Free Money Ate My Brain

Where to Look for Burial Funding Assistance

2012-01-28T00:33:00.000-05:00

Providing the poor with a decent,dignified burial is one of the oldest social services on earth. If you need help with the expenses of buryinga loved one, here are some places to look:

--If your locality has a 211 agency referral number, call ask the referal experts to see if there are any agencies that provide burial expenses. Go to the website and put in your city or zip code.

--Your state's social service agency. Some help with burial expenses for poorpeople.

--Social security. There is a small lump sum amount at the deathof a Social Security recipient ($255).

--Was the deceased a veteran? Besides VA benefits, some states have burialfunds for veterans

--Did they die as the result of acrime? Some states have benefits for those who have died as the result of a crime

--Religious organizations. If you area member of a church or denomination, they may help the burial of indigentpeople in that faith.

--If the deceased is a child, there areorganizations that assist in funding the burial of children in parts of theU.S. The Unforgettables helps withfuneral expenses of children in Orange County, San Bernadino and Riverside,California. AMT Children of Hope, basedin the New York City area, works to prevent the abandonment of infants, butalso provides assistance for the burial of children. Child Burial Assistance Inc. of Georgia alsohelps child burials in that state.

--The angels of Aidpage came up with another winner: a page full of suggestions on burial financial help.

.--In New York, there is a guide for burial assistance options. Although it’s dated (2002), it may give you an idea of where to go for help. There’s also assistance for New York City residents of up to $900 and an application online.

Low-Cost or Free Furniture, Housing Materials, Appliances or Fixtures

2012-01-23T10:23:00.000-05:00

The story today in the Toledo Blade on the opening of Habitat for Humanity's new ReStore in the Toledo area sparked my interest in low-cost home materials and furnishings. Habitat for Humanity, it turns out, has ReStore locations around the country, with donated new and "gently used" home building materials, fixtures and other home items. Profits from the stores are used to finance Habitat for Humanity projects. If you're in need of these things, you might want to check it out.

Another possibility, especially if you need furniture and are in dire need--say, if you have had a disaster--is a local furniture bank. There is a directory of them around the country, by, of course, Furniture Banks of America.

Finally, there's Freecycle, a movement around the country of people who are just getting rid of stuff for free. Try their website and see if there is a group near you.

Finding financial help in Cincinnati, or Asking for it Anywhere on Aidpage

2012-01-21T00:52:00.001-05:00

In my time of blogging andwebmistressing about financial help for individuals, I have found local siteswith more in-depth resources than this blog could provide to a whole country. That’s because most real financial help is infact locally-based, even if the funding in some cases, comes from the federalgovernment. In Detroit, Julie’s Listkeeps up an impressive list of local resources for those needing emergencyfinancial help as well as those attempting to save a buck, or get a job, insoutheast Michigan.

In Cincinnati, there is also a localpage, Cincy Benefits and Resources by Cincinnati VA Medical Center. While it has a couple of dead links (and some dates listed are distressingly...dated), it haslots of local things that could be checked out that are more relevant to QueenCity people—and those from nearby northern Kentucky—than a broader nationalsource. For instance, low-cost carrepair, dental clinics, and computers for low-income people. Cincy Benefits promises to have more fromnearby Indiana in a future edition.

Nationally, a website called Aidpageallows individuals to sign up and put their needs to the public ingeneral. You just create a free accountand post your needs, or offer advice or encouragement for others. I featured a particularly useful Aidpage contributionin a previous posting on computers for low-income people.

Often, postings involveinformation on concrete help for a particular situation—burial expenses, moneyto help with an emergency need, etc.—but sometimes people simply encourage andpray for each other. Or, as in theexample I cited with computers, there are large postings on generalissues. The site’s administrators—fromthe company People Networks Inc.—stress the need to keep yourself anonymous by not using your real name, address, or email. Thus you can encourage and advise other people while keeping yourselfsafe and unspammed. It’s a verydifferent one-on-one approach from my librarianish blog and website, and onethat you might want to consider using if you have a particular need, or if youwant to offer your expertise to others in need.

Ohio Makes More People Eligible for Foreclosure Help

2012-01-16T21:06:00.003-05:00

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency is making it easier for more homeowners to get financial help if they are in danger of foreclosure in that state. More people are now eligible for help Among the changes:
•An increase in the amount of liquidassets a homeowner are allowed to have; now up to 6 month’s payment expenses instead of3. NOTE: the eligibility page still has3 months—it hasn’t been updated. Talk tothe person at the toll free number.
•Homeowners residing in manufacturedhomes titled as real estate are now eligible
•Homeowners who have a discharged Chapter7 are now eligible even if they did not reaffirm their mortgage, subject toapproval by their mortgage servicer;
•Homeowners who have missed mortgagepayments but are now able to make payments on their own may access up to$25,000 to reinstate their mortgages; and
•Homeowners who are unemployed andunderemployed may receive full mortgage payments for up to 15 months or$20,000.
If you are an Ohio homeowner in any danger of losing your home through foreclosure, see the webpage for help, as soon as possible or call 888-404-4674 for more information.

Helping Veterans Find Unclaimed Funds

2012-01-12T21:53:00.001-05:00

We have a post with all sorts of good stuff on finding unclaimed money the state, federal, and local government owes toyou. But there's other little odds and ends out there we never knew about.

Did you know, for example, that there have been savings bonds for service members as compensation for accumulated but unsused military leave, as well as Adjusted Service Bonds? Go to the bottom of the page, and find a form to apply for these bonds if they are owed to you.

There's also a way to search for unclaimed Servicemember's Group Life Insurance (SGLI) or Veterans's Group Life Insurance (VGLI). They can contact the Office of Servicemember's Group Life Insurance at (800) 419-1473 or see more at this website for VGLI and SGLI. There is also a Veteran's Unclaimed Insurance Funds database, which includes death awards, dividend checks and premium refunds owed to missing current and former policyholders or beneficiaries from other veterans' and servicemen's life insurance, and it can be searched here.

Free Legal Clinic for Businesses in Toledo

2012-01-09T06:26:00.000-05:00

Last summer we had a post on free legal help that businesses could get. In Toledo, ABLE is sponsoring a free legal clinic for small businesses on February 15, 2012 at 6 p.m. at 2200 Jefferson (First Floor, the McAuley Room). In it, you can talk to lawyers and get legal advice on all sorts of legal business topics--intellectual property, contracts, real estate, regulation, and more--but you must pre-register and fill out an intake form. To do so, or get more information, contact Anneliese Gryta at 419-930-2380 or email her at agryta@ablelaw.org.

Find a Foreclosed Property From One of the Bigger Holders (Fannie Mae)

2012-01-06T20:39:00.003-05:00

The foreclosure crisis has sparked an interest in finding foreclosed properties, either as an investment or a personal residence. One of the bigger holders of such properties is Fannie Mae, the quasi-federal agency that originated many home loans. They own thousands of properties, and have created some ways of listing and financing them that they hope will make it easier for buyers to take them off their hands. While foreclosed homes are subject to the same (ridiculous) urban legends about pennies-on-the-dollar buys, there may be one worth your while.

Their website for houses, as well as financing, is Homepath. You can search for homes by city, state, or zipcode, by price range, and features like beds and baths. You are shown homes that fit your criteria, with more features, and links to Neighborhood Navigator with information on schools and economic features of the surrounding neighbhorhood.

There is also a tab on financing through Homepath. You don't have to finance through them, but there are some interesting features: if you have a credit score of at least 660, you may put down as little as 3% downpayment, and the down payment could come from a gift, grant, or loan from a nonprofit (for some ideas on where to get this, see this link). The seller may be able to contribute more to the closing costs, and mortgage insurance may not be required. Also, some homes are eligible for a Homepath Renovation Loan, which allows you to loan not only the purchase price, but money towards the rennovation of the house, if necessary. Also, under the First Look Program, personal residential buyers get the first shot at homes for 15 days (30 in Nevada), after which investors get a crack at a home.

Of course, nothing in here is an "automatic bargain," but it offers you more options. The houses are pretty much sold "as is," so an inspection by a professional that you hire is strongly recommended. If you need help sorting out your options, you could contact a HUD certified housing counselor to show you your best bets. More on this via HSH.

Help in Ohio For Homeowners Behind in Their Property Taxes

2012-01-02T11:40:00.000-05:00

Like I wrote about a week ago, some stuff just falls in my lap. As I was opening my property tax bill yesterday, piece of paper from Toledo's Fair Housing Center fell out. It said that starting January 1, 2012, people who are behind in their property taxes--even if they don't have a mortgage--may be eligible for help through Ohio's Restoring Stability program.

That's right. The nationwide program is designed to help stabilize the value of neighborhoods around the country, and in the state of Ohio, this is interpreted to mean helping out homeowners who are in danger of losing their houses because of missed property taxes, as well as missed mortgage payments. The help comes in the form of a a zero-interest, deferredpayment loan that will be forgiven over five years, as long as you do notrefinance or sell your home. That means if you hang onto the home for five years, you will not have to repay it. If you do sell or refinance within five years, youwill need to repay the loan from the net proceeds of the sale.

If you are in the Toledo area, call the Toledo Fair Housing Center at 419-243-6163. For more information on the program, see the webpage on the Restoring Stability program and find out how it can help you. If you live in the rest of Ohio, call 888-404-4674 to find a counselor near you who can tell you if you qualify for any home-saving programs.

Filing Your 2012 Taxes Online...For Free

2011-12-30T22:46:00.001-05:00

There are lots of come-ons for online tax filing services that promise to get you quick refunds, as well as for tax preparation software that can help you. In truth, many people are entitled to free tax help. In a previous post, I discussed face-to-face tax assistance that low and moderate income people can get, and where to find it.

You can also efile for free at any income level at the IRS website for efiling. However, this site does not become active until January 17, 2012. If you want to get a jump on this, you can file a federal tax for for free on this site by TaxACT.com. It's a commercial site, but the basic vanilla service for federal returns is in fact free for every income level. However, if you want fancier services like state returns, importing your old returns, etc., you can get these for additional fees.

Here's some distinctions in IRS free efiling services: the IRS allows anyone at any income level to file for free, but people with an adjusted gross income of less than $58,000 can also have a choice of free software to help them. But you must wait until January 17, 2012 to file for 2011. If you can hold off that long--and have an adjusted gross income of less than $58,000--you can have access to free software to help you with your efiling. Good (free) things come to those who can wait a few weeks.

The Tax Break Just for Poor and Moderate Income People...The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

2011-12-27T06:23:00.001-05:00

People are now thinking about filing taxes for the past year. Please remember that if you are a low-income person, or even a moderate income person supporting children or a permanently disabled person, you may qualify for the earned income tax credit. It may be worth looking into.

You can start looking into the EITC on this page. It's the overview of the program. If you dig around a little you can find this page that gives you the income limits and maximum tax credits for the tax year 2011 (the one you are going to file for in early 2012). It's frustrating, because as of December 27, 2011, the page only had a EITC assistant up to the tax year 2010. But if you try the page later, it may have a more current EITC assistant.

As noted, you don't have to have children to qualify for this if your earned income is low enough. Here, you can find out what qualifies as "earned income." You can also find out who qualifies as an eligible child for EITC purposes here. And if you are supporting a permanently disabled child of any age, they may count as an eligible child.

However, you can't get the tax credit if you don't file--and you must file for the credit to get it. For couples filing jointly with three or more qualifying children (and incomes up to more than $49,000), they may be able to get a credit of over $5,000. Who wants to leave that kind of money on the table? Of all the "free money" hype, this one is real, and really helps people who need it. Look into your earned income tax credit options.

Free and Low-Cost Help With Taxes and IRS Audits and Disputes

2011-12-23T23:48:00.004-05:00

Soon we will be gearing up to make out tax forms, or have some smart person do it for us. The nonprofit groups that have gotten VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) grants from the feds will be gearing up to take appointments from now until the middle of April. How do you find these places?

In many places like Toledo, you can call 211 and set up appointments after the first of the year. In fact, at the ONE Village Financial Center in north Toledo, you can call 419-724-5640 and set up an appointment right now. If you worked in 2011, and made less than $50,000, you are eligible for free tax preparation from United Way of Toledo. Call 211 or 1-800-650-HELP (4357) to set up an appointment.
While the final list of VITA sites and times are being created right now, when tax season comes, you can call toll-free at 1-800-906-9887 to find a location near you. For more information, check this website. This number will also give you the locations and times of volunteers who work on the tax returns of older people on a volunteer basis(Tax Counseling for the Elderly). Remember to call early; VITA tax sites are often booked to the hilt early, and you may be left out. AARP has a similar website and hotline for volunteer tax services for older Americans. Either check the website between late January and the middle of April, or call 1-888-227-7669.

Another place to check for tax help if you live in Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas is the Benefit Bank website. Put in your zip code, and find out the places nearest to you where low and moderate income people can get free tax application help.

Besides this, there are some nonprofit organizations that offer to represent low-income people (those who make less than 250% of the poverty guidelines), in audits and disputes with the IRS. See this webpage to find the one near you. It has the income limits for clients they will represent in tax cases, state by state, phone numbers and cities for each location and a list of languages that they can provide translation for in the case of clients who do not speak English.

SSI for Ex-Cons: This One Just Fell in My Lap

2011-12-19T05:14:00.002-05:00

In my day (only) job as a librarian, I'm used to colleagues pulling my fat out of the fire, and am mighty grateful for it. The other day, a gentleman came up to the reference desk asking for legal cites, some of which looked downright weird. He could not say exactly where he had gotten these--they were all written in a lengthy, handwritten letter, but he was vague about where it came from. So I decided to take the lazy shortcut now available through Google, and put in one of the cites: "Public Law 93.365.92.603."

What came up in Google was this from Snopes, the urban legend debunker site, and a personal favorite. It was a posting by a librarian who was given a very similar email twice in one week, with a lot similar "information"--about how these laws could be shown to Social Security offices so that ex-offenders could get their immediate SSI payment, which they could get within 72 hours. I have family members on SSI, and can testify that you can't get ANY check in that time frame. Then, the email instructs you to go to the "general welfare" office in your state, to get a check issued in two hours. Again, I've had relatives on assistance, and one actually had to wait twice that long for her worker to meet with her, much less get a check. And the "medical card" that should be able to "be used at any doctor's office?" Please. That ain't happening. Ex-offenders have to apply for and use the medical services for the poor available in your area like anyone else.

They go on to list a whole bunch of other stuff that you should be able to charge up: car expenses, work tools, "casual clothes," Again, these are not "benefits." There are some nonprofits that work to help with a used car or repairs, or with work clothing, etc. But these are things provided--when they are--by a patchwork of community groups, WHEN they have money available.

The part of the email closest to the truth involves tax credits available to employers who hire ex-offenders and other specific groups of hard-to-employ people. Even so, this is not immediate help.

What can ex-offenders do? Largely, they have to use the same social services that everybody else does. There are places around the country that try to put ex-offenders in touch with the right people, and who know the right agencies to tap. Here's a whole roundup of what I have been able to find that can help ex-offenders, including getting help on expungement.

