The first of the federal government’s Solar Towns Programme grants have been awarded to eight community groups across Tasmania.

The grants, capped at $20,000 each, provide for the purchase and installation of either rooftop solar PV, a solar hot water system, or a solar heat pump hot water system on existing buildings (one year or older) which provide support to the local community.

Foreword from Chris Johnson: On a personal note, I want to mention that I have a student, Jonghun L. in Connecticut, who received this same grant and used it properly. He operates a martial arts school in Connecticut and has put his funding to good use, helping at-risk kids.

A Forsyth County, Georgia woman will spend time in federal prison after being convicted of submitting fake government grant applications worth $600,000.

A community issue that is common throughout many countries is the problem of disconnected youth. What “disconnected” means in this sense, is a sense of alienation from the family or community, or both. This creates challenges for the youth, the family, schools, neighborhoods, law enforcement, and more.
It’s an important issue, which is why government grant money is

People who buy a clean energy vehicle — including some electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in British Columbia will be eligible for a rebate of up to $6,000, the B.C. government announced.

The incentive program will provide B.C. residents with up to $5,000 off the pre-tax sticker price for new battery electric, fuel-cell electric, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and up to $6,000 for a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle

Do you have a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) for your child? Remember the age 15 deadline if you have not yet opened an RESP for your child. If your child was born in 1999, this is the year to open an RESP and deposit $2,000 before Dec. 31. You will be rewarded with a $500 matching federal government grant for 2014.

For a newly opened RESP with a 15-year-old beneficiary, you must deposit at least $2,000 in 2014 to qualify for grants in 2015 and 2016. By making optimum catch-up RESP deposits of $5,000 in each of the following two years, you can earn up to $2,000 of federal grants.

If you do nothing in 2014, then in 2015, when your child turns 16, you’d be too late for a government grant for a first-time RESP deposit.

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.

I get a lot of questions about government grant proposals, and I’ve reviewed a fair number of them. I’ve seen some instances where people want to make a grand political statement as part of their government grant request or making the basis of their funding request kind of a pushback against some public policy that they don’t agree with.

$9 million in federal grants will soon be going toward Michigan advanced vehicle technology projects. The federal government is giving grant money to eight Michigan projects focused on developing advanced vehicle technologies, with a particular focus on better fuel efficiency, the office of U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D – Mich.) announced Wednesday.

American cities looking to be more innovative in how they address local issues can now get a helping hand from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s charitable foundation.

Bloomberg Philanthropies on Wednesday is announcing that it’s putting $45 million into Innovation Delivery grants. The grants are to help cities create teams that use data and other tools to come up with ideas for how to tackle problems.

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!

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).

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor announced the availability of up to $35.5 million to help communities and workers successfully adapt to changes in the coal industry and power sector. The grant is being made available as part of the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization initiative — known as POWER — led by the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Agency.

Special Olympics BC – Ridge Meadows athletes will benefit from a $21,000 community gaming grant, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Doug Bing announced Wednesday.

SOBC Ridge Meadows is a non-profit sport organization providing individuals living with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to enhance their lives and celebrate personal achievement through positive sport experiences.

A $45 million government grant called the Ontario Music Fund has been allocated to help out the music industry in the province. As reported in the Toronto Star, the three-year government grant plan will help support the production, promotion, and distribution of Ontario-made music across the country and around the world. The proposal also aims to focus on promoting performance in the province. The project carries the slogan Music Makes Jobs.

Most of us are animal lovers. According to polls, a little more than 70% of respondents describe themselves this way. We love our pets and want to see that they are well cared for. It’s no surprise, then, that there is a lot of grant money that is allocated for animal welfare. The majority of this comes from foundations and individuals and goes to animal organizations.

Government grants are often used as a tool of social engineering for governments to encourage or accelerate some desired outcome. In the case of neighborhoods that are geared to undergo a renewal and renaissance, government grants are a way to encourage growth and rebuilding. The trick, though, can be to get the process started.

Vehicle manufacturers and the motor insurance industry are appealing to the Government to introduce measures to increase the take-up of autonomous emergency braking systems (AEBs) in cars.

Insurance research body Thatcham has lobbied the Government to introduce a cash incentive, similar to the existing electric vehicle grant, to anyone who specifies the system (that automatically applies the brakes when an oncoming collision is identified) when buying a new vehicle.

It’s been getting more dangerous to walk in the United States, but government grants may help ease the situation.

In 2012, the last year for which complete data are available, 4,743 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes. That total represented 14% of all traffic deaths that year; a decade earlier, pedestrian deaths had been 11% of all road fatalities. The 2012 total was a 6% increase over the previous year.