Tracking Down Free School Supplies in Toledo, 2015

It's that time of year, when people in need of school supplies for their kids but short on cash look for programs. The problem is that some programs are pretty sporadic or one-time. Worst of all, if you Google it (which is probably how you ended up here), you will get old stories from the local online newspaper, with a current date at the top! What to do?

You can call your local church or Salvation Army office to see if they know of a church or charity that is running a school supply program. Better yet, try your local 211 number or website.  If you can, search under "free school supplies" it's a United Way subject heading--and you will find a listing of organizations known to UW as givers in this particular field. For instance, I did this in the Toledo 211 website, and it lead to this link.  Or, if you are in Detroit or southeast Michigan, try Julie's List's rundown on free/cheap supplies, including computers.

Tis the Season. Christmas Assistance in Toledo, 2014

Once again, it's nearly time to apply for Christmas assistance wherever you live in the country. In Toledo, the Salvation Army will start taking applications in person on October 6th at their office on Erie Street.  For more information, see their website.

In Detroit, the Goodfellows are already accepting applications for Detroit, Highland Park, River Rouge, and Harper Woods, per their website: https://www.detroitgoodfellows.org/application.html. 

 

Detroiters Who Need Help With Their Water Bills Can Get Hooked Up With Donors

Two women who never met in the flesh, and share a belief that water is a human right rather than a commodity like notebooks and handbags, figured out a way to match up Detroiters who need help with their water bills with those who want to help them.  It's the Detroit Water Project, and it has a place to volunteer to donate, and a place to apply for help in paying your Detroit water bill.  If you sign up, your past due bill will be verified, and the payment will go straight to the water department from the donor.  If you need help, give it a try.

Water Payment Assistance in Detroit, and How to Find it in Other Cases

Right now, I guess we are having a dispute about how civilized and humane a society we are.  For instance, in a society where Wall Streeters can afford all the hookers and blow they can do in one night, are we really going to cut off the water on human beings, because they can't pay for it, and as we tell ourselves collectively WE'RE SO BROOOOKE?  Tens of thousands of Detroiters may in face having their water cut off for lack of payments and lack of ability to pay.

Julie's List has a listing of a program for Detroiters who can't pay their water bills via the Detroit Residential Water Assistance Program.  You can call 877-646-2831 for more information.  You must be a Detroit resident and have a shut-off notice to be eligible. What if you are in the 'burbs, and need financial help?  Julie's List's website is all over it with various agencies that help out with utilities in southeastern Michigan.  

If you live in other places, the first place to go if you have problems with your utility payments is the utility themselves. They often have programs associated with them, made up of voluntary contributions of other utility users. Another place to go is the local 211 number where you live and their website, if they make it available to the public.  Under heading "water service payment assistance," you will find what they have.  If you have a particular disorder or problem, for instance, if you have AIDS or are an ex-offender, or something about your status or illness makes it difficult to pay bills, you might want to use 211 to identify agencies that help people with your  particular illness or social status. 

If You're a Writer, Write Your Way to a New House in Detroit

Sure, there are lots of fancy schmancy residency programs out there for writers, and you can find them in directories and google searches.  But in what other residency are they giving away a whole house?  Why, in Detroit, and you have less than a week to write your way to a new house. 

The program is Write a House, in which aspiring writers of low or moderate income (and some writing history) can win a refurbished house that was rescued from foreclosure and restored.  Not for a year or six months--for keeps, to someone talented enough to win it and who wants to be an active part of the literary community of Detroit.  To be eligible, you must be a U.S. citizen, fall into the income limits, and submit your strongest writing before a panel of judges.  The full qualifications are here. The house is situated on the east side, north of Hamtramck. 

The point of all this is twofold:  to teach young people construction and restoration work while they work on their GEDs, and to make it financially attractive for writers to settle down in the D.  If you miss this run of the contest, they have a couple more houses that Write a House is planning to rehab and give away in the future.  To the right writer.

Business Plan Contest in Detroit, and Elsewhere

While there aren't many outright grants to start up your business, there are sometimes business plan competitions that you can enter.  And since a business plan--a detailed plan of your business's financial needs and prospects--is necessary if you wish to get lenders to loan you money, why not look into the possibility?

The nonprofit group Hatch Detroit is running its fourth annual contest, in which would-be brick and mortar retail business can win $50,000 and other support to help if they submit the winning business proposal. They are accepting proposals from now until July 16, 2014. 