As the librarian in the posting points out, the legal references in this email are not true, or not valid, or just weird. But apparently some version of this letter is still floating around 11 years after snopes knocked it down. If you get it, don't believe it.

New Consumer Hotline for Mortgage and Credit Card Complaints

2011-12-16T21:30:00.000-05:00

The feds have created a new place for homeowners with mortgage complaints to contact and (hopefully) get them resolved. This includes escrow disputes, mortgage modification issues, or mortgage fraud. you can go online to www.consumerfinance.gov, or call toll-free 1-855-411-2372. It was created through the Dodd-Frank banking law that passed in 2010. What can they do for you? They are supposed to mediate complaints, and if a complaint isn't within their sphere of power, they will refer you to an appropriate agency.

They also field credit card disputes. If you run into your very own "Peggy," or have other credit card problems that can't be resolved you can file a complaint.

It's got other good stuff: a page on student debt--with information to know BEFORE you get into student debt, and an online "assistant" to walk you through your options now that you have a ton of student debt.

Other places you might want to go if you have mortgage or credit card issues: your own state consumer protection office, or your state's attorney general office.

More Unclaimed Funds on the County Level

2011-12-12T21:56:00.002-05:00

In our wide hunt for unclaimed funds we presented a post that showed how to find the state and federal unclaimed funds. But did that fill the bill? No. Because we found a whole new source.

Besides money that you may be owed by a federal agency, state agency or which you might merely have innocently abandoned from a bank account or insurance claim, county government can apparently owe you money. According to an article in the Toledo Blade, the Lucas County auditor now has an unclaimed funds website where you can search for monies owed from jury duty, court settlements, restitution, and from the county itself. You can then apply for the money. You need the form (and if you can't print one off the website, you can call 419-213-4406 and have them mail you a form. Anyone who does not have access to a computer can call the same number and get help in searching for their claim.

If you live elsewhere, it might be worth your while to see if your local county auditor has an unclaimed funds office for the same information.

Tax Credits that Might Attract Investment Money to Your Business

2011-12-09T20:35:00.001-05:00

Money is hard to find for new andexpanding businesses, but some is out there. One form of investment (remember: NOT free money. Remember our motto: if money were easy to get everybody wouldhave lots of it) is “equity investment.” Simply put, it means that an investor buys a part of your business inexchange for the infusion of cash. Thisis opposed to a loan, in which money is loaned for a particular rate ofinterest. Equity investments are riskierbecause while there is a legal guarantee of responsibility to pay the debt,equity investors may see their investment crash and burn without getting apenny. How then, can the government makethis more attractive? By giving a tax credit.

This is called “tax equity.” As described by the U.S. Partnership forRenewable Energy Resources:

“’Tax equity’ is a term that is usedto describe a passive ownership interest in an asset or a

project, where an investor receives areturn based not only on cash flow from the asset or

project but also on federal and stateincome tax benefits (tax deductions and tax credits). Tax

equity investors are usually largetax‐paying financial entities such as banks, insurance

companies and utility affiliates thatuse these investments to reduce future tax liabilities. Tax

equity is distinct from traditional“corporate equity,” where an investor makes an active

investment and is actively involvedin corporate governance.”

That’s what the state of Ohio is now offeringfor small businesses and investors. The Department of Development unveiled InvestOhio, in which small businesses and investors come to an agreement about thesize and nature of the equity investment (how much money, how much the investorowns of the company), and then they both register with the state to becomeeligible to take part in the program. Then one of the parties will register the investment at the Ohio Business Gateway site and wait for the Department of Development toapprove. If they do, the investor mustinvest, and the small business in the partnership must purchase the materialsfunded by the investment within a six month period. There are specific categories that are eligible to be purchased with theinvestment money. For the tax credit tokick in, the invested company must hold onto the material for two years and theinvestor must likewise hold onto their investment in the company for twoyears. In the future, starting in June 2013, thatwill extend to a five year period.

For more details, see the Departmentof Development website or call 1800-848-1300. If you run abusiness in another state your state might offer similar tax credits for yourpotential equity investors. In 2010,the Office of Legislative Research for the state of Connecticut did an articleon 21 states that offered tax credits to “angel investors,” with details ontheir plans. All plans are different,with different goals and restrictions. For instance, the Arkansas plan is aimed at high-tech businesses. Maine and Virginia have different plans,too. To find out if your state offers this, check your state's development office.

Awesome Foundation for Small Causes

2011-12-05T21:08:00.001-05:00

What’s the Awesome Foundation? It’s not like George Constanza’s Human Fund,a scam or nonsense. It’s really a giving circle, in which a group of people pools their contributions and decide amongst themselves what worthy cause will get the money. They take applications and decides to fund thingsthat are, in their terms, “awesome.” Infact, their slogan is “funding awesomeness $1000 at a time.”

Unlike an IRS-sanctioned grant-giving foundation,they are not hemmed in by needing to give to 501c3 organizations or to do a prescribed sort of “duediligence” investigation, or to distribute the funds through a pass-through organization that has 501c3 status. Recipients can be a group or an individual. The various chapters of the Awesome Foundation look at a short, straightforward application, decide if it is awesome, and if they wish to fundit. And by awesome, they don’t mean niceclothes or a MP3 player for the applicant. They don’t spell out what constitutes "awesome,” but believe as Supreme Court Justice StewartPotter believed about pornography, that they know it when they see it. They don’t fund for personal use, the upkeepof established organizations, or vague ideas. So what have they funded?

According to their blog, they have funded a projectto start urban farming in Los Angeles high schools, environmentally sustainable surfboards, and a collection of good literature in a public place that is moreselective but just as non-monetary-based as a public library in San Francisco’sMission District (Ourshelves), among other projects.

In fact the Awesome Foundation has grown into a setof giving circles in over two dozen cities around the world. Since it’s just individuals putting theirmoney in a pot and making decisions, they can give money to causes that justneed a short push to become reality, whether a group or individual has the correct IRS paperwork ornot. If you have an awesome project and a small amount of money might help, this could be a place to inquire.

The Truth About "Minority and Women Business Grants"

2011-12-02T22:07:00.001-05:00

Urban legend (and misleading websites) would have you believe that there are loads of government grants out there for minority and women-owned businesses. But that's not the truth. The U.S. SBA (Small Business Administration) website states quite clearly that they do NOT provide grants to expand or start businesses. (See here for some privately-generated grants for women business owners). But don't governments do something to help minority and women-owned businesses? Yes, they do.

The SBA does have a site devoted to minority business development on the federal level, including opportunities to do business with the government, and help available to develop your business so that it will be able to compete for and complete federal contracting work. It also has a link enabling you to find government loans and loan guarantees. Loan guarantees are the federal backing for loans, which assures banks making the loans that they will be paid back.

Several states also have help for minority and women-owned businesses in the form of set-aside programs. These are programs that try to reserve a certain percentage of government contracting work for women, minority-owned, or "disadvantaged" or small businesses. Often, these businesses need certification for their status to get these contracts. Sometimes, IF A STATE HAS THESE PROGRAMS (and not all of them do), you can find out about them at your state office in charge of minority contracting. This list includes not only state offices, but several large cities in the U.S. Contact these offices to get your firm certified as a minority or woman-owned business, if applicable, and then look for opportunities to provide goods and services for the government. Also, take advantage of any training or mentoring programs available.

Besides contracting opportunities, many states have loan programs aimed at disadvantaged/minority/female-owned businesses. To find out about these programs, see your state's economic development department.

Double the Food You Can Buy With Food Stamps (SNAP Program)

2011-11-28T21:35:00.001-05:00

Last September, I wrote about a program in Michigan and norwest Ohio that allowed you to double the spending power of your food stamps, if you took them to a farmer's market. What I didn't know was that this program is going on in many other places around the country as well.

Wholesome Wave is a nonprofit dedicated to bring healthier eating opportunities to low and moderate income people, and support sustainable farming. Towards that end, they are partnering with over 200 nonprofits and farmer's markets in 23 states and the District of Columbia to double the spending power of food stamps! Where do you find out if this is available where you live? Check out this list of Wholesome Wave's partners, see if there is one in your area, and contact them to see about how you can double the spending power of your food stamps at a farmer's market near you. If you live in Connecticut, here's a link to more detailed information on their programs. In a day when Walmart has to schedule its workforce around SNAP card reloading on the first of each month, you know there's a need to make food stamps stretch double.

Another Venue for Veteran Job Fairs--in Cyberspace

2011-11-26T05:27:00.001-05:00

Job fairs, even in these times, are still a going concern, but they mean the usual hassles--dressing up, getting the resumes together, parking, etc. Except in cyberspace.

Milicruit.com is a service that offers veterans achance to attend virtual job fairs, submit information to employers, andinteract with them online. The nextonline employment fair is a regional one for the Midwest (Ohio, Michigan,Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa) will be on December 13^th. At that time, veterans from those states willbe able to interact live with employers, either one-on-one or in an online“booth” (with everyone in the booth able to interact). A nationwide event will be held on February23^rd.

However, veterans cansubmit information at any time for employers. Once in, employers may contact you. It's another venue to get your name and services out there.

Thanksgiving Dinners in Toledo and Northwest Ohio--2011

2011-11-22T21:43:00.001-05:00

If you are looking for Thanksgiving Dinners at churches and missions in northwest Ohio in 2011, here it is.

If your Thanksgiving isn't prosperous this year, hope it will be next.

Free Job Training for Cruise Ship Jobs in Toledo, Free Health Care Training in New Jersey

2011-11-21T22:16:00.001-05:00

I don't know how good the money is (they claim $1500-$3000 a months, with food, lodging and health care), but the Maritime Academy in Toledo has received grants to train adults (for free), in the cruise ship business. In early 2012, they will have at least seven classes of about 20 people for a course of study to prepare for work in the cruise ship business. If you want to apply, call 419-244-9999.

Also found a community college in New Jersey, Middlesex County College, that is providing grant-funded free training in allied health professions like phlebotomy, EKG tech, pharmacy technician, medical assistant, and more. Depending on the profession, training runs from four weeks to 10 months. It's aimed at the under-employed and the unemployed, and applicants must have a high school diploma or GED. Call 732-548-6000, ext. 3813.

Is a Mortgage Audit Worth It? Probably Not.

2011-11-17T21:31:00.001-05:00

The foreclosure crisis in our country is only about half over, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. One estimate is that we are three to four years away from "normal." That means we still have desperate people, and people willing to part people from their money.

A new wrinkle has come in: the mortgage audit. What is this? It's a thorough investigation of the mortgage for legality. Supposedly, if the auditor can find a defect in the mortage, you may get out of the mortgage. This sounds great, but in fact if there is a defect, you don't automatically get out of the mortgage, or get the money. You have just won the right to sue, which is expensive and lengthy. And which will probably not net you any money. A bank has the financial resources to outwait and outwrangle you, and probably will.

The Federal Trade Commision put it bluntly in a warning on mortgage audits:

...there is no evidence that forensic loan audits willhelp you get a loan modification or any other foreclosure relief, even ifthey’re conducted by a licensed, legitimate and trained auditor, mortgageprofessional or lawyer.

some federal laws allow you to sue your lender basedon errors in your loan documents. But even if you sue and win, your lender isnot required to modify your loan simply to make your payments more affordable.
if you cancel your loan, you will have to return theborrowed money, which may result in you losing your home.

Or, according to the way the scam is reported to have run in a town in Wisconsin, you may be targeted for fraud even if you are not threatened with foreclosure. People there got a financial audit notice, (which they could get for $99), and if they didn't find a defect, they could get their money back. Since defects are often found, they weren't eligible for a refund, or course, but neither did they get rich off the defective loan. Getting money from the mortgage holder over a defect would require the expensive and lengthy legal action discussed above. So you are out $99.

If you have reason to believe that something is seriously wrong with your mortgage, or you are in a foreclosure situation, run, don't walk, to a HUD-approved counseling agency in your area. They have the savvy to help you out with legit help.

Future Chances for Low-Income Families to Get Low-Cost Computers and Broadband Access

2011-11-13T20:31:00.000-05:00

A couple of months ago, we announced a plan by Comcast to give low-cost broadband--and a low-cost computer--to families who are eligible for free school lunches. Turns out that this is only the first of a wave. The FCC and the nonprofit group Connect2Compete and its partners are working to expand broadband access. in 2012, Time-Warner Cable and Cablevision Systems will also sign up free lunch eligible families for $9.95 a month, with those families also eligible to buy computers for $150. The families can have the discounted rate for two years. The rollout for the other companies--except for Comcast, which has already started--should be in the spring of 2012, with full implementation by the fall of 2012. This is only part of the mission of the partners in Connect2Compete, which is to increase digital literacy and access to high-speed internet connections for everybody. Partners will also be working to staff public digital literacy classes. The partners aim for lots of low and no-cost digital skills classes across the country.

Except for the Comcast services outlined earlier, there aren't a lot of details now. To receive details as they come out, email Connect2Compete at info@connect2compete.org.

***For more possible low-cost computers, see these posts.***

Aid for "Atomic Veterans" and Veterans Exposed to Radiation

2011-11-11T19:51:00.001-05:00

Today we honor veterans who have put themselves in harm's way to defend our country. One of the little-known harms has been the danger of atomic radiation, particularly between 1945, in the invention and deployment of the first atomic weapons, and bomb testing afterwards, roughly until 1962. Some have been exposed even more recently. Many do not know that there is compensation available for the harm done to soldiers who suffered and continue to suffer the ill effects of radiation poisoning, as well as their survivors.

The VA has a page that explains compensation available to those affected. Essentially, if you fall into the definition of exposed military personnel, and have an other than dishonorable discharge, and have suffered illnesses from radiation, you are eligible. There are 22 "presumptive illnesses"--illnesses that if you were in the exposed groups, and if you have one of these illnesses, it is presumed it came from the exposure. If you are the surviving spouse, child, or dependent parent of someone who was exposed and died from the illness, you may be eligible for survivor's benefits. If you have suffered from some other form of cancer, you may be examined to see if you qualify for medical coverage and benefits, too. In these instances, your determination will be made on a case-by-case basis. Besides medical coverage, exposed veterans may get either a lump sum or monthly cash payment.

Among the many sources of help are these toll-free numbers: 1-800-827-1000 or 1-800-829-4833(for the hearing impaired), the National Association of Atomic Veterans, and NAAV's page on how to file a claim.

Outside of the military, there is also compensation available for people who worked in mining uranium, or lived downwind of test sites and suffered harm to their health. Get information on this from this Department of Justice site.

Updated Christmas Gift News for the Needy in Detroit and Toledo. And Suggestions for Others.

2011-11-08T10:46:00.002-05:00

For people in Toledo, Ohio who have missed the deadline for applying to the Salvation Army for Christmas assistance this season, there will be another sign-up at the downtown Salvation Army offices (620 N. Erie Street) on November 29th, ONE DAY ONLY, from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. However, call 211 to get more updated information. *** 211 is the central number to call to find out about Christmas assistance in the Toledo area. If you are past the deadline, call 211 and find out what else may be available.***

In metro Detroit, the Salvation Army is signing people up for Christmas assistance for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Applications will be accepted Nov. 7 through Dec. 9. For more information, call 248 443 5500.

