of what influences our health happens outside the doctor’s office, in our communities. Community factors, such as safety, access to healthy foods and recreational spaces, and the support of families and social networks, undeniably contribute to our health. Where we are born and raised, plus where we live and work, matter to our health. Yet too many kids are growing up in communities that put barriers to good health in front of them.

This guide provides detailed insights and resources on the following topics and more:

• Cyberattacks
• Business continuity
• Making a disaster recovery plan
• Determining your greatest risk potential
• Additional steps to take to protect your business

You may find yourself one day needing a lawyer but are not sure how you’ll pay the expensive legal fees. You may be able to receive the help you need, courtesy of the government. You can get a volunteer or government-paid lawyer to provide legal assistance if you would otherwise have trouble paying for legal services. In other cases, though, you may qualify for help, regardless of your income level. In some circumstances, the

Sometimes your business needs quick money to start, expand, acquire inventory, or take advantage of a golden opportunity. If you’re a small online retailer, though, banks sometimes are not as inclined to work with you, and their decision-making can be slow. In addition, although government grants for small business can be a good way to get funding, sometimes you may need money right now.