Grants, free resources, and scholarships

Welcome. You are in the right place, and you do not need experience to begin. Go in this order:

1. Pick your situation below. Choose the door that sounds like your life right now. You may choose more than one. There is no wrong door.
2. Read "How grants work" so the words make sense before you meet them on an official page.
3. Read the nine steps for writing any grant. Every category on this page follows those same nine steps.
4. Open your category and follow its walkthrough exactly, one step at a time. Each listing names who can apply first — read that before anything else.
5. Apply only on the official site named. Save a copy of everything you send, and keep the confirmation.

If reading is hard, or forms are hard, the Helper Apply Service near the bottom of this page explains how a trusted helper can do the paperwork with you — free, and only with your consent.

• What a grant is: money given for a specific purpose that does not get paid back — as long as you follow its rules and use it for what you promised.
• Who gives grants: the federal government, state and local governments, foundations, companies, and community organizations.
• The one door for federal grants: Grants.gov — a free search of every federal grant opportunity. (Source: Grants.gov, the official U.S. government grants portal.)
• Read eligibility first. Every grant has an eligibility section, inside its Notice of Funding Opportunity (called the NOFO). Read it before you write a single word. Most federal grants are for organizations — governments, school districts, colleges, community and faith-based organizations, tribal organizations, and some businesses. Very few are open to individuals, and none of them give personal financial assistance.
• Personal help is not a grant. For food, housing, health, bills, and cash help, the real door is benefits. Start at the USA.gov Benefit Finder — free, anonymous, about ten minutes, and it does not ask for your name or Social Security number. (Source: USA.gov.)

These nine steps are used by every category on this page. Take them slowly. One step at a time.

1. Find the grant on its official source only. Write down its exact name, who gives it, the deadline, and the amount range.
2. Read the eligibility section first. If you are not eligible, stop. Do not pay anyone who says they can "fix" that — they cannot.
3. Write down, in plain words: who you are, what the need is, exactly what the money would do, who it helps, and how you will prove it was used right.
4. Gather the papers it asks for before you start — identification, income proof, or organization papers if it is an organization grant. Each listing below names its papers.
5. Fill in the application on the official site only. Save a copy of everything you send.
6. Send it before the deadline. Keep the confirmation number or email.
7. If more information is asked for, answer only through the official site or office — never through a stranger who contacts you.
8. If you are accepted: follow the grant's rules exactly, keep every receipt, and file any report it asks for on time. This is how grants get accepted again.
9. If you are not accepted: that is normal, and it happens to almost everyone. Read any reason given, fix that one thing, and apply again in the next round or to the next matching grant.

HRSA Health Centers — care even with no insurance

Who can use this: anyone. Health centers funded by federal grants must see you regardless of insurance or ability to pay, and fees slide by income — at or below the poverty line, the visit is free or one small set fee.

1. Open Find a Health Center. (Source: Health Resources & Services Administration, hrsa.gov.)
2. Put in your ZIP code or city.
3. Call the center and say you have no insurance or low income, and ask for the sliding-fee scale.
4. Bring identification and any income proof you have. If you have none, say so — they will still help you start.
5. Ask them to help you check Medicaid at the same visit.

Medicaid and CHIP — free or low-cost health coverage

Who can apply: people with limited income; CHIP covers children. You can apply any time of year.

1. Go to HealthCare.gov and choose your state. (Source: HealthCare.gov.)
2. Fill in your household and income.
3. Send the application.
4. Keep the decision letter that comes back.

Organization health grants

Who can apply: clinics, community organizations, and faith-based organizations running health programs. Find them in the health category at Grants.gov and follow the nine steps, reading the NOFO eligibility first.

The true starting fact

The U.S. Small Business Administration does not give grants to start or expand a business. Anyone promising that is misleading you. SBA grants go to organizations that train and counsel business owners — and SBA's own help, including counseling at Small Business Development Centers, is free. (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, sba.gov/funding-programs/grants.)

SBIR / STTR — the real federal business-grant path

Who can apply: small for-profit businesses with fewer than 500 employees, doing research and new ideas.

1. Open sbir.gov. (Source: the official SBIR/STTR portal.)
2. Search the open topics for your idea.
3. Read the topic's eligibility and dates.
4. Register your business the way the topic requires.
5. Write the proposal in the topic's exact format.
6. Send before the deadline, and keep your confirmation.

STEP — State Trade Expansion Program

Who can apply: small businesses that want to sell in other countries. The money flows through your state government. Find your state's STEP office from the SBA grants page, ask for its current application, and apply through the state only.