***However, many communities are acting to help people within their own borders. For a complete and up-to-date rundown, see the Facebook entry for Julie's List, or check out the webpage.*** Also, Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan is reaching out to families in need this Hanakkah season. If you wish to give, or are in need, call (248) 661-5700.

In general, try the Salvation Army near your home to find out more about Christmas assistance in your area, or try calling 211 if you live in an area that has 211 telephone assistance.

More Information About Phone Services for the Poor

2011-11-07T07:35:00.001-05:00

Awhile back, we had a couple of posts about the Universal Phone Service, which helps low-income people pay for their phones and/or service. Most people have heard of Safelink Wireless, ( 1-800-378-1684)which has wide, multi-state coverage and heavy publicity. It's a product of TracPhone, and has a basic plan of 68 minutes, with additional plans available. You can use the minutes for calls, but also for text messages. Eligibility for the program varies from state to state, and usually involves income or whether or not you receive some public services, like section 8 housing or food stamps.

Another wireless service, available in 30 states, is Assurance, by Virgin Mobile (877-727-4976) You can get a free phone and 250 minutes a month, and can buy into plans for additional minutes, texting and international calls.

In truth, there are lots of companies involved in phone services to the poor, depending on where you live. For a list of the ones in your area, go to the Universal Phone website and check for state-by-state coverage. For more on eligibility (it varies somewhat from state to state), see the information provided by each state.

With Cutbacks in Heating Funds, Check Your State's Heating Disconnect Laws

2011-11-04T21:45:00.002-04:00

Our dopey Congress can pass laws saying that we trust in God, which is good because we sure can't trust them. Last year, the Congress that held firm against higher taxes for millionaires wanted cutbacks...and got them in funds for heating. So the following link is important: it shows the state-by-state restrictions in heating cutoffs in the winter...and sometimes, like in Texas, electricity in the summer. I've run it before, but this winter, it may be more important to know than ever.

As the website says, these restrictions may not apply to all the utilities in the state. Municipal and co-operative utilities might be exempt from these regulations. Each state lists the conditions (like temperatures) or dates when heat cannot be cut off, particular protected groups (like the aged or disabled), who to complain to, and, when available, a user's Bill of Rights and links to a complaint form.

Where can you go when you have trouble paying the heat? Contact your utility first, because they will know about your state's liheap (low-income heat assistance) program. They may also have other programs of their own to help you. If these cannot help you, and you are a veteran, see your county's emergency aid for veterans. If you are over 60, try to contact your state's office on aging to see what help may be specifically for you. And if slap comes to shove, here's my list of all the emergency funding sources I can think of.

New Student Income Repayment Program, and Other Forgiveness/Cancellation/Discharge Options

2011-10-30T20:58:00.001-04:00

Barak Obama got a fair amount of p.r. mileage out of expanding the student loan income repayment option. In this proposed plan (the details which need to be hammered out), repayments will be limited to 10% of the student's income, with a forgiveness of loans after 20 years of payments. However, a plan of this sort has already been in place for a couple of years. In the current scheme, students can have their payments reduced to 15% of their income, with forgiveness after 25 years of payments.

There are other plans for federal student loan reduction, forgiveness or cancellation, too. If you are a teacher, explore this page to find forgiveness (for teaching in low income areas, under certain circumstances) and other options. Nurses also have options for partial loan forgiveness for public service. And there is another program for public service for other professions, too--assuming you have already made 120 payments towards your loans. You may be eligible for total cancellation of a federal student loan if you are permanently disabled. You may also be eligible for loan cancellation if the school closed down before you could graduate, or within 90 days after you quit studying there.

To check out all your cancellation options, see this page. For more options for delay, forebearance, or "income sensitive" options (like the new one announced last week) check out this page.

As Many Details as Possible About the New Housing Refinance Plan

2011-10-28T05:48:00.000-04:00

The newest changes to HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) have been announced with much fanfare, and here's the best I source I could find on the latest refinance scheme. The part that caught everybody's eye was that 1) homes could be "underwater" (with a mortgage bigger than their current worth. In this case, up to 125% of the loan to value ratio.) and eligible and 2) some of the fees have been cut out. The fees in question are risk-based fees for borrowers who are refinancing into a shorter length of mortgage, and the need for new property apraisal in cases where there is a reliable automated valuation model. Also, the length of the program itself is extended till the end of December, 2013 for loans sold before May 31, 2009.

Who is eligible? For one thing, your loan has to be guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. If you're not sure, there's an easy way to find out: you can look up your home by address to see if Fannie guaranteed the loan, or Freddie. You also need to be current on your payments: no late payments in the last 6 months, and no more than 1 in the last year.

Ah, but here's the rub:
"Since industry participation in HARP is not mandatory, implementation schedules will vary as individual lenders, mortgage insurers and other market participants modify their processes. "
So, you're still dealing with the willingness of your lender to modify the loan.

So, contact your lender to see if they can work with you, but if you are in danger of foreclosure, please contact a HUD-approved counselor in your area to get rippoff-free advice on how to hang onto your house. These counselors are not with HUD, but nonprofits that know the housing and foreclosure field. And do it sooner, rather than later.

More Stuff on Christmas Gifts for Needy in Northwest Ohio, Monroe County

2011-10-24T09:41:00.002-04:00

The Toledo Blade had a roundup of Christmas assistance programs for the Toledo area. In Toledo, the Salvation Army will be taking applications from 9 a.m. till 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. till 3 p.m. all this week for a food box and toys. This is the last week! It will be at their offices on 620 N. Erie in Toledo.

In Monroe County, the Salvatation Army will take applications through November 23 at the Monroe office 815 E. First Street, (734-241-0440) and their Temperance office at 7200 Lewis Avenue (734-241-7182). In Bowling Green, the Salvation Army will begin taking applications on October 31st at 1045 N. Main from 9 a.m. to noon, and 1 p.m. 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. For more information and possible sign-ups, call 211, the human services emergency number at United Way.

Food and Help for the Pets of Homeless People

2011-10-21T23:13:00.002-04:00

A colleage came across this website and pointed it out to me: a network of organizations that helps the pets of homeless people. It sounded like a mighty tiny niche indeed, but according to their statistics, between 5% and 10% of homeless people own a dog or cat. This sounds more reasonable when you consider that many are homeless for small periods of time, rather than for months or years on end. I once volunteered in an animal shelter, and some animals landed there because their owners became homeless, through job loss, domestic violence, or other reasons. How does Pets of the Homeless help?

First, they have an online list of places that provide pet food--and not all of them are animal food banks. Some are shelters, some are religious organizations. Another is a list of pet-friendly homeless shelters--ones that allow pets to stay. It's a tiny list. They have yet another list of different types of help, from spay/neutering and veterinary care. And check out this list of events around the country to help with pet care.

Finally, don't miss our previous roundup of veterinary and food help for pets.

Getting a Really Free Credit SCORE...not Report

2011-10-17T22:58:00.002-04:00

Several years ago, the feds made it possible for people to get free, no-strings attached credit reports. These list your credit history, lateness in paying bills, and so forth. Even though weasel credit reporting agencies have tried to attach monetary strings, you are still entitled to a truly free credit report from each of the three majob agencies, and can ask for it through www.annualcreditreport.com.

But the Holy Grail of credit info is the credit score, the numeric number assigned to your credit history, that is often the make-or-break in deciding if you will be extended credit, and if so, at what rate. There may be a different credit score for each agency, but the one most often used is the one created byFICO (formerly Fair Isaac Corporation), often called the FICO score. Fair Isaac says will give you the score FREE. Well, it's free IF YOU DON'T COUNT THE SUBSCRIPTION FOR SCORE WATCH. If you cancel your subscription within the 10 day trial period, it will indeed be free. Otherwise, it's $14.95 month. Or, you could just buy it for $19.95, with no subscription, and be done with it.

Now there is another way to get a truly free credit score. Since last July, the Federal Trade Commission has made it possible to demand a free copy of your score if you are turned down for a loan, or if you are given less favorable rates because of your credit score (risk-based pricing). If so, the lender only has to give you the score that they used (which may or may not be the FICO), the range, and up to four factors that entered into your score. You can see the regulatory details here. For more information, call the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 (or 1-877-FTC-HELP).

So How Can Re-Entry People Help Ex-Offenders?

2011-10-14T19:26:00.000-04:00

A lot of hits on this blog are for the posts dealing with ex offenders--is there really a big Social Security check waiting for them? (That would be a no.) And where do I get help? The truth is, most of the help you get will not be in the form of a grant, but a hookup from local groups to services available to you.

So what does that look like? Last Wednesday, I met a couple people from the Northwest Ohio Re-Entry Coalition. They were from the Triage Services, meaning that they worked to get day-to-day necessities for the ex-offenders who were in need, as well as services that would help in the long run. "Immediate services" that they help getting birth certificates or state ID cards, food and clothing bank connections, transportation, and college applications. In the longer run, they can help get the ball rolling for food stamps, housing, education, medical care, and job readiness. If you are an ex-offender in Lucas County, Ohio, contact them at 419-242-9955, extension 141, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. till 4:30 p.m., or email them at Triage@RCNWO.org.

They can also help in the area of child support services, acting as intermediaries in getting back licenses and contacting authorities so that you can get out of child support hot water, when possible. For help with your child support problems, call case manager Lanaya McDonald at 419 213 3026 (email mcdonl@odjfs.state.oh.us) or Nichole Roberts, at 419 213 3472.

If you are an ex offender from another part of the state, see this map to find the regional coalition that might be able to help you. Remember that each local coalition is different, and may provide different levels of services. If you are from outside Ohio, try to find your local group that helps ex offenders.

For National Guards and Reservists With Traumatic Injuries ...

2011-10-10T22:09:00.001-04:00

....sustained from October 7th, 2001 till December 1, 2005: you may be eligible for payments retroactively for your losses. Certain types of injuries that did not qualify previously--such as severe injuries that occurred other than in Iraq and Afghanistan--may now qualify. The applied to reservists and National Guards alike. And it's true if you had SGLI (Service Group Life Insurance) coverage at the time or not. If you have applied for these benefits and have been turned down, consider reapplying. Check this website to see if you now qualify for insurance payments for severe traumatic injury.

Making Dreams Come True--Wish-Making Organizations for Adults

2011-10-08T01:04:00.002-04:00

We are aware of lots of organizations that make wishes come true for children, since there is a particular sadness in a child's death before they can see their wishes materialize. But it happens for adults, too. And while there are fewer organizations devoted to helping dying adults see their dreams come true, they are out there.

The Dream Lives On was created to help adults (over 18), with less than a year to live, to see a particular wish come true, with some pretty common parameters for wish-type charities--they must be legal, safe, etc., and can't involve medical or living expenses. The Dream Foundation is for adults battling a "life threatening illness," or, in the case of a person expected to live less than 8 weeks, an "emergency dream."

More broadly, there is the Granted Wish Foundation, which seeks to help the disabled, the disadvantaged, and families facing "daily struggles and challenges." This can include the wish for an extraordinary experiences typical for a wish-granting organization, but also resources to meet medical expenses or living expenses (for instance, after losing everything in a fire). There is also a link for its webpage visitors to fund the wishes of some of those who apply. Jeremy Bloom's Wish of a Lifetime grants wishes to senior citizens.

The most unusual of the adult-wish organizations would be Wish Upon a Wedding, an organization dedicated to helping couples facing a terminal illness within five years (regardless of sexual orientation), have the wedding of their dreams. See their website or call 877-305-WISH.

Scholarships for Polish and Polish-American Students

2011-10-05T21:08:00.000-04:00

In honor of Polish-American Heritage Month (October), we have a little roundup of scholarships aimed at Polish-Americans (why yes, I am one--how did you guess?)--and some Poles as well. The Jan Gorecki Scholarship Foundation offers scholarships to students of Polish descent in England, Poland or the United States. Students must "demonstrate high academic achievement." For more information, write Peter Paley, Treasurer, at 19306 S. Anza Blvd. Torrance, Ca 90503-1405.

The Barbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation gives scholarships to graduate, doctoral or postgraduate students who are Polish or of Polish descent. Their U.S. phone number in Princeton, N.J. is 609-688-1030, or, if you are Polish-speaking, try their website for more information.

The big daddy of Polish cultural scholarship support, however, is the Kosciuszko Foundation with offices in New York City and Warsaw. They fund student exchange programs between the United States and Poland, a summer study in Poland program to gain proficiency in the Polish language, scholarships for either students of Polish descent OR students who are not of Polish descent and wish to study in Poland or study Polish language or culture.

Don't wait too long to start picking around for scholarships. You should start hunting and applying for scholarships now if you intend to start college next fall. And, powodzenia (good luck) everybody.

Help for Cosmetic and Dental Work for Victims of Domestic Violence

2011-09-30T20:45:00.000-04:00

The scars of domestic violence at once invisible—and often in prominent display. Some people in the business of making others look their best are donating their services to get rid of the broken faces and teeth of domestic violence survivors.

In California, Face Forward is a medical team that contributes pro bono reconstructive surgery to adults and children disfigured in domestic and gang violence. Call 310-657-2253 for more information.

Face to Face is a project of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. They work with domestic violence shelters to provide reconstructive surgery to the heads, faces and necks of victims who have reached a physically safe place and are beginning to move on with their lives. Call the toll-free number 1-800-842-4546 to get the ball rolling.

For men and women needing cosmetic dental work to repair the damage of violence, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry sponsors GiveBack a Smile, a program that takes survivors that have been out of the violent relationship for at least a year (if less, you get put on a waiting list). The system isn’t totally freebie—after filling out the application—and paying a $20 application or putting in 10 hours of community work, you are eligible.

A Brand-New Deadline for Stop Loss Pay

2011-09-27T22:34:00.000-04:00

People, it's like Groundhog Day around here. Last winter--then last spring--I kept blogging about the extended stop loss pay from the Department of Defense. It was created to compensate armed service members (and their survivors) who found their tours of duty involuntarily lengthened between September 11, 2001 and September 30, 2009. It amounts to $500 for each month or partial month that the tour was lengthened. And I thought, o.k., this is over. But no.

Apparently, there is a new deadline--it's October 21, 2011. This is for veterans, service members and their survivors. Please see the webpage link above for more information and how to file for your claim.

Where to Find Places That Give Needy Children Christmas Gifts

2011-09-27T21:25:00.003-04:00

You're probably wondering why I'm writing this in late September. Really, am I getting like Costco, that has Christmas stuff up already? No, I just know what I know--that the Christmas clearing houses (or Christmas coordinating councils) start to gear up in October. These are the local organizations that coordinate charity work for the poor during the Christmas season. They take applications, vet people for eligibility, and try to get them in touch with other organizations that collect food, clothing, and toys so that the poor have a decent Christmas.

