Free/Cheap Dresses for the Prom--the 2013 Season has Started!

Because of the mechanical problems that happen when cups of tea collide with keyboards, I've been offline for a couple of days.  However, it seems the 2013 prom dress season has begun, at least in Toledo.  Prom for Paws, the annual fundraiser for Toledo's Planned Pethood, will hold a sale of donated prom dresses--none above $25--to benefit Planned Pethood, a nonprofit that provides spaying and neutering to dogs and cats in the metro area.  The sale is at Salvatore Capelli Salon, 114 S. Boundary Street in Perrysburg from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 2nd.

*****pdate for Toledo and northwest Ohio************
The northwest Ohio low-cost prom dress event of the year is Owens College's, and parents and students will have their crack at gowns going from $5 to $20, and accessories from 50 cents to $5 on April 6th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Student Health and Activities Center.  For more information, call  (800) GO-OWENS, ext. 2569.

Outside of Toledo, the national network of volunteers involved with Cinderella's Closet has begun to roll out its schedule of prom dress sales.  There's also the Princess Project in California.  In Ankeny, Iowa, there will be a prom dress giveaway on March 4-8 from 4 to 7 p.m. via Project Fresh Start at Arkeny High School.    Lone Star College is sponsoring a prom gown giveaway at the CyFair Branch Library on March 15-17th, and April 19th and 20th in Cypress, Texas.  Call Elise at 281-290-5248 for more information.  And for prom dress giveaways in New York City, Dutchess County, New York, Atlanta and Baconton, Georgia, see the website here, for graduating seniors only.

****Update from Detroit:

The fourth annual Deja vu Prom Dress Resale will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Feb. 23, Sunday Feb. 24, Saturday March 2, Sunday March 3, at Grosse Ile Golf and Country Club, 9339 Bellevue Rd., Grosse Ile, Mich.

A Detroit event on April 14th: https://www.facebook.com/#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=509009009167029&id=128098500591417

 


 

Homestead Property Tax Exemptions--in Ohio, and Other Places

"Homestead" exemptions are exemptions on the value of a home to shield the homeowner fromtaxation, or to shield the home from creditors in case of bankruptcy.

In Ohio, the homestead exemption on property taxes are available to everybody over 65, or totally disabled, or the surviving spouse of a qualified homeowner who was at least 59 at the date of their spouse's death.  It shields $25,000 of the market value of the home from property taxes. At one time, there was an upper income limit for eligibility, but that was repealed several years ago.  And while this is a statewide law, you have to apply for the homestead exemption at your county auditor's office.

In Florida, there is a homestead exemption of up to $50,000 for which Floridians may be eligible if it's your permanent residence.  There are also exemptions for the disabled, blind, widows and widowers, and disabled veterans--all the links are on this page.

In Texas, those over 65, disabled, or a partially or totally disabled veteran may also qualify for an exemption on their principle residence.  More detailed information on Texas property tax exemptions here.

Get Extra Collateral to Fund Your Ohio Business. Get Access to More Funds in 10 More States

One of the biggest roadblocks in business funding for newcomers is finding the collateral that will make you a good loan prospect.  Many just don't have enough.  The Ohio Development Services Agency has a fairly new program to help.  It's the Collateral Enhancement Program.  It can provide up to 30% of the loan collateral for a small business (up to 50% for certified minority or women-owned businesses, or businesses in the HUB Enterprise zones. While business owners cannot apply for the collateral, lenders can.  However, if you think collateral might be an issue, you can contact a local Development Services Agency office and ask them to direct you to a lender that participates in the program. 

This program is the result of a grant from the U.S. Treasury Department to enhance the access of capital to small businesses in 11 states.  If you a small business owner in the other ten states-- Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, Oregon, and Alabama-- use the links to your state's business development office to find out what programs might be offered in your state.

Entrepreneurship Training for Ex Offenders--Starting Your Own Business

An obvious way to help ex-offenders become legitimate earners is to teach them how to start a business.  Many employers aren't crazy about hiring them, and starting a business is a risky thing, while lots of ex-offenders are O.K. with risk taking.  So where are programs to help them do this?

In looking it over, I found some common threads: 1) many programs start right in prison, among active prisoners, rather than people out on the street. However, some work with released people and 2) yep, there's no grants or money giveaways.  At best, some offer the chance to get a microloan on favorable terms.  But the training in entrepreneural skills, especially writing business plans that you can present to institutions that loan money, is important in being able to get access to money.

Where to look?  Probably the most well-known is PEP (Prison Entrepreneurship Program) in Texas, in which inmates are chosen from across the Texas penal system to participate, after which they are transferred to the Cleveland (TX) facility and given an intensive course in business startup skills like marketing, finance and business plan writing.  The inmates have to be within 18 months of the end of their sentences, with at least 6 more months to serve, and must read and do math on at least the 10th grade level. Likewise, the Oklahoma Ex Offender Entrepreneural Training and Support Services are for inmates with GEDs or high school diplomas who are close to release. For women prisoners in Washington State and Oregon, there is the LIFE Prison Re-entry program that teaches entrepreneural skills to prisoners at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, OR, and the Washington Correctional Center for Women.

But what's out there once you're out?  There are a few things around the country.  One is Defy Ventures in metropolitan New York, which offers business training.  JVSChicