There are many great reasons to volunteer. If you’re in the United States, there’s a central resource where you can check for opportunities to serve others. It’s www.serve.gov, which is the United We Serve website. The idea is that Americans can individually help the economic recovery and do their part to restore unity in the country.

It might seem as though grant proposals are pretty cut-and-dried, without much latitude for how you express your ideas. This may seem especially true in the case of government grants, which have pretty definite and no-nonsense guidelines. I’ve written in more than one previous article that it’s important and necessary to adhere to the guidelines, or else risk disqualification.

One thing that many entrepreneurs have in common is a dread and distaste for the thought of writing a business plan. I want to change your mind about that and tell you why a good business plan can be one of the best friends your current or future business could possibly have. One of the most important things that you can know about a business plan is that you most likely will not get any funding for your business without one,

You’ve probably heard the old adage “Work Smarter, Not Harder.” This idea also applies to seeking governments grants. It’s entirely possible to work diligently, but have no success. Here are a few of the ways all your hard work can be wasted.

First are you applying to the right funder? Funding organizations are usually clear about what their funding priorities are, but even when they’re not, there are ways to find out. Why waste your time applying to a funder that will not fund your type of project?

How do you think a grant reviewer will see your proposal? Try putting yourself mentally in the place of the reviewer, keeping in mind that he or she has no emotional attachment to your idea, nor any prior background knowledge of why your project would be a good one.Here, we get some hints and insights from professional grant reviewers about what their preferences and pet peeves are (adapted from research by Purdue University).

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.

Just about everywhere you go, you’ll find community grants being offered. Community grants are offered to neighborhood groups, businesses, organizations, and sometimes to individuals for the purpose of improving a community. The community grants are seen as having a twofold purpose; they not only improve some aspect of a neighborhood, they also help bring together you and your neighbors, who might otherwise never really

We’re all eager to get government grants. (Hey, I’m no exception–I’ve gotten plenty of free government money for myself and my business, and always am on the lookout for more.) One of the most common questions is how to apply for it. Well, the answer is, it depends. Let me explain. You may already know that there are many, many funding programs out there, and they have their own ways of matching their available funding with deserving recipients.

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.

In a previous article, I told you how some questionable companies may try to convince you that you have automatically been awarded a grant, even though you hadn’t applied for one. Some people were interested to find out more, including what to watch out for and who might be targeted. We’ll take a look at what some of the possible signs are that tell you to beware, and also see whether you may be vulnerable to being targeted.

It’s unquestionably a huge disappointment to work hard on your grant proposal, only to have it not be chosen. At this point you can either become discouraged and give up, or you can use the rejection as a learning experience. Most proposals are rejected. Given the large numbers of proposals that are submitted, that is a reality of the process. However, you can try to pinpoint the reason in several ways:

Looking for money for your UK-based company? In this article, Phil Mitchell provides some tips for securing business funding in the UK and explains what he calls the RAPP process.

There are many opportunities for businesses to obtain free support and grants, both at start-up and during growth and development. However, keeping up to date with what is available is a task in itself, with schemes appearing and disappearing on a regular basis. Competition is high and success does not come easy. However, if you follow the RAPP process when applying for grants and support, you will improve your chance of success.

If you are having difficulty deciding whether or not to hire a grant writer, below are some pros and cons that can help you decide what is right for you. One advantage of hiring a writer to assist you with putting together your proposal is that it can mean faster results. The basic job of a grant writer is to complete your work based on your financial strategy in a timely manner.