That means that if you think you will need their help, you should probably try around the middle of October, through the middle of November. But how do you know where to go? Veteran poor people know how to navigate the system, but the Great Recession has created people that don't know the ropes, and try climbing the ropes too late to get much help. This goes for holiday help, heating help, or just about anything. If you think you need the help of one of these organizations this year, here's how to start--hopefully, not too close to the holidays:

In the Toledo area, call 211 for holiday food and gifts, and the United Way will send you to the appropriate agency. The regional Toys for Tots number for northwest Ohio is 419 666-6992. They note at the Toys for Tots website that you may be eligible to receive food at one organization, and toys at another, but not the same type of charity aid from more than one organization.

First, the biggest organization of this sort in the U.S. is the Salvation Army. Their local branches often function as the CCH's in their communities. You can go to their website and enter your zip code in the search box to find the nearest one. They may have a formal intake procedure and invite you to come and fill out some forms. Another way to search for a local organization is to put "christmas clearing house" or "christmas coordinating council" and the name of your town in Google. Another is to call 211, IF you live in an area where you can find social services by dialing 211. Find out by searching at this website. Another organization that gives toys to children is Toys for Tots. Their page has a website to help you find your local branch. Another way to find help is a nearby church, which is probably working with a local Christmas clearing house.

Paying for Weatherization and Heating--Northwest Ohio and the Whole Country

2011-09-23T21:14:00.000-04:00

Besides help with paying for your winter heat, you may be able to get help keeping the warm air on--and staying27557 inside--your house. You can find state programs the help you pay for the heat from the LIHEAP program and its state offices. In Ohio, the Department of Development administers the HEAP applications.

But low-income people can get help with free energy inspections, insulation, and furnace and water heater repair, too. Here are the state offices that administer those programs. Every state has slightly different qualifications for their programs, so check yours to see if you can get help. Click on your state, then, in the box for "service," choose "weatherization." It will give you an address, phone number, and a clickable link with more information. In Ohio, it's also the Department of Development. For those living anywhere in Ohio, call 1-800-362-7557 for weatherization services.

While the state gives out the money, the actual work is usually done by local nonprofits. For Lucas County, Ohio, that's the Neighborhood Housing Services. For Wood, Erie, Sandusky, Ottawa, Huron and Seneca Counties, it's WSOS.

You may also wan to check you utility company. Many utility companies provide weatherization at low orno cost to low-income customers. In theareas served by Columbia Gas in Ohio, customers who are below 150% of the povertylevel, and eligible for the PIPP payment program are eligible for the WarmChoice program. It includes an energyinspection, insulation, safety check for gas appliances, and, possibly, therepair or replacement of faulty furnaces or water heaters—all for free. Contact your utility provider to see if they provide services like this.

Finding Tax Credits for Historic Buildings

2011-09-20T22:39:00.000-04:00

Fixing up and preserving buildings of historical significance, either because of events that happened in them, or because of their architecture or the historic significance of the area in which they exist, can be aided by federal and/or state tax credits. But how do you know if your building qualifies? The first place to go is your local or state preservation agency. They can tell you how to research your building's origin and establish its status as a historically significant building, or if it's part of a historic district.

The federal government allows tax credits ranging from 10% to 20% of the cost of the rehabilitation. However, this is only for commercial buildings, not owner-occupied homes. The National Trust for Historic Preservation put together a guide to determine if your property would qualify, and takes you step by step through the process. The Department of the Interior has guidelines which show what sorts of rehabilitation work is eligible for the federal credit.

Some 30 states also allow for tax credits for the rehabbing of historic buildings. Some of them allow their use on private homes, and some have caps that limit their usage. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has the latest rundowns on what each state allows, and web links where you can get more information.

Double Up on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Michigan and Toledo Area

2011-09-16T18:45:00.001-04:00

This blog discussed how the elderly and children could buy to more fresh fruits and vegetables. Here's how SNAP recipients in Michigan and the Toledo, Ohio area can double up on their fruits and veggies through October. It's through a program called Double Up Food Bucks, both in Michigan and metro Toledo.

Here's how it works: go to a participating farmer's market, and see the Double Up booth with your Michigan Bridge card, or Ohio Direction card with your tokens. You can get up to $20 in Double Up tokens, to double your ability to purchase fresh items at the market. It's only good for fresh products grown in the state, and good from May through October. Here's the Michigan markets that are participating, and here's the ones in Toledo.
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Legal Help for Veterans

2011-09-13T06:53:00.001-04:00

Free or low cost legal help is always in demand, but veterans bring their own issues to the table--the need to know their rights about their benefits and other issues unique to them. Some organizations and websites exist to try to fill that need.

Stateside Legal is a project of Pine Tree Legal Assistance of Maine and the Arkansas Legal Services Partnership, and it has different avenues of assistance. It has canned information on specific topics, like health, education benefits, re-employment, and more. It has links to lots of organizations that deal with veterans's issues, both legal and financial assistance. It also allows you to fill in a little information about yourself at the top of each page, put in some key words about your legal issue, and generates some information about your legal problem.

There is also the GI Rights Hotline (the number is 1-877-447-4487). The website provides contacts for regional help in many areas of the country. The American Bar Association also provides a state-by-state listing, through their Homefront Program, of attorneys that provide legal assistance specializing in veterans's affairs, and in general law.

Another nonprofit group that represents veterans (and those entitled to veterans benefits) in benefits hearings is the Veterans Advocacy Group (VETLAG). They do not do other legal work. However, they have list other groups that do.

Finally, the Veteran's Adminstration accredits attorneys, claims representatives and VSO (veteran's servce organizations) in dealing with legal affairs. These are NOT NECESSARILY LOW COST, it merely marks them as groups that are recognized by the VA as having some specialized knowledge of veteran's legal affairs. It will at least give you a start in finding someone specialized in what you need to know.

Low-Cost Computers and High-Speed Internet Hookup for Low-Income Kids

2011-09-09T22:00:00.002-04:00

In an attempt at dealing with the digital divide in our country (which, two decades into the popularization of the internet, is still alive and well), Comcast, the cable communications company, has started a program within its high-speed internet service areas for kids who receive free school lunches called Internet Essentials. It's a program that provides home internet access for $9.95 a month, and the opportunity to buy a lower-cost computer.

To qualify, you must have a least one child in the household receiving free school lunches, not have had Comcast internet in the last 90 days, and no unreturned equipment or overdues with Comcast--and live in their high-speed service areas. To get more information and an application, call 1-800-846-8376. Fill it out, send it back with your child's lunch documentation, and you will hear from them in 7 to 10 days. They will also send you information about applying for a lower-cost($149.95, plus tax) computer, and free computer training.

For other possible ways to get low-cost computers, try this blog entry, or this one from aidpage.

Agent Orange Benefits For Broader Categories of Illnesses

2011-09-06T22:29:00.002-04:00

In the past year, the Department of Veterans Affairs expanded the list of "presumptive illnesses" for which Vietnam veterans could receive benefits as a result of Agent Orange exposure beyond what were once considered eligible. These include veterans who served from January 9, 1962 through May 7, 1975 in Vietnam or its inland waterwasy, along the demilitarized zone in Korea between April 1, 1968 and August 31, 1971, or at miltary bases where herbicides were tested or stored in states or overseas. These illnesses include schemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease, hairy cell leukemia or other chronic B-cell leukemias. Here's the final VA ruling that came out in February, 2011 on wartime herbicide exposure. Survivors of veterans who served in conditions that exposed them to Agent Orange--and who died of one of the presumptive illnesses--may be eligible for benefits, too.

Not only that, but children of exposed veterans who have certain birth defects like spina bifida may be eligible for benefits as well, such as compensation, health care and vocational training if they were conceived after wartime exposure.

Check out the new, expanded rulings. If you have been denied claims in the past, but qualify under the new ruling, you may be eligble for benefits.

Get the Lead Out--Finding Money to Help With Lead Abatement

2011-09-03T05:04:00.000-04:00

Lead poisoning is a silent risk for children living in older homes. Most homes built before 1978 were painted with lead-based paints, and may have flaked-off paint chips, or have lead-based paint in the soil near the house. It's easy for children to ingest this lead and suffer brain damage from it. Statistics indicate that lead abatement programs (and the change of paint formulas over the last 40 years) are working to reduce lead poisoning. But if you live in older housing, and need lead abatement, you may be eligible for financial help.

In Ohio, there are several lead poisoning centers around the state where you can inquire about getting your child's lead level tested. Or you can contact your local health department. In Toledo, Ohio, people who make less than 80% of the median income for the area may be eligble for an interest-free loan repayable upon sale of the house, or death of owner, to help pay for the cost of lead abatement. A new program in six northwest Ohio counties-- Allen, Ottawa, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, and Wood--can help homeowners in those areas with the cost of lead abatement through WSOS, the community action agency. For more information on this program, call 1-877-LEAD SAFE.

In Massachusetts, homeowners may be eligible for a tax credit for lead abatement costs in their homes as well as grants. Rhode Island also has a tax abatement program.

If you live in other parts of the country, check out Lead Free Kids for local contractors and government agencies in charge of assisting citizens with lead abatement. Another place to look for possible lead abatement money is at a community action agency that covers where you live. See this directory for a CAA near you.

Foreclosure Scam Prevention/Homebuying in Toledo @ Your Library (Includes Neighborhood Stabilization Program)

2011-08-30T22:13:00.000-04:00

Blog and other internet postings are all good and well, but don't you wish you could meet experts, face to face, to untangle problems? The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library is having two programs next month to help with two big issues: keeping the home you have, and buying a new one.

On September 13th, we host Foreclosure Scams: Don't Get Taken! at the Main Library on 325 N. Michigan from 6:15 till 8:15. People from the Ohio Attorney-General's office, Northwest Ohio Development Agency, ABLE (Advocates of Basic Legal Equality), and the Fair Housing Center will talk about how to smell a scam, and legitimate sources of help in northwest Ohio.

On September 20th, we host Getting Financially Ready for Home Buying, also from 6:15 till 8:15 at Main Library. Local experts from the Neighborhood Housing Center, Northwest Ohio Development Agency, and Consumer Counseling Credit Service will tell you how to get your financial house in order so that you can get a home of your own. Best of all, a representative from the Toledo Housing Department will talk about--and have material on--the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Learn how you can get financial help to buy beautiful houses in several different neighborhoods. All for free!

If you live in other places, there is still a way to find legitimate foreclosure help. Call one of the nonprofit agencies approved for home counseling by HUD. And to find out more about steering away from foreclosure scams, see this informative website by the Federal Trade Commission.

Housing Grants and Incentives in Detroit

2011-08-26T21:30:00.001-04:00

My hometown, Detroit, has had a hard-knock time in the last 50 or so years, with falling population, mismanagement, and industrial exodus. But public and private resources are trying to change that. On one hand, efforts are being made to get people to stay put: Citizen's Bank just announced a program of grants totaling $1.6 million to homeowners in five Detroit neighborhoods:
east English Village, Boston Edison north end/Virginia Park, north Rosedale Park, Hubbard Farms.
The money can be used for exterior improvements. Another, available for homeowners in targeted neighborhoods throughout the city, deals with health and safety hazards, particularly lead abatement. It is a grant or forgivable loan of up to $15,000; $24,950 if lead abatement is involved. It can include problems such as furnaces, roofs, plumbing, and electrical problems. See the city's website, or call 313-224-3461.
Clearcorp also offers grants for lead abatement for Detroit homeowners: grants of up to $8000 for owner occupied houses, $4000 for rental properties, assessments of lead damages, and other services. Call 313 924 4000 for more information.

Other efforts are aimed at getting people to move back. One is Project 14 (the name derives for police code for "situation normal."), which attempts to get police to move back to the city. It tries to kill two birds with one stone: abandonment of neighborhoods by the professional classes and police, and vacant homes. Homes are bought, police can choose from the homes, (if they meet income requirements), a contractor is hired and repairs and upgrades are made. It's along the lines of other programs created federally and in many localities to attract professionals to underserved areas. Call 313-974 6869 for more information.

Some of the companies that have made a commitment to staying in downtown Detroit (Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan, Compuware, DTE, Quicken Loans and Strategic Staffing Solutions) have incentives for their employees to rent or own homes in Detroit as well. If you buy or rent within the downtown or near-downtown area, you can get a $20,000 forgivable loan towards a home purchase, a $2500 reimbursement for the cost of rental for the first year, and $1000 for the second, and matching funds of up to $5000 for home renovations of $10,000 or more.

Where to Find Government Property and Seizures for Sale and Auction?

2011-08-21T21:17:00.000-04:00

You’ve read all the hype about buying stuff from thegovernment—the apocryphal tales of great sports cars for $100 bucks or so, andwonder where to get them. It’s easy, andlike pretty much all government information, perfectly FREE. The feds even make it easy for you. Links to federal auctions and sales are all at one site—which includes links to goods by type (like medical equipment,commercial and residential real estate, etc.), rather than department, whichmakes it easier to find stuff you want. However, if there is a particularagency whose goods or seized things interest you, you can search by agency, too.
You cannot registerat the central site, but if you see something you want, there will be a link toa place to register, and usually a contact. The agency rundown gives links where you can buy ANYTHING from a federalsource, including Amtrack tickets, Smithsonian gift shop items, savings bonds,and flags that have flown over the capitol (they direct you to yourcongressperson). If it’s federal and forsale, it’ll be here.
There’s also a link to the surplus sales sites for each ofthe states. For things even closer tohome, you have to check your city and county websites and think: who grabs this stuff? For instance in Toledo, there’s a site for vehicles impounded by the city’s police to be sold at auction,at the Toledo Police Department site. In Lucas County, as in most counties, it’s the sheriff that seizes home for taxes, and there is a site for homes sold at auction which they have seized. So those are probably the places to go in your own city and county for seized property.

Finding Free Legal Assistance for New and Small Businesses

2011-08-18T22:40:00.000-04:00

As I've said before, everybody is so intent on finding "free money" that they turn up their nose at stuff that's free and may be even better than money. For small and new business owners, that could definitely be free legal advice. So where do you find it? As we discussed, there are pro se clinics, where people can get help in filling out legal forms correctly and preventing crucial mistakes. And there are legal clinics where entrepreneurs can sit down with a law student (under professional supervision) or volunteer lawyers for advice on business formation,forms and other issues (but generally NOT litigation).

In the Toledo area, ABLE, a nonprofit group, has created the Microenterprise Legal Assistance Project to assist new and small businesses, and offers one half hour free with volunteer attorneys once a month. For more information, call (888) 534-1432.

The University of Akron SEED program is pretty typical, and describes its program thusly:

"Under the supervision of a licensed attorney, second andthird year law students provide non-litigation, transactional legal andbusiness advice including business planning, employment, contract/lease, taxand entity formation information. The SEED provides advice and counsel to newor emerging businesses that would otherwise be unable to hire outside counseland that have been in operation less than five (5) years and with gross annualrevenues less than $100,000, with a special emphasis on women and minorities."

In New York, the City Bar Justice Center runs the Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project, runs small business legal clinics in partnership with other community institutions like the Brooklyn Public Library, the South Bronx Economic Development Corporation, and the Queens Economic Development Corporation. Owners of small business can speak one-on-one with attorneys. Likewise, WIBO (Workshop in Business Opportunities) in Harlem has a small business legal clinic, too. In the District of Columbia, the D.C. Bar Association runs its own legal clinic for small businesses six times a year.

Where can you find such clinics near you? Here's some ways to find them: simply put the words business law clinic and the name of your town--or the nearest big town--in Google. Or check your nearest law libary, or small business development center to find out if you have one in your town (put your zip code in the box on the right side of the page, and find all the resources in your area.)

Get Your Culture Vulture On--Free Museum Passes

2011-08-16T22:00:00.000-04:00

I realize that not many are lucky enough to have a wonderful museum like the Toledo Museum of Art free to them every day (except for special exhibits). So we in Toledo like to bask/brag a bit. In fact TMA is also letting active military personnel and their immediate families in free for one special exhibit, the Egypt Experience till September 4th.

But lots of free opportunities await you at museums around the country. On September 24, 2011, the Smithonian Museum in Washington, which is always free, sponsors a free museum day at various locations around the country. Send them an application for a free ticket for two, and the holder can get in for free.

But many other museums have "free days" too. The website Free Museum Day lists the free days for museums in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and San Diego. They also list museums in those cities that are free all the time.

For military personnel and their families, museums in the Blue Star initiative (of which there are over 1500 in the U.S. and territories) are given free admission (up to five family members) between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Finally, holders of a Bank of America credit card are given free admission to over 150 museums around the country on certain days each month. See the website for days in your area musuems.

New Source of Food Pantries

2011-08-13T21:13:00.000-04:00

Access to food is an everyday problem in what Paul Krugman calls the Lesser Depression, and it happens to people for whom poverty is a new thing. So it may be helpful to find a place to locate food pantries and soup kitchens across the U.S. Foodpantries.org may not be exhaustive, but it could help you find one near you. It has a state and zip code search feature, but the zip code is problematic. I put in mine, and it did indeed find the big Toledo ones (but not all of them), but it put them in haphazard order, with some from Flint and Detroit higher up the list! So if you use the zip code feature, check out the WHOLE list, and don't be discouraged if you see some far-flung ones listed first. Overall, they claim over 1800 agencies in the US. Another is find a food pantry. Check them both.

But, as I said, the list is self-reporting, so I'm sure they will miss some smaller ones. If you have a 211 service in your town, call that number to see what they have listed. Remember, too, that some pantries only take referrals, so contact a social service agency in your town to be sure. And if you are doing o.k. and live in these towns, the directory could give you some ideas about a place to contribute or volunteer.

Free Medical Care in Northwest Ohio, via the National Guard

2011-08-09T04:16:00.001-04:00

**This blog posting refers to a special event, but if you want access to health care in northwest Ohio, see this link to options in health care costs.**

Guardcare, a service of the Ohio National Guard, will be providing free medical checkups, including dental exams and screenings, blood tests, vaccinations,lead testing for children and pap smears, August 20th and 21st at the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, 635 N. Erie. It's for all Ohio residents regardless of income, without an appointment. For more information, call 419-213-4113.

How did this come about? The National Guard has been authorized to do work in medically underserved areas as part of their military readiness program for their medical personnel. In Ohio, this means that the Guard has chosen two underserved area each year in the state during the summer months to provide free medical service. This year, it was Lucas County, and was done in partnership with local health officials and providers.

Ohio is not the only state where the National Guard has done free work in underserved areas. It's part of the Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) that gives reserves real experience in health care by providing services to communities, mostly in engineering, medical and dental work. Here's a sample of IRT projects that have been done around the country. Besides these examples, state National Guards may have projects of their own.

The All-Scam Edition: Foreclosures and Missing Money

2011-08-05T17:27:00.002-04:00

Today's entry features a story on finding missing money scams, as reported by the Toledo Blade. According to an official at the Ohio Department of Commerce:

"He says the emails claim to come from the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, which includes his department's Division of Unclaimed Funds. But Goodman says Ohioans with money they've lost track of would never be asked to pay a fee or provide bank account information, as scam victims may be instructed."

Well. When I was young, hustlers were enterprising enough to actually charge you for finding your money, not lie entirely. But where ever you live, or whichever state (or federal agency) owes you money, you need never pay a dime. Here's a rundown of all the entirely free places you can go to find missing money owed you.

Also, the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library is having a program on avoiding foreclosure scams on September 13th from 6:15 till 8:15 in the evening at Main Library, 325 N. Michigan. No registration, just check out how to avoid being ripped off while trying to save your home.

Finally, look out for this rip-off. It's something terribly new, and even my housing contacts don't know what to make of it. But apparently in the state of Nevada, ground zero in the foreclosure crisis, something called a forensic mortgage audit is marketed to people in danger of foreclosure. It's supposed to protect your property, but may only empty your pocket. Proceed with caution, and contact a HUD-approved housing counselor if you are in foreclosure danger.

Yet Another Place to Find Low-Cost Medical Help..and Good News on the Contraception Front

2011-08-01T22:35:00.002-04:00

Some health bits and pieces have come out early this week that might be of use. One is my discovery of an online directory of privately run free clinics. Just put in your address and town, and they will give a list of free clinics within a 10, 25, or 100 mile distance. This is in addition to the online listing of public health care clinics that receive funding from the federal government. The public one is a bit better, because it describes the clinic's services better, while the free clinic directory just has addresses, contact information and directions. But both or either can help you out in a pinch.

Some excellent news from the feds: the Department of Health and Human Services has announced guidelines for preventative women's health care that insurance companies will be required to provide to their clients without copay. They include: contraceptives (yay!), breastfeeding support, HIV testing and counseling, and more. This does not take effect right away--it becomes the rule for plans that start on or after August 1, 2012. Also, there is an interim rule that would allow religious employers to not cover contraception if it violated their religious beliefs.

Are There Any Places Where They are Giving Away Free Land?

2011-07-30T06:59:00.001-04:00

In the 19^th century, the federal government decided to settle vast stretches of the west with people other than Indians by homesteading, or giving away land in exchange for continuous settlement. While it was free, settlers only gained permanent ownership by living and working the land for five years. It’s estimated that 2 out of 3 people washed out and went home. When I was a young librarian in the 1980s, we still got calls from patrons asking us if the feds still did this. They officially killed this program in 1976, but the odd American community still has miniature versions of it.

What made me think of it was Sandusky, Ohio’s Mow to Own program. Essentially, if you take care of an abandoned lot next to your property for one to two years, it’s yours. The city auditor’s office comes around to confirm that you are holding up your end. If so, you could have extra space for a garden, shed, or parking at the next family event, while the city is relieved of the expense of maintaining abandoned property. Mansfield, Ohio is considering the same thing.

It seems that whenever there are not enough people, or too much unused land to profitably care for, governments try to find ways to sop up the overflow. Often, this is done with land banks where cities gather up abandoned property to strategically develop and sell or give to nonprofits to develop. Among the places in the U.S. to do this are Lucas County (Toledo), Ohio and Genesee County (Flint), Mi. For a study of some other cities that have created land banks, see this from the University of Michigan. However they do NOT give away land. However, some small towns in the Midwest, you can still get free land, and the Center for Rural Affairs keeps an up-to-date list. Organic Gardening also did an article on this.

Among big cities, Buffalo, New York has an urban homestead program that allows totally unwanted property—where no one has attempted to buy it—within certain neighborhood boundaries of the city—to be sold for $1 plus closing costs. It’s one of the last examples of cities trying to deal with abandonment this way.

Rebate Money to Buy Mobility Equipment for New Cars

2011-07-25T21:53:00.001-04:00

Awhile back, I wrote an entry on a program that helpsdisabled veterans buy adaptable vehicles. However, many automobile manufacturers have programs of their own tomake it easier to put mobility equipment into their cars andvans. Most have a program that will giverebates of up to $1000 cash back for the cost of installing adaptiveequipment. These include Toyota, Ford,Lexus, Honda, Acura, Chrysler, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Hyundai, Jaguar,Volvo, and Scion. Volkswagen and Kia donot have a companywide program, but individual dealers might. Ask a dealer if he or she does.

Here’s two good websites on buying adaptive equipment. One is from the National Mobility EquipmentDealers Association on where to find equipment dealers and other possible sourcesof funding, and one from Disaboom on how to choose equipment.

Researchers, Scholars: The Best Reference Book You Probably Never Used

2011-07-22T22:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we got our new edition of the Annual Register of Grant Support (44th), and I was struck anew with 1) what a good resource it is for people searching for scholarships, fellowships, and research money and 2) how the format and indices suck. For that second reason, you have probably never used it, preferring such fee-based items as the Foundation Directory Online, the Foundation Directory of Grants to Individuals Online,Grantselect, the PEN website (if you're a writer), and free sources like GrantsNet, (for science researchers), the New York Foundation for the Arts website for artists, or Scangrants in the biomedical field. They are all electronic, and have better indexing than the cumbersome, paper ARGS. But hear me out.

It has over 2900 listings of annual grant opportunities by private foundations, state and federal government agencies, universities and colleges, for-profit companies, museums, fraternities and sororities, nonprofit groups and professional associations. FDO does mostly companies, public charities and for-profit companies. The federal and state are covered (to some extent) in Grantselect, and other subject specialized listings cover some of the others. But if you are trying to track down every bit of cash possible, you should try their 1) subject index 2) organization and program index (if you know or suspect the name of a program or organization or 3) geographic index (it's not great--only breaks it down by state). For instance, you will find both awards granted to historians of Spanish colonial Texas history by the Sons of the Republic of Texas, (not available in FC products) and research money put forth by the Buildings and Fire Research Laboratory (ditto), for the purpose of research into the mechanics of fire, or the American Headache Society (a fellowship in headache treatment and prevention). There is a good amount of overlap in Foundation Center products and ARGS. But enough is unique to make it worth your while.

The book is divided up into humanities, international affairs and area studies, special populations (women, minorities, etc.), urban and regional affairs (covering human services, crime prevention, and social welfare), education, social sciences, physical sciences, life sciences, and technology and industry (applied sciences like engineering, mining, nutrition, home ec, etc.). It is NOT a resource merely for individuals--like many grant directories, it leans towards funding organizations. But there are enough post-secondary and research grants, from sources not covered by other directories, to make it worthwhile. Don't whine about the dead tree format. Suck it up, spend a few hours looking through it at your public or university library, and you probably won't be sorry.

Finding More Microlenders in the United States

2011-07-18T06:19:00.003-04:00

I’ve written about microfinancing and microgrants for for-profit outfits before, but wished to add news about an established group and its activities in the United States. Kiva is a nonprofit organization that has given aspiring business people in economically developing countries a chance to get microloans, while giving people in affluent countries a chance to loan them the money. What is less known is that they have partnered with nonprofits in to provide microloan opportunities for business microloans in the U.S.

Kiva’s partner page lists their partners around the world, but you can limit by world region. In North America, they partner with ACCION, a nonprofit that loans in the Texas and Louisiana areas, as well as ACCIONAmerica, which loans across the United States, the Opportunity Fund,(California) and Grameen America. Check out these organizations if you are interested in getting a microloan, or Kiva if you have an interest in financing a microloan for up-and-coming business people in the United States, as well as other countries.

Kiva is also working with ACCION America to work in specific cities. The first was Detroit, and its first round of financing has already been distributed. More financing will be available in the future, so check it out if you are interested and in the Detroit area. And stay tuned for more microfinance opportunities in other cities.

New Rules on Title IV Student Loan Schools

2011-07-15T21:40:00.001-04:00

As mentioned in a previous post, the federal government was planning to tighten the rules on which colleges and vocational schools are eligible to receive Title IV funding (eligibility for federal student loans). This has been in response to issues with for-profit higher education institutions that have been accused of creating big debts for students who graduated, got jobs that didn’t pay well, and left the federal government holding the bag for student debt. The rules have come out. They are not as tough as originally proposed, but tougher than what is on the books now. In order to be eligible for Title IV aid (federal student loans), schools must have: at least 35% of their graduates repaying their federal loans, grads must have a debt to income ratio of at least 12% of their total income, and 30% of their discretionary income, for the school to retain Title IV eligibility. If not, the school loses their Title IV eligibility in 2015. In other words, they have to have a track record of providing an education that will lead to a good job, and establish a track record of not stiffing the federal government on student loans.

Still, the burden falls on you to check it out ahead of time. Most specifically, will the amount of debt you take on by borrowing the money to attend be worthwhile? There’s a couple of ways to do this: check out the actual job prospects and pay levels for a job you are considering training for. Are there other schools in the area that train you for the same jobs, but cheaper? Will you actually get the credentials you need to practice your new occupation? Sources of information on these questions follow.

In Ohio, you can look up which proprietary schools teach particular programs, and then compare them. Nationally, there is the college navigator, in which you can put in your zip code, the radius you want, and the type of school (public or private, 4 year or 2, etc.), and have a list pulled up for you. You can find tuition costs, programs, and more, and create lists of schools that you can compare. If you are looking for retraining-oriented schools, this website will allow you to search for the schools in your state that provide education in particular fields—at least theschools that have been o.k.’d for Workforce Investment Act reimbursement. Even if there’s no WIA money in your state (more than likely, given the bent of the current Congress), it still gives you an idea of what vocational programs are out there for you to compare.

As for good credentials, remember to check two places: find out (the Occupational Outlook Handbook is a good place to start) what organizations offers accreditation in the field you are thinking of entering, and if licensing is required in your state for the career you want. If your state licenses this occupation, does the school have requirements that matches your state? If not, you may spend a lot of money for training that your state--or your new profession's accrediting agencies--don't recognize.

Extended Mortgage Forbearance for Unemployed (Foreclosure News)

2011-07-10T08:55:00.000-04:00

HUD made a major change to foreclosure policies for mortages serviced through the FHA. Unemployed people behind on their mortgages (starting August 1st), will be given 12 months forbearance before foreclosure procedings begin, rather than the three months currently available. Servicers (institutions that make loans), will be given 60 days to implement this. This is NOT required of loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--their forbearance periods are between 3 and 6 months. And, at the end of the forbearance period, lenders must review the case to see if the borrower is eligible for any other foreclosure programs. If they are not, they must notify the homeowner with a reason why within seven calendar days.

If you are having a foreclosure problem, whether you are eligible for this program or not, find a good, non-ripoff foreclosure counselor to advise you on your next steps.

Could You Use Some Financial Coaching and Advice? It May Be Out There.

2011-07-06T23:46:00.001-04:00

What’s a financial opportunity center? It’s a place where low or moderate income people can go to get help in setting long-term financial goals, like savings and investment, from people who aren’t selling products. They can help think about where you would like to be financially in the long term, and how to use resources in your community like job training, benefits and income tax preparation as tools to get there. This goes beyond “emergency help” and works to get people to the next level, where they are planning on creating financial assets and growing them for the long run.