More doors

Watch the business category at Grants.gov as opportunities open, and use the nine steps. Free help while you work: SBA counseling and your local Small Business Development Center, and SCORE's free mentoring. These are named as resources only. This app is not in partnership with any company or organization named here, and receives no money for naming them.

There is no federal personal cash grant. Offers of one are the Federal Trade Commission's named scam. The real personal help is benefits, and it is free to apply for. Start with the USA.gov Benefit Finder, then:

1. Answer its questions about your household and income — no name or Social Security number is needed for the screening.
2. Write down the programs it lists for you: food (SNAP), housing help, utility bills (LIHEAP), health, disability, jobs, veterans, families, retirement.
3. Apply for each one only through the agency it names.
4. Dial 2-1-1 from any phone for local help no federal list shows — free, confidential, 24 hours a day.

No food today

Find a food bank or pantry through the Feeding America locator (Source: Feeding America) or by dialing 2-1-1. Many pantries ask for little or no information; federal TEFAP food requires no identification, only being under the income limit. Ask the pantry nearest you: "Do I need ID or papers to receive food?" If they ask for anything you do not have, ask 2-1-1 for the next pantry — rules differ by pantry.

Food for your family, ongoing

SNAP (food money on a card) and WIC (food for mothers, babies, and young children), through your state. Use the Benefit Finder first, then apply through your state office. A library worker or a 2-1-1 worker can sit with you and help fill it in, free.

No home

Dial 2-1-1 and say, "I need a safe place tonight." Take the shelter or program they name. At the shelter, ask for a case worker — they help with housing lists, documents, and benefits every day. For longer-term housing, ask about housing help and vouchers through your local housing authority. (Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development programs, through your local housing authority.)

Children you cannot provide for

WIC and SNAP for food; free or reduced school meals through your child's school office (approval is based on income — just ask); CHIP or Medicaid for children's health; and TANF cash help for families through your state. For each one: Benefit Finder first, then the named state program, applied for with the office's free help.

Low income, or you lost your job

The Benefit Finder covers food, housing, and utility bills (LIHEAP for heating and cooling). If you lost a job, unemployment benefits come through your state. Free job help, in person, with no fee ever: CareerOneStop and American Job Centers. (Source: U.S. Department of Labor, careeronestop.org.)

Free resources that belong with this section

2-1-1, and your public library — free internet, free printing, and help finding official forms. If you have no phone and no internet, print this page at a library and carry it: every source named here can be reached by phone or in person.

• Life in danger right now: call 911.
• FEMA: after a declared disaster — temporary housing, home repair, and other serious needs. Open DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362. Give the disaster and your damage details, report any insurance you have, and keep your FEMA application number. (Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency.)
• American Red Cross: shelter, food, and recovery help after disasters and house fires — free, no application fee. (Source: redcross.org, "Get Help".)
• 2-1-1: local emergency shelter, food, and crisis help, 24 hours a day, free and confidential.
• 988: call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, free, 24 hours a day. This is emergency mental-health help, not a grant.

Shared for learning only from the named public source. Events may still be unfolding; check the source.

Vocational Rehabilitation — free help to work

Who can apply: people with disabilities who want to prepare for and get work. Services can include career counseling, training support, assistive technology, and workplace accommodations, through a plan you build with your counselor. It is services, not a check.

1. Find your state Vocational Rehabilitation agency. (Source: Rehabilitation Services Administration state list, rsa.ed.gov.)
2. Apply, and say what work you want to do.
3. Meet your counselor and build your plan together.
4. Follow the plan; the agency pays for the agreed services.

State Assistive Technology programs — try equipment before anyone pays

Who can use this: anyone who needs equipment — wheelchairs, communication devices, hearing and vision technology, home changes. These programs offer free demonstrations and short-term device loans, and help finding funding. Find your state program, ask to try the device first, and ask them to map every funding source for it — Medicaid, Vocational Rehabilitation, school, or other sources — before you pay anything.

ABLE accounts — save without losing benefits

Who can open one: a person whose blindness or disability began before age 46 (from January 1, 2026), for disability expenses — housing, transport, education, health, assistive technology — without losing SSI or Medicaid eligibility; SSI is protected up to the first $100,000 saved.

1. Open the ABLE National Resource Center. (Source: ablenrc.org.)
2. Compare your state's program.
3. Open the account in the disabled person's name.
4. Save and spend only on qualified disability expenses, and keep receipts.

SSI and SSDI — benefits, not grants

These are monthly disability benefits: SSI is based on need, SSDI on work history. Applying is free. (Source: Social Security Administration, ssa.gov/disability.) Use the Benefit Finder first if you are unsure. Apply online or at your local Social Security office. Keep every letter; if you are denied, appeal by the deadline on the letter — appeals are free.

iCanConnect — free communication equipment for combined hearing and vision loss

Who can apply: people with combined hearing and vision loss who meet the income rule (under 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines). Equipment and training — phones, computers, braille devices, signalers — are free.

1. Open icanconnect.org. (Source: the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program, supported by the Federal Communications Commission.)
2. Choose your state.
3. Complete the application with proof of combined loss and income.
4. Your equipment and training come through your state program.

CareerOneStop Scholarship Finder

Who can use this: anyone looking for money for school. A free search of more than 9,500 scholarships, fellowships, and grants. No sign-up fee, ever. (Source: U.S. Department of Labor, careeronestop.org.)

1. Open the Scholarship Finder.
2. Filter by level of study, location, and award type.
3. Write down each deadline — sponsors can change deadlines, so check the scholarship's own site before applying.
4. Apply on the sponsor's official site only.

FAFSA — the free application that opens federal student aid

Filling out the FAFSA is free, and it opens federal student aid, including Pell Grants — money that does not get paid back. (Source: studentaid.gov.)

1. Open studentaid.gov and create the account it asks for.
2. Fill in the FAFSA for your school year.
3. Send it to the schools you choose.
4. Read each school's aid letter carefully before accepting any loan. A grant is free. A loan is repaid.

Scholarship scam rule: real scholarships never charge an application fee and never guarantee a win. If they ask for money or guarantee money, close the page.

• Match the grant to the need exactly. Apply only where your purpose is the grant's purpose.
• Eligibility first. A perfect application from someone who is not eligible is always refused.
• Answer every question asked, in the order asked, with real numbers.
• Keep it plain and true. No exaggeration — funders check.
• Send early, keep proof of sending, and answer follow-ups fast, through the official channel only.
• After acceptance: use the money only for what you promised, keep receipts, and file reports on time.

A plain note for ministers and organizations

People say that, as a Minister, I can get many free grants. Here is the true path, said plainly: I have not taken money for anything in my ministry yet. Some organization grants are open to faith-based and community organizations; many require a nonprofit status. So the real work is the same for me as for you — read each opportunity's eligibility section first, and apply only where you truly fit. This page teaches the real path. It never promises money, to me or to anyone.

Most money programs will ask for ID at some point. Help that asks for little or nothing exists today — and there is a free path to get your documents back. Start where you are.

• Asks for little or nothing now: food pantries (many need no ID; TEFAP food needs no ID, only the income limit), Red Cross disaster help, shelters through 2-1-1, HRSA health centers (they will see you and help you start even if your papers are not in order — ask for the sliding-fee scale), and public libraries.
• Anonymous first step: the USA.gov Benefit Finder screening asks for no name and no Social Security number. You can learn what you may qualify for before showing anything to anyone.

Getting your documents back, in order

1. Birth certificate first — it unlocks the rest. Order a certified copy from the vital records office of the state where you were born; USA.gov teaches the process. If you cannot pay, ask a shelter or homeless-services agency: many waive the fee for people experiencing homelessness, and homeless ID projects in many cities do this whole process and cover fees. Find one through 2-1-1.
2. State ID next. Take the birth certificate to the motor vehicle office in the state where you are now. No home address? Many shelters let you use their address or give you a residency letter — ask the shelter staff. ID fees are often waived or reduced for people experiencing homelessness — ask the clerk directly.
3. Social Security card. A replacement is free through the Social Security Administration (ssa.gov or your local office) once you have ID. If you do not know your number, the office can look it up with other identifying information.
4. A helper can go with you — a case worker, a librarian, or a ministry helper. Print this list and carry it.

Print this section's checklist

Being denied is not the end

Read the reason on the letter. The deadline to appeal is printed on the letter. Appeals are free. Free help with an appeal: the agency itself, and Legal Aid through 2-1-1. Being denied once is not the end — fix the one thing named, and appeal or apply again.

Your deadline and papers checklist

For every grant or benefit you choose, keep one calm page: its name, its deadline, and each paper it needs. Keep it on paper, or in the records tool on the Identity page of this app, which lives only on your own device.

Report a scam

Report grant scams to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you already paid or shared information: tell your bank right away, and keep every message — those messages are evidence.

Our privacy promise

Your answers live on your own device, and this app never asks for your Social Security number, bank details, or documents. If a page ever asks for those in our name, it is not us.

Paperwork should never be the wall between a person and help. This is the service I am building toward, and pieces of it already exist in real life:

• Schools already do a version of it. Children in SNAP or Medicaid households are certified for free school meals automatically, with no application — and foster, homeless, migrant, and runaway children qualify automatically too. (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Direct Certification.)
• Hospitals already do a version of it. Qualified hospitals, health centers, schools, and community organizations can screen a patient on the spot and enroll them in temporary Medicaid the same day, then help with the full application. (Source: Medicaid Presumptive Eligibility.)
• The law already allows a helper. For SNAP, Medicaid, and LIHEAP, you may name an authorized representative — in writing, electronically, and in some places by recorded phone signature — who may complete, sign, and submit applications for you, receive notices, and file appeals. A guardian or power of attorney can act for someone who cannot act for themselves.

The One Consent design

1. One needs form, filled once — food, transportation, housing, health, disability, children — in every accessible format, riding along with the papers a person already fills in at a doctor's office or a school.
2. One consent, in your own way — by signature, by mark, by recorded verbal consent where the program allows it, by sign language with an interpreter, or by symbol tap — naming the agency as your representative only for the help you choose. You can take the consent back at any time.
3. The helper does the rest — matches you to the help in this section, fills each application, and submits it directly to the official giver. No third party. No fee.
4. You get a plain copy of everything submitted in your name, what was approved, and what comes next — in your format.
5. Renewal without starting over — checked once a year and changed only where life changed.
6. If you cannot consent yourself, a guardian, a power of attorney, or the program's own rules apply. A helper never invents consent.

Help Points

This service belongs everywhere a person has to go and say, "I need help": hospitals and clinics, courthouses, law-enforcement front desks (referral and application help — never a police record), libraries, shelters, churches and ministries, utility assistance desks, pharmacies, community centers, nursing homes, and — only if the tenant asks — apartment managers and landlords, for rental assistance and the help the tenant chose. The safeguards never bend: only if the person asks; the person gets a copy of everything; no Help Point is the only door — the free independent paths (2-1-1, Legal Aid, the official agencies) are always posted beside it; a helper may never charge, never condition housing on it, and never see more of a person's information than the application needs; and where a helper has a stake in the outcome, the person is routed to an independent helper instead.

The private computer path comes first

A human helper is only there if you ask for one. The first path is the computer: this app, on your own phone or on a tablet or computer at any Help Point. Answer in your own way — tapping, listening and speaking, signing, large print, or simple typing — one step at a time, with what happens next told to you first. The app prepares everything and sends you straight to the official place to submit. No person in the middle sees any of it.

The privacy clause stands at the start of every path: "This is private. What you put here stays on this device. This app does not save your information, does not send it to us, and does not share it with anyone. When you finish, everything you typed is cleared. You choose what to apply for. You can stop at any time, and stopping changes nothing for you."

By phone, and full paths for blind and Deaf people

• By phone (voice): one calm step at a time, slowly, with space between steps. You answer by speaking. Where a program allows a recorded phone signature, consent and signature happen on that same call. Confirmation comes back the way you choose.
• Blind and low-vision: the voice path is a full path, not a lesser one. In the app, everything also works by screen reader, with braille-ready and large-print copies of every form and checklist. No step exists only as a picture, and nothing here flashes or changes brightness suddenly.
• Deaf and hard of hearing: no step is voice-only. Do the whole application by text — typing or tapping — or by signing. The phone path is the text path: 711 relay and captioned-phone friendly, and the app's own text flow needs no call at all.
• People who sign can answer and consent in sign, not only watch signed guides. Sign is a language, and it leads.
• Language is the first choice in every path — before any question about your situation — and the choice carries through every step, the privacy clause, the forms, and the confirmations. At a Help Point, if you need a language the staff does not speak, this system carries the conversation in your language, and a live interpreter is offered as your choice for anything you must sign.
• Pause and come back: if a call drops or you must stop, your place is kept on your own device only, so you can finish later without starting over — and without telling anyone why you stopped.

One honest limit, stated plainly: nothing can be fully automatic with zero involvement for most programs — the law requires your consent and your truthful word. Anyone who says otherwise is breaking rules that can cost you your benefits. This app teaches and guides only. It does not give grants, does not decide applications, and cannot promise anyone will be approved. Every decision belongs to the official giver.