But what if starting a brick and mortar retail business in Detroit is not your cup of tea?  Then check out Biz Plan Competitions, a site that tries to identify various business plan competitions and other such contests across the U.S.  And if you want to see a free sample business plan, check your local library to see if they have a print or electronic copy of Gale's Business Plan Handbook, a multivolume list of real business plans.  If you want to talk to a real person to develop your business plan, find a local chapter of SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives.  They are volunteers who mentor new and aspiring business people. And good luck!

Where to Donate Toys in Toledo, and How to Hook Up With Toys for Poor Children

Checking our stats, we see that people are still looking for help for Christmas, but also that they are looking for places to drop off toys for children.  The Toledo Blade had a nice roundup of where to drop off toys at this late date. 

Also, here's how to find dropoff spots for Toys for Tots, the U.S. Marine's program. Toledo's local Hope for the Holidays is still taking toys till December 20th. 

But what if you are in need?  In Toledo, call 211 to be put in touch with groups that might still be taking applications.  If you live in another area with a 211 information and referral service, try calling them.  Also try the Salvation Army, which is the Christmas Clearinghouse for a lot of communities.  Try your local church, which may be running a program or know of who is.  If you live in Detroit, check out this great listing from Julie's List.  Here's hoping next year is brighter for you.

Help With Property Taxes in Columbus, Ohio and Detroit

I've written before about breaks and assistance that you can get for property taxes, particularly in Ohio and Michigan. If you are in Franklin County, Ohio, there may be more help.  The Senior Citizen Property Tax Assistance Program, and endowment of the Columbus Foundation, offers property tax assistance to low-income seniors (60 years or more old), or the disabled.  For more information, call Senior Options at (614) 525-6200.

In Detroit Abayomi Community Development Corporation has assistance for homeowners who have trouble with property taxes.  See their website or call 313 541-9828 for more details. 

Holiday Assistance for 2013 in Toledo, Detroit and How to Look Elsewhere

The Salvation Army for northwest Ohio has already announced the dates and times at which people in Lucas, Wood and Ottawa county can apply for holiday assistance for 2013.  People in the know are aware that the time to think about holiday assistance is now--many agencies that function as "Christmas clearinghouses" gear up in the early fall.  Of course, Julie's List for southeast Michigan and metro Detroit has a holiday help listing that really shows how it's done.

So you may want to start identifying the Christmas clearinghouse agency in your town. That's the agency that coordinates holiday gift and toy services, so that they are spread around equitably. If your community has 211 services, you might want to start asking there.    Another good place to start asking is the local Salvation Army   They might not be the clearinghouse for your town, but they will know who is.  The Toys for Tots Foundation has a searchable database that lets you put in your zip code to tell you where to apply in or near your town. 

Business Financing, Microfinancing, and Other Incentives for Business in Detroit

Yes, my hometown of Detroit did go bankrupt.  When you are taking the freeway offramp in a major city and a pheasant scurries across your path, as happened to me a couple of years ago, that's damn near a foregone conclusion.  People now hunt (with dogs) in the vacant lots near my childhood home.  But where everything is a shambles, nobody has much to lose.  So some organizations and people have decided to throw what they can in the pot--either to live in Detroit and start businesses, or to create money or other incentives for business creation. 

Where to find them?  Midtown Detroit Inc., devoted to midtown development, has a whole page of incentives for business, housing development, microfinancing, loans, historic preservation, and more.
It goes beyond the midtown area to the whole city, and even other areas in Wayne County.  The list is staggering.  Know any Jewish entrepreneur who wants to remain in southeast Michigan?  There's a loan and mentoring program for them. The Urban Retail Loan Fund encourages the development of retail businesses in downtown and Detroit neighborhoods, a type of business that is usually overlooked in incentive programs.  Brownfield funds, tax incentives, it's all there.

Another place to look is Bizdom, the organization that provides $25,000 in startup money for entrepreneurs in Cleveland and Detroit, along with mentoring and training.  What's the catch?  In exchange for the money, they get 8% of your business's equity, and use the profits to finance other businesses in those cities.  What kind of people do they finance?  Those over 18 years old who are in tech and web-based businesses.  Learn more here.

Detroit High School Graduates Can Get a 2 Year Degree. For Free.

If you apply before June 30th, 2013 graduates of high schools in the city of Detroit (NOT ONLY Detroit Public Schools) can get a path to a free 2 year degree from a local community college.  Here's how: the Detroit Scholarship Fund will pay for the cost of school beyond what Pell and TIP can pay (but you must apply for those), if you attend one of these two-year schools: Henry Ford, Macomb, Oakland, Schoolcraft, and Wayne County Community College.  Just register by June 30th, 2013, and you could go through the first 2 years of your post-high school, free. 

Also, check out this article on other financial aid opportunities for community college students.