In north Toledo, ONE North has created a financial opportunity center at 2860 Lagrange Street near Dexter for people living in north Toledo. The phone number is (419) 724 5640. You can get “financial coaching” to achieve your financial goals, income tax preparation, and financial education opportunities, like the budgeting and banking class on July 13th, or the class on credit and loans on July 23rd.

But Toledo is just one city with financial opportunity centers. Other places include Detroit, Houston, Cincinnati, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Chicago, Indianapolis, San Diego and more. They are funded in cooperation with LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation), a national nonprofit, but they are run by local nonprofits in their cities. Look for the local LISC office in your area and ask if there is a local nonprofit with such programs. They can tell you if they have a local nonprofit partner that provides such services.

Newest Source of Funding for Foreclosure Help. But You Have to Act Fast

2011-07-03T06:50:00.002-04:00

Another (small) program has opened up for some homeowners caught up in the housing crisis. For people NOT living in the 17 states covered by the Hardest Hit Fund Program, another program has been set up, the Emergency Homeowner's Loan Program. For up to 30,000 homeowners, applications will be taken to be put into a lottery for no-interest, forgivable loans of up to $50,000 that can cover back payments and partial payments of future mortgage payments up to 24 months, or up to $50,000 total loan. There are, in fact, lots of limits: you can't be in the 17 states covered by the Hardest Hit program, and even if you qualify, the program is limited by money: there is only enough funds for 30,000 participants. You must be at least 90 days overdue on your mortgage, and involuntarily unemployed or underemployed. And you must apply by July 22, 2011. For more FAQ, see this site.

Of course, since these are loans, NOT grants, there is a chance that 1) you will have better times ahead, make more money, and be able to repay them or 2) you won't and you will be in more debt than before. To talk to someone about this, don't bother calling any commercial services to help you: free help from HUD counselors can answer any of your questions. See this page to find qualified ELP counselors.

Sorry, but the TMACOG Program for Cars for the Needy is Done

2011-06-29T21:50:00.001-04:00

The Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) once ran a program to help low-income parents obtain a reliable, used car if they needed it to get between work and home. Sadly, I called TMACOG earlier this month and found the program had ended due to funding cuts--the federal money that supported it was not renewed. I am not aware of any other auto program like this in the Toledo area, but will post one if I find it. For programs in other cities, see this post, and check this out for Detroit/Southeast Michigan.

Communities and Their Promise to Educate Their Kids

2011-06-27T06:02:00.000-04:00

Several cities now offer public school graduates in their community the chance to attend college without the burden of tuition or debt. One of the pioneers is Kalamazoo,Michigan. Starting in 2005, kids who attended Kalamazoo Public Schools could get tuition paid for 65-100% of costs to Michigan public colleges and universities, depending on how long (one to thirteen years) that they attended Kalamazoo Public Schools, regardless of GPS. It’s funded entirely by private donations.

Now the city of Detroit is following suit. In 2009, it was first offered to graduates of Cody High School, and expanded the following year to graduates of Cass Tech, Central, Cody, Douglass, Pershing and Trombly High Schools. For the classes of 2011-2014, it has been extended to all graduates. Seniors must apply early in their senior year.

In Toledo, the UT Guarantee holds the offer of tuition guarantees at the University of Toledo for all Toledo Public School graduates who are Pell-grant eligible and have GPA of 3.0 or better. Recently, the university extended that offer to public school students across Ohio and in Monroe County, Michigan, just north of Toledo.

Universities and communities in other parts of the country have such programs, too. Georgia Tech has the G Wayne Clough Promise Program, in which incoming freshmen from anywhere in Georgia can receive aid from the scholarship program and other sources to create a debt-free scholarship to attend that school.

In Denver, the Denver Scholarship Foundation has a program for Denver High School students who have attended the schools for the last 3 consecutive years, have at least a 2.0 GPA, and demonstrated financial need. In Long Beach, California, a partnership between that school district, Long Beach Community College and California State University has resulted in, among other things, a free first year attendance for Long Beach High School grads at LBCC for their first year.

Financial Help for Disabled Veterans Who Need Home Care

2011-06-23T22:46:00.002-04:00

I’ve written about financial help for home health care for the aged or disabled kids. Various programs exist specifically to aid disabled veterans. There is funding to help disabled veterans purchase an accessible home, or modify a house that they already own. There is also financial help for veterans and their surviving spouses who are disabled enough to need help with their daily living and self-care, too. The Aid and Attendance and Homebound Pension are supplements to other pensions to help with the expenses of self-care or nursing home or assisted living, and a veteran must be qualified for another military pension to be eligible.

To qualify, a veteran must have served 90 days, at least one day during a period of war, and for veterans who have joined after September, 1980, must have 24 continuous months of service. Discharge must be under other than dishonorable conditions. Income limits for veterans applying for either of the pensions is $19,736, $23,396 if the veteran has a dependent, and $2020 for each additional dependent. For surviving spouses, the limit is $12,681--$15,128 if there is a dependent child, and $2020 for each additional dependent child.

Aid and Attendance and Homebound pensions are two separate programs, with different qualifications. For the Homebound pension, a veteran must be 100% disabled with one condition, and confined to their home, or 100% disabled with one condition, and at least 60% disabled with another. For the Aid and Attendance pension, the veteran requires requires the aid of another person in order to perform personal functions required in everyday living, or is bedridden, or the veteran is a patient in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity, or is blind, or so.

See this website for more information, and apply online.

Communication Devices for Autistic Kids

2011-06-20T21:24:00.000-04:00

Last spring, I posted a preapplication deadline for Itaalk, an organization that gives devices like ipads and ipod touches to kids with autism spectrum disorders, to increase their communication ability, as well as providing training to parents and teachers to help children use these devices most effectively. Their website has a host of information, and accepts donations of used communication equipment.

Besides this, they list other organizations that provide these devices for ASD kids. If you know a young person that could use this help, check them out.

A Roundup of Some Good Places to Start Looking for Scholarships for the Disabled

2011-06-17T21:50:00.000-04:00

In looking up some other stuff for a previous blog entry, I found the Disaboom website, and, one of their subsites for scholarships for the disabled. It got me to wonder what else was out there.

Of course, there is the wonderful book, Financial Aid for the Disabled and Their Families, one of the books in the terrific series by Reference Service Press on financial aid for various groups, such as African Americans, women, Hispanics, etc. Check it out at your nearest library if you can. Here's some other stuff you can find right on teh internets:

The venerable Disability Resources has a scholarship site, with a list of books and a short list of scholarships, as well as links to tips on how the disabled can finance a college education.

Michigan State University's site on grants for individuals includes a subset on scholarships for the disabled.

Disabled World has a section on scholarships.

As always, check the usual suspects: the financial aid pages of the schools in which you are interested (many have scholarships exclusive to that school), and the higher education department in the state in which you live. States, like individual colleges, may have their own programs.

School Vouchers On the Move

2011-06-13T22:26:00.002-04:00

One of the shake-ups taking place on the state level across the country to to establish or expland not only charter schools, but the availability of vouchers to parents who wish to send their children to private schools. In Indiana, a new law takes effect that creates vouchers on income. A family of four earning less than $41,000 a year is entitled to a $4,500 voucher for a student in grades one through eight and $4,964 for a high school student. Families of four that earn between $41,000 and $61,000 can receive up to $2,758 per student in any grade. The voucher bill law also includes a tax deduction of $1,000 for each child currently enrolled in a private school or home school. However, the number of students eligible will be limited for the first two years. For more information on the new tax credit and voucher program, see here.

Wisconsin is moving to expand its voucher programs outside of Milwaukee, and Ohio is edging towards expanding public financial support for attendance of private schools beyond the current program, which allows vouchers for kids in academically failing schools.

But the latter two states have not had everything hashed out just yet. For the most up-to-date information on your state, see the map here and click your state on school privatization support. It's biased in a pro-voucher way, so you can interpret the analyis of pro/con at your own discretion, but it is well updated, and if you want to see what your options are to support your kid attending private school, this might be a good place to start. Another place is at the website of your state's Education Department.

Some more ideas: scholarship providers for private schools, the MSU website for individual education grants, and more state, regional, and local scholarship and voucher programs.

Grants for Travel.

2011-06-10T22:29:00.000-04:00

Who’s going to pay you to travel? Some organizations will, but remember, it’s like any other grant—your interests have to align with the grantors! If you are thinking, “who’s going to finance my vacation?” the answer is probably nobody. But if you’re thinking, “I need money to study French culture and language in France”, then maybe the Societe des Professeurs Francais et Franophones d'Amerique can help. Or, if you want to study Polish culture, the Kosciuszko Foundation might be what you want. The same is true if you want to study in a Scandinavian country—the American-Scandinavian Society may be what you are looking for. If you wish to provide service to other countries, the Rotary Club has scholarships for that purpose.

Here’s a strategy for finding cultural scholarships: go to Foundation Grants to Individuals (available at more than 600 U.S.cooperating collection libraries), and in the Type of Support box, type travel. In the geographic focus box, type international. Another field that tends to give grants to individuals to travel and study is the arts. If you are an artist, try using travel in the Type of Support box, and Arts in the Field of Interests. Using this strategy, you can find organizations like Meet the Composer, which sponsors travel expenses for composers.

Besides foundations, the government also sponsors some travel for study and work purposes. The National Security Education Program offers the Boren Scholarships for travel and study in strategically important foreign countries. The National Endowment for the Arts has grants to support travel for writers to further their work, too.

If you are need funds for biomedical research-related travel, you can use Scan Grants, a free database of non-federal grants in the field. One of the categories on the right hand side of the page is travel grants—click it and you get the full list. But if you want to narrow it down to grants relevant to your needs, do a more complex search, and choose the travel category, with a word search in your field, like "cancer" or "dermatology." You will get a list of grants for travel to conferences, study, or other research.

What An Artist Needs...a Fiscal Sponsor

2011-06-07T04:35:00.001-04:00

There are not a lot of individuals who fall in the category of being eligible for grants on a regular basis, outside of researchers and artists. For artists, fiscal sponsors are a necessity. It's simple. Most grants are only given to entities with a 501c3 (nonprofit charitable) status by the IRS, and individuals don't have that. But a "fiscal sponsor" is an entity that does have the status, and serves as a "pass through" organization. They receive the money, and then give it to the individual. So where do you find such an organization?

Artists can find them in a number of places, but it's good for the organization to have some sort of logical relationship to the individual or small, non-501c3 organization for whom they are serving as a pass-through. So, an art organization that deals with artists. One place to look for one is at the Fiscal Sponsor Directory. Once you go there, do a search by service category, and you can choose "Arts and Culture." You will see an alphabetical list of organizations that provide this service, along with the criteria for eligibility, and conditions. They may require a small part of the grant as an administrative fee, and may have other stipulations. They also have more suggestions for fiscal sponsorship. You can also go to the New York Foundation for the Arts resources website and do a keyword search for "sponsorship." Another place to try would be the local or state art's commission near you, and check whether or not they offer this service. A prominent national organizations that does fiscal sponsorship for artists on a national basis is Fractured Atlas.

Another place to look is in the Foundation Grants to Individuals. This is a fee-based database, so to access it for free, see one of the several hundred Foundation Center Cooperating Collections near you, which will have it. When you get to FGI, choose "type of support," and enter "fiscal agent/sponsor." They list 92 such organizations. You can narrow it down by the "field of interest" search box, and choose "art." For more information on fiscal sponsorship, see the Foundation Center's (totally free) online information on the in's and out's of using a fiscal sponsor. For more information, buy or go to your local library for the Gregory Colvin book, Fiscal Sponsorship: Six Ways to Do it Right.

Find Yourself Some Unclaimed Cash (If You are Owed), Wherever You Are

2011-06-04T17:05:00.001-04:00

What is "unclaimed money?" It can take many forms--old bank accounts you forgot to clear out (it happened to me), unclaimed tax returns, utility deposits, money held in escrow from a federally insured mortgage, and more. And it can happen on both the state and federal level. How do you find unclaimed cash that might be owed to you?

Whatever state you live in, there is an office that holds on and distributes unclaimed funds--and you can access that information without paying a go-between! Simply go to the site of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), and click on the state in which you are interested. It might be a state that you live in now, or did live in sometime in the past. You will quickly get a link to that state's search engine and complete instructions for finding money to which you may be entitled. You may also wish to check your county's treasury or auditor's office to see if you are owed money from a local court settlement or jury duty.

But the feds have a website that performs that same on a federal level--and more. However, it's a little more complicated. Once at the federal site, you must pick a type of fund that you could be owed--a pension from a former employer, or the insurance from a federally insured mortgage, bank failures, shares from a credit union, or more. There's even savings bond calculators and class action suit searches. Search your brains out. Go nuts. I won't even ask for a cut of the money.

How Do You Find Money for Individuals on Grants.gov?

2011-05-31T05:16:00.001-04:00

It’s not as easy as it should be, but there are some strategies to mine grants.gov, the search engine and information center for federal grants, in order to find programs that individuals and for-profit businesses can apply for. When you go to grants.gov, choose “find grant opportunities” in the red area on the left-hand side of the page. When you get there, you have several choices; click “advanced search.” At the next page, you have lots of options, but DO NOT enter a keyword in the keyword search box. Why? Because you cannot use it with the other search options, like “search by eligibility.”

This last option is important to remember, because not every entity is eligible to get a grant: in every grant opportunity, it is spelled out who or what constitutes an “eligible applicant.” Most grants can only be successfully applied for by nonprofits or state or local governments. Only a relatively small fraction can be applied for directly from the federal government. So, look through the list of eligible applicants in that box: it will include state governments, Native American tribal governments, and more. Among the list are: individuals, small businesses, and for profits other than small businesses. Pick the one that applies to you, highlight it, and look at the other search boxes. Narrowing down to grants that you are eligible for will save you lots of time and frustration.

If you know what agency you want to look for, highlight that agency. If not, go to the box that says: search by funding activity. It will list broad categories, like housing, community development, business and commerce, etc. You can highlight one of these if you wish. You can choose a few boxes to highlight before you click the search button.

Here’s something to remember: you must choose if you want to search in open, closed, or archived opportunities. The default is open opportunities; that is, things that can be applied for right now. You can stay with that if you wish, but it might be worthwhile to also check the closed and archived opportunities. These are opportunities that have closed, but they are worth looking at for a couple of reasons. One is that the opportunity may periodically re-open (say, a grant opportunity that comes out once a year, each February), and you may prepare in advance for it. Another is that there may be agencies that fund grants in your field, but simply don’t have anything open now. Knowing that they provide this funding should lead you to checking out their website to see the funding chances that become available in the future.

For instance, if you choose small business eligibility, in the funding field of agriculture (not the agriculture department), you will find a handful of open opportunities. If you include closed and archived opportunities, you find many more that may re-open in the future, and in departments that you never thought of. Try it and see if it helps. And, as I said before, DON’T use keywords in the advanced search.

P.S.--These tips will mostly help private businesses and researchers. Individuals looking for help with heat, homebuying, etc., are still most likely helped by their state and local agencies and nonprofit groups, who receive federal money and create their own programs.

Finding Summer Food Programs for Kids

2011-05-27T21:07:00.000-04:00

School lunch programs end when the school year does, but the need for food goes on into vacation. In response to this, there is a summer feeding program, which funds lunch, breakfast and snack programs for children around the country. In theory, everyone should have access to food through this, but practically speaking, some people have more access than others. The US Department of Agriculture funds a summer feeding program and states distribute the funds, but they need local sponsors and places that are willing to be feeding sites. So some places have lots of coverage, and some have few or no feeding places. How can you find them if you need to?

If you’re in Lucas County, Ohio (covering Toledo), it’s a snap: go the Feed Lucas County Children’s summer feeding website with the full schedule of locations and times. Outside of that in Ohio, it gets tougher: the Ohio Department of Education has a site that is searchable by county. Senator Sherrod Brown also has a list of summer feeding sponsors in Ohio, and you could contact them for times and places. If you live in other states, there are a couple of routes you could take to investigate feeding sites near you. One is to check the agency in your state that is responsible for the summer feeding program, and see if they have a list. Or you could call the Hunger Hotline at 1-866-348-6479 and see if they know of any sites near you. Another possibility is to avail yourself of a 211 information and referral program if you live in an area that is covered by one.

Chances to Make Fewer Puppies and Kittens

2011-05-23T21:30:00.001-04:00

Northwest Ohio is fixing to fix a lot of pets, and stray cats, too. Humane Ohio is repeating its highly popular No Father Day, in which neutering for male cats in May and June will be only $20. You must, however, call 419-266-5607 for an appointment or make an online appointment request.

Also, Humane Ohio has a program for neutering/spaying all stray cats in the zip code of 43609 FOR FREE! Again, call Humane Ohio for details. Humane Ohio is also working with the Lucas County Dog Warden to spay and neuter 600 pit bulls this summer in Lucas County.

But if you don't live in northwest Ohio, there may still be programs to help you out. See this posting on financial help for veterinary care, including spay/neuter programs around the country.

How to Find a Neighborhood Stabilization Program That Can Help You Buy A New Home

2011-05-21T06:49:00.002-04:00

When I went through my mail yesterday, I opened a flyer from the city of Toledo that announced our city's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). This is an initiative funded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), that is aimed at holding together neighborhoods across the country that have been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. Abandoned houses are threatening the stability of these neighborhoods and threatening them with blight. In the case of Toledo, they have singled out some neighborhoods--Highland Heights, Secor Gardens and Library Village--to offer a homeownership program that is not limited to first-time buyers. It is limited by income--nobody can make more than 120% of the median income for the area (this is up to $73,800 for a family of four), and includes the usual homebuyer counseling component. You have to qualify for a fixed rate mortgage from an approved lender. But the best part is, you can receive a grant of up to 20% of the purchase price to help with downpayment and closing costs. To find out more, call the Department of Neighborhoods at 419 245-1400.

Better yet, you can find other programs like it in your hometown. Nosing around the internet some more, I found a HUD website that tells more about the NSP. Funds for it have been distributed around the country, and while it has some general guidelines--for instance, 25% of the money must help people making 50% or less of an area's median income, and must go towards stopping the ravages of the foreclosure crisis--each area creates its own program within those guidelines. Toledo chose to create the program I described above, but every city or county that received the grant money may do it differently. HUD provides another site with which you can identify a city near you that has received the NSF money, along with contact information. It will not necessarily tell you what you need to do to qualify--for that you need to contact the city officials--but it will tell you who to contact for details that apply in your community. Like Toledoans, you might get an opportunity to have financial help to buy a house without being a first-time buyer.

It's Not Really About Business Grants Like it Says it is, but Look at it Anyway

2011-05-18T09:39:00.004-04:00

Back when I was a wee girl in Detroit, sometimes there used to be an ad deep in the sports section that had SEX in big letters. When your eye got there, the small print underneath said, "now that we have your attention..." It says a lot about me and the whole ad game that I can't even tell you what the ad was really for.
I just saw a variation of this in the website Startup Nation, dedicated to small business startups. It has "Grants to Start a Business" in the headlines, and goes on to write about... the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program. It's very legit, but it's not grants. It's a federally-funded, but privately run, program, a string of about 450 outfits that give loans and equity financing (money raised by selling a share of your business) to small businesses. It often provides this financing when banks won't step in. It's money for your business, but it ain't grants. Which is fine, but please...If you need money for your business, and banks are not helping, this is one way to find some loan money.
The site gives links to two good sites: The National Association of Small Business Investment Companies, and the National Association of Investment Companies, which is geared more towards minority and women-owned firms. The best thing about the NASBIC website is that it has links to state development department websites, where, as it notes, much of the real direct government aid to businesses happens. So go. Enjoy. And find some business (mostly) loan money and other incentives. But they need to check more diligently for dead links! Keep on top of it, people.

Awesome Source of Financial Assistance in Detroit and Southeast Michigan

2011-05-14T21:04:00.001-04:00

While hunting around for help for a family member in Michigan, I called a county agency in southern Michigan. She didn't know about any help in purchasing a car, but she suggested I google "Julie's List." I did, and was very happy I did. Anybody who needs financial help in southeast Michigan will be happy to find it, too.

Julie's List is the brainchild of Julie Kennedy-Carpenter, and is run by her and some friends, and has all manner of resources listed: medical services, children's services and resources, clothes, caregiver support, housing, transportation, and utilities. It has public and private resources, money saving tips, and you can sign up to get updates on significant developments and events, like the Blessfest next weekend in Taylor, Michigan for people in need of financial help and employment. Oh, and they listed several programs for car purchase and repair.

But even if you're not in the Detroit area, it might be worth taking a look, because it includes some statewide and national sources of help, too. For instance, it lists the NIH website for nationwide sources of dental health assistance, and the Christian Credit Counselors. Because if you are including everything that can help people in an area, it means you include national stuff, too. So you should definitely check out Julie's List if you need help and live in SE Michigan, but look at the categories on the left-hand side of the page on the chance that a national resource may be useful to you, too.

Need to File Taxes? Apply for Student Aid? Find Benefits? Just Help Yourself.

2011-05-10T22:34:00.000-04:00

This blog has mentioned the Benefit Bank, a multi-state institution that provides conselors who sit down one-on-one with you and lets you know what benefits you are entitled to, as well as helping you fill out your taxes and getting all the credits that you may be eligible for, too. But now the Benefit Bank brings self-serve right to your computer.

The type of information you can get, or services you can get online, depends on what state you live in. In Ohio, you can file your federal taxes, apply for several types of benefits and help get medical insurance. Residents of Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina,Pennsylvania, and South Carolina can file their federal and state taxes as well as FASFA, the federal student aid form. Residents of other states can file their FASFA and federal taxes. It's a handy place.

You need to indicate what state you live in, and the self-help benefit bank will open up the available services. In Ohio, this includes a chance file for benefits, but separately, to input your information to find out what amount of benefits you can expect to receive by running an anonymous "quick check." However, to actually apply for benefits, you must register.

Check it out, but if you are using a public computer--like at the library--be sure you not only get off the internet when you are done, but shut off the computer so that your records are not available to the next people using it.

Help to Pay Summer Utility Bills

2011-05-06T21:59:00.001-04:00

Most people know that there is money to help low-income people pay their winter heating bills. However, many states have programs to help people pay their summer electric bills--and maybe even buy a window air conditioner--under certain conditions.

What sort of conditions? That would generally be if a person were elderly, and/or the person had a health condition that posed a real threat to their life or health. There are income limits, of course, and may require a letter from one's doctor. In Ohio, the person must be within 200% of the poverty level, have someone in the household over 60 or with a letter from their doctor documenting the medical condition that makes heat dangerous. With that, you may be eligible for $175 towards the payment of electric bills and a fan or air conditioning unit. Applications will be taken between July 1st and August 31st.

To find possible programs in your state, check your state's office in charge of heating assistance, and find out, if you have a summer program, when it begins.

It's Not Enough to Watch Out for Voc School Loans. Look Out for Law School Grants!

2011-05-02T21:10:00.002-04:00

This blog had a previous post on the potential ripoff of voc ed schools that have big costs (and federally-backed loans), but low graduation rates. Now, according to the New York Times, law school students are in danger of getting a precarious scholarship that could disappear quickly, and leave them with the unenviable position of taking out expensive loans to finish up their education. Here's how: good undergrads are offered merit scholarships that last as long as the student keeps up a certain grade point average, say, a 3.0. But since many of the first year classes are graded on a curve, it goes without saying that a certain percentage of people will be left below the mark and lose their scholarships. Unlike Lake Woebegone, not everybody is above average, although everyone assumes an exception will be made for them.
What's interesting is the why law schools do this: luring good students with high undergrad GPAs will raise the law school's ranking in U.S. News, a well-known publication that rates both grad and undergrad schools. So it helps the school's ranking to get smart students to enroll, even though administrators know that a certain number will be flushed out or end up deep in debt. It reminds you of the old college athletic practice of "running of"f recruits who were attracted to a football program by a scholarship, but later proved to be expendable.
Students can arm themselves with information, as revealed later in the story. As noted, there are ways to check the information to see how many scholarships are offered a year, and often information in student handbooks on how the grades are curved, so that you have an idea of how tough your scholarship is to hold on to. Like students attending the humblest voc-tech school, look before you leap onto that scholarship that is offered, in which you "just" have to keep your GPA above a certain level. And keep a lookout for other law school scholarships available that might look less attractive, but might be easier to keep. Look in places like the Ultimate Scholarship Book (at libraries are bookstores).

Disaster Money, and How to Find It

2011-04-28T18:15:00.000-04:00

The terrible tornadoes and storms in the south remind us how fragile life is, and how quickly it (and all our possessions) can be taken away. Where do you find help?
If a "natural disaster" is declared by the federal government, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is the place to go. In the case of Alabama, Oklahoma, and North Carolina, web pages have been created to let people know how to get help. You can follow the links, or remember this number: 1-800-621-3362. It's the general number to find FEMA disaster assistance. If you live in another part of the country harmed by a declared disaster, here's a link to all the federally declared disasters for 2011, with links that tell you how to get assistance. Here, in general, is a step-by-step of what you are eligible for, and how to apply.
Besides help for individuals, the SBA also offers low-interest loans for businesses hurt by disasters. Likewise, the USDA has disaster assistance programs, and the Internal Revenue Service has a page devoted to tax assistance to disaster victims. Don't forget to check out your state's page for disaster management--the link is at the bottom of the SBA page.

Scholarships Reserved for Menfolk? It's More Likely Than You Think.

2011-04-26T21:50:00.001-04:00

...although not terribly common. Back in the day, there were lots of scholarships for men, created to help create better-educated leaders in society (as exemplified by Rhodes Scholarships, which were meant to introduce American scholar-athletes to Great Britain and our special relationship with them). But the Rhodes Scholarship has now allowed women for decades. So where are these male scholarships?
Contrary to urban legend, it's not "illegal" to have a sex or race segregated scholarship--you just can't do it on the public dime. If you search Foundation Directory of Grants for Individuals, over 50 are in the subject area of "men." Not all of them are scholarships, and few (about a half dozen), are national in scope. Some are sponsored by fraternities, like the Zeta Psi"...dedicated to turn out into the world self-respecting, original-thinking, self-controlled, purposeful gentlemen." Their foundation gives scholarships to grad students in the U.S., and undergrads in Canada. The Gamma Mu Foundation gives scholarships to young (under 35 year old) gay men from rural areas.
The Spence Reese Foundation each year gives four scholarships to young men in their senior year of high school who plan on majoring in medicine, engineering, law and political science. The Salem Lutheran Foundation gives their to men studying to become Lutheran ministers in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. For more information, write the Salem Lutheran Foundation at 2700 E. Dublin-Granville Rd. Room 300, Columbus, Ohio 43231 or call 614-863-3124.
Maybe the most interesting of the bunch is given by the Maud Glover Folsom Foundation, which gives scholarships to young men of German or Northern European background. Just send an application--along with three generations of your family tree. You can receive the money till you are thirty--or unless you have a criminal conviction of "moral turpitude," join the ministry, or marry without the approval of the board of the foundation. Or fail to maintain a C+.
Other scholarships for men (most with geographic restrictions) can be looked up in the Foundation Directory of Grants for Individuals, available at a Foundation Center Cooperating Collection. Remember, too, that your local community foundation may also have little nuggets like this tucked away, funded by someone in the community that wanted to give boys a good start in life. Another possible source is the school which you wish to attend. Sometimes, alumni have created scholarships only available to students of that schools.

Finding Money for Telework and Business Starts for the Disabled

2011-04-23T06:28:00.002-04:00

A constant question that runs across my desk is “all the grant money that is out there for disabled people to start businesses.” Once again, there is an ounce of truth lying under a ton of baloney. There have indeed been grants given for self-employment for the disabled, but once again, they've been given to state, local, and regional nonprofits and government agencies to create programs for the disabled. They can be identified by finding groups that have received funds from the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 and Access to Telework Loan programs (money for adaptive equipment that makes it possible for the disabled to work from home).
And these grant-receiving groups have mostly created programs that provide low-interest loans, as opposed to grants, for disabled consumers. There are occasional exceptions, but that's mostly the rule.

Also remember a couple of things: first, this is federal funding that can change from year to year, and even disappear, depending on the whims of politicians. So if you are a big supporter of cutting federal funding for “all that useless crap?” Remember that this might be one of the things considered "useless crap." Also, the organizations themselves can run out of funds, as individuals seek money for their needs.

That having been said, here’s a list of state organizations that have received money from these funding streams, courtesy of RESNA (the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America ). This is clearly an old link, because many of the links within it are dead. The root links to organizations are o.k., but the links to particular programs are dead, meaning that the state organizational websites have changed, but RESNA did not check and update. So, when you run across a dead link, just backspace until you get the website of the organization, then click it on and search for the low-cost loan program, or contact the organization via the phone or email information provided. (I dunno. That could be outdated, too). But once you have identified the organizations that have received these federal funds, you’re in fat city, because you can then google them to find their current website and program information. For a more exhaustive listing of statewide programs that work in providing adaptive equipment programs for the disabled, including equipment loans, see this RESNA list. As a bonus, here's a link with a list of grantees to the telework programs. These organizations may have funds to help disabled people who need resources to do telework.

Think Inside the Borders of Community Action Agencies. And Outside Them, Too.

2011-04-17T22:16:00.000-04:00

I always compared the hunt for individual financial aid with chasing 10,000 rats down 100,000 ratholes. Something popped up recently to confirm this. I’ve written about community action agencies ( CAA’s) before, and the work they do in home ownership, repair, heating subsidies and so forth. But I always assumed that they provided services strictly within their boundaries. But WSOS, a northwest Ohio CAA that works in Wood, Ottawa, Seneca and Sandusky counties, also has some services in other areas. They have a low-cost loan program for child care centers that covers 10 counties, and a construction pre-apprenticeship program for displaced workers that covers 9 counties. I knew about the day care program, but didn’t know that the pre-apprenticeship program could help my library patrons in Toledo. The diseased ash removal program covers five counties. It goes on and on like this.

Let this be a lesson for all of us: when you are looking for financial help, nose around in institutions within whose boundaries you fall. But look at nearby CAAs, too. They may have received funding to help homeowners, or entrepreneurs, or renters outside their borders.

Don't Ask Any Old Guys About Financial Help for Medicine. Ask These Guys

2011-04-16T07:33:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I went to a library conference, and heard something that dismayed me. Where do young people go on the internet to get questions answered? I was horrified that they went to the library websites NEVER. Instead, they went to places like ask.com, or similar sites which just throw the question open to whomever wanders by and answers it. Which is like staggering into the biggest bar on earth, and asking all the barflies what to do. From what the speaker at the conference said, if two of the barflies (oh, excuse me, RESPONDENTS) agreed on an answer, the young person figured that had to be the truth. And since one in five Americans believe that the sun revolves around the earth--and not the other way around--that young person asking the question could end up hip deep in trouble and ignorance.

So, suppose you need help in finding financial assistance for a disease or a medical condition. There is a more reliable place to find an answer, and it's the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthfinder.gov. It has links to places to go for health careYou can go to the upper right hand corner of the page and type in your question, or you can go straight to popular requests. It will almost always have something about money, and on this particular day, the most popular request was prescription assistance. Under "financial assistance," a load of good stuff came out--like this information on insurance coverage for cancer patients. Or this sheet on information on financial help for amputees from the Amputee Coalition of America. Often, the link goes to an organization outside the National Institute for Health to directly to private organizations that deal with a condition or disease, so it serves as a springboard for even more information and support. And finally, this National Institute of Health all-purpose health financial aid site.

Two quick notes: when putting in your search on this page DON'T use the words grant or grants, since this will pull up grant opportunities for researchers. Use "financial assistance." Also, don't be surprised if there is not anything for a particular condition, and you are directed to the general page for assistance for the disabled. Sometimes no financial assistance has been found for people suffering from a particular condition, unless a group interested them as scraped up the money, or has lobbied Congress to create laws and funding to help.

Some Health Insurance Options for Artists

2011-04-13T05:17:00.001-04:00

Health care is being addressed in one way or another for many population groups, but it’s always been a toughie for independent workers in America, but especially in the (mostly) financially precarious world of artists. Not every place is as art-friendly as Austin, TX, which has health insurance programs for musicians. But there are some possibilities for artists to explore in their search for affordable health insurance.

AHIRC, the Artist’s Health Resource Center, offers guides to health insurance opportunities in several states and regions. They also have a state-by-state guide to insurance, drugs, as well as any programs set up just for artists.

But if you are a lone artist, how are you supposed to get the advantage of group rates? At least one non-profit group specializes in just that: Fractured Atlas. Artists can buy a policy through FA not only in health insurance, but casualty and liability. They have an online state-by-state guide as to what their members can get along with coverage, including a “health proponent,” a service to help guide members through the system, make appointments, and co-ordinate care when necessary. Also, see their Artist’s Insurance Guide with suggestions on everything that artists—or artist’s organizations, like theaters or dance groups—might need in the way of insurance.

Another Way to Receive Low-Cost Legal Help: the Pro Se Clinic

2011-04-09T20:32:00.003-04:00

People are familiar with pro bono (donated) legal services, but there is another way to get low-cost legal help if you need it. It's the pro se clinic, in which lawyers, law students or paralegals donate their services to help low-income people fill out the legal forms they need that help laypeople do their own footwork in court for a small fee, or free.

In a post a short while back, we discussed one of these types of pro se clinics: those that help ex-offenders fill out the paperwork to get their criminal records expunged or sealed. However, there are clinics covering other work, too: in Lucas County, Ohio (Toledo), the Toledo Bar Association runs pro se clinics for Juvenile Court and family law and well as expungement, with plans to run them from guardianship and bankruptcy. For more information on these, contact Pat Intagliata at 419-242-9363. Since the help involved is direction on how to fill out and file forms, it is often restricted to uncomplicated cases. For instance, the Lucas County Pro Se Clinic for divorce is only for cases where there are no minor children involved. When things get complicated, clients are advised to get either a private or pro bono attorney.

How do you find these in your area? One place to look is the online directory of court pro se clinics. These are run in the courts themselves (like a district federal court or bankruptcy, for instance). Another is the directory of places to go for free/low cost legal help from the American Judicature Society. You may ask the local legal aid office in your community. You can also search google for "pro se clinic" (in quotes), and the name of your city or the type of law you are dealing with, such as bankruptcy or divorce. Or, you could contact your local bar association. Another possibility is a local law school--sometimes, their students will fill out forms under the supervision of their professors.

***Important: Because a clinic is "pro se" doesn't necessarily mean it's free or low-cost. "Pro se" just means that it helps you do your own legal work. Commercial, for-profit companies may do these clinics, too. When you contact and ask them, ask HOW MUCH it will cost you. Don't assume it's free or low-cost.

A New Way to Use GI Bill Benefits...for Your Spouse or Children

2011-04-03T03:44:00.000-04:00

Service members looking for a new way to help their family members attend school now have another option. In 2009, the VA offered the opportunity to transfer GI Bill education benefits from eligible veterans to their spouses and children. To be eligible, a service member has to have 10 years in active duty or select reserve, or six years with a committment for four more. Spouses can use the benefit for up to 15 years after separation from the military, while children aren't bound by the separation date, but must be 26 years old or less. The benefits can be used by one person in the family, or split among eligible family members.

Go to the transfer eligibility website to see if you are able to get this transfer, then your family members can apply for it. Then, family members can apply for the benefit.

Northwest Ohio! Get Your Ash Off the Property!

2011-03-31T20:46:00.001-04:00

The emerald ash borer has created hotspots of destruction throughout the U.S. east of the Mississippi River, including the area in and around Toledo, Ohio. Trees have been eradicated with grants and the use of public money on public lands, but people who had diseased trees on their own property were without financial help--until now.

But the WSOS Community Action Agency is here to help. In Lucas, Wood, Ottowa, Sandusky and Seneca Counties, homeowners with dead and dying ash trees can now get grants to help with the cost of tree removal. Those within 300% of the poverty level must contribute 35% to the cost of tree removal, and those above that level must kick in 50% of the cost. But you have to move fast--applications are only good through June 3, 2011. For more information, call 419-334-8911or 1-800-775-9767.

A List of Stuff to Check for Your College Scholarship

2011-03-28T22:28:00.001-04:00

The first place to check is...the school or schools that you are considering. Many scholarships are offered at only one school, not all of them. Therefore, the famous scholarship for left-handed student that everybody asks about is only available at Juniata College, because an alumna at that school gave them the money for it. So see what is available through the scholarship web page of the school(s) you are thinking about.
Another place your local service clubs, like the Lions, Rotary, Optimists, etc.. Many local chapters will set up scholarships for local students.
State, local, and national organizations in your future line of work. Check the Gale Encyclopedia of Organizations for national and state organizations. For example the American Culinary Federation, which has a national scholarship program, and has links to other scholarship programs for professional cooking specialties, as well as scholarships for specific schools. Here's more scholarships for culinary school from the Reluctant Gourmet. On a local level, the Maumee Valley chapter of the ACF has its own scholarship program for Toledo-area students.
Check the governing body of public higher education in your state. Every state has one, and there are often statewide scholarship or financial aid programs that originate there. Check out the agency for your state, and see if there is anything for you.
And if you are a high-school student or the parent of one, start looking around in the beginning of junior year so that you have plenty of time to get the lay of the land and apply.
Check some of our other entries on scholarships, too.

Grants for Equipment for Disabled Hunters

2011-03-24T21:03:00.001-04:00

We have written lots of posts about financial help of one sort or another for the disabled. But this was intriguing--grants for equipment for severely disabled hunters in financial need. The Buckmasters American Deer Foundation, which is a charitable outgrowth of the hunting group Buckmasters, has an online list of hunts for disabled hunters. In addition, they organize events and give grants for adaptive hunting equipment for those who are disabled, unable to work and with an income of less than $10,000 a year. If disability and income are holding you back from hunting, this is worth checking out.

Pre-Application for Interactive Equipment for Autism Spectrum Disorder Kids

2011-03-21T12:57:00.002-04:00

The Itaalk Foundation is pleased to announce that it's taking pre-applications for awards of over $7500 worth of interactive electronic equipment--like ipads and iphones--for kids with a ASD (autism spectrum disorder) medical diagnosis. Itaalk wants for ASD kids to have access to this equipment, and the educational and fun aps that go with them, so that young people with autism and related disorders can gain the power of communication. See the Itaalk Foundation website and the application for more information. Though the foundation is based in northwest Ohio, anyone in the U.S. is eligible. Deadline is March 31st.

Bonus goodness: Itaalk Foundation also has a list of other sources of financial help for autistic kids, not only in northwest Ohio, but in the U.S. Check it out.

Adaptive Equipment and Housing for Disabled Veterans

2011-03-18T19:58:00.003-04:00

There are some special grants available for disabled veterans from VA. One is for a car with adaptive equipment, or the adaptive equipment itself. To qualify, you must lose both hands or both feet, or the use of them, or suffer some impairment of vision in a service-related disability. The grant for the car itself is up to $11,000, and is one-time only, and the adaptive equipment grant can be obtained more than once. For more information, call 1-800-827-1000.

Besides the adaptive housing help I outlined before, the VA also has a program for veterans who are disabled due to a service-related injury. This can include blindness, severe burns, or loss of the use of the upper or lower body. Currently, the amount is about $68,000 (to purchase a house), or over $12,000 to adapt a house currently owned. Also, veterans are eligible for smaller grants to help retrofit the home of a relative with whom they live. For more information, call 572-272-0091.

Finding the Finances to Send Your Kid to Camp

2011-03-14T21:51:00.001-04:00

Summer camp season is coming up, and parents are wondering how to make that experience financially possible for their kids. A number of possibilities spring up. One is to approach the camp itself and see if camp scholarships—camperships—are possible. According to the American Camp Association, over 90% offer some form of financial assistance. Another is to see if your child’s camp care could qualify for a tax deduction.

Other options:

See what type of denominational (religious) camps offer sliding scales and financial help, like the Catholic Youth Organization camps, Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Center the Baptist Camp and Conference Center, or the Jewish Camp Foundation. There may be others--check with your minister to see if your denomination has youth camps and camperships.

For summer music camp for kids grade 7-11, see the Music Research Society Endowment Fund ( c/o Diana Farris, 1115 SE Brookside Pkwy., Bartlesville, OK 74006, tel.: (918) 333-6719).

If you have a Boy Scout and would like him in a BSA camp program, try the regional Boy Scout Council in your area. They may have camperships.

If your child is disabled or has a medical condition, check Brave Kids to see what camps may be available. They may be free or offer a sliding scale, or scholarships, depending on the camp. Brave Kids deals with national organizations, and local aid programs in Chicago, NY City, LA/Orange, San Francisco, Sacramento, most Florida cities, DC/Baltimore, Buffalo and Syracuse. Go to the search box on the left hand side of the screen, and choose “camps” under resource type. Be sure to click on the box that shows national resources.

Look in the Foundation Directory for Individuals and see if there may be a regional campership program from a local foundation in your area. You can access the FDI at the nearest cooperating collection of the Foundation Center.

Looking for Some Sustainable Farmers and Ranchers to Honor

2011-03-11T23:06:00.000-05:00

The Sand County Foundation is taking nominations for the 2011 California Leopold Conservation Award. It's a $10,000 prize to recognize a rancher or farmer in California who "demonstrates outstanding, sustainable management of natural resources." It's one of the Leopold Conservation Awards, also offered in Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming and Wisconsin. They are made in honor Aldo Leopold, the ecologist who wrote A Sand County Almanac. See the website for applications for each state.

Financial Help When You Care For Others

2011-03-09T04:39:00.004-05:00

Taking care of someone else--either a disabled child or adult, or an elderly relative--can be tough. You may need respite care to spend some time doing things you want or need to do, but may not have family in a position to help. Many states provide some financial help for low or moderate income people in this difficult position.

The National Respite Network gives an overview of the types of financial aid available, and how they work. A good place to start your research is the state Department of Health and Department on Aging where you live. You can find both of them for your state at the Healthy Aging Program website. They are usually the departments in charge of programs created to help caregivers. Besides offering in-home respite, they may offer adult day care on a sliding scale of payments.

An elderly or disabled person may also need help in their own homes, and need financial help in providing it. Most states offer help in providing personal help in the form of medicaid waiver programs, where the state helps pay for the cost of in-home personal care. These can be offered through state agencies that deal with different population groups. For instance, in Ohio, they are offered through the Department of Aging and the Department of Developmental Disability. The financial requirements and regulations vary from state to state. Find your state's department, and contact them for more information. A simple way to search via the internet for your state's program is to google the words "medicaid waiver" and the name of your state.

Stop Loss Pay Deadline Extended Again...

2011-03-05T04:18:00.000-05:00

...to March 18th. If you are a veterans, and your tour of duty was extended for stop loss purposes, you now have until March 18th to file.

Finding Home Modification Money for the Disabled

2011-03-04T07:27:00.005-05:00

A big help to people with mobility disabilities (the ability to walk or climb stairs, for instance), is financial help to make their homes more accessible. These can come in the form of grants or low-interest loans to build ramps or other modifications that can help them live in their own homes longer, or provide a friendly, supportive environment. Here’s some places where you can look for help:

Go to the National Directory of Home Modification Resources. It lists departments of aging and also departments of home finance (state housing authorities). These are useful if 1) you are old enough to qualify for the aid and 2) if your state housing authority has a program to finance home modification. However, if you aren’t, or they don’t, click on the link for Centers for Independent Living. This is a listing of agencies that specialize in things like home modifications, and are often on the money. There are usually income restrictions, but these aren’t usually too stringent. Of course, their ability to help you depends on whether they have enough money in their budget. One such place, for instance, is the Ability Center of northwest Ohio, which has a ramp and home modification program for the northwest Ohio region.

If you are elderly, the Eldercare Locator is useful, too. It offers different options for types of help. Pick the program called “home repair and modification.”

Finally, for people in 27 states, there is the nonprofit Accessible Space, Inc., which has over 100 accessible, affordable buildings where the disabled can live cooperatively. See their directory for buildings and other supportive services, where they are available.

Free Place to Search for Science and Social Science Research and Grad School Money

2011-03-01T07:08:00.000-05:00

Most of the places that you can search for grad school or research money are fee based, with two notable exceptions. One is Scangrants, the service by Samaritan Health Services, that shows research money in health-related research, but only from private (non-government) sources. To find money specifically for students, you have to go to the search page and choose "graduate student" or "doctoral student" in the audience options.

However, to search for both private and public money in the sciences, try Grantsnet, the "one stop shop for research and training" funding. However, to find the "training" part of the equation, see the advanced search page, which offers the options of research funding or student support tabs. It offers the options of searching for such things as internships, fellowships, scholarships, and more.Although it tends towards hard sciences, it also allows for some searching in behavioral and social sciences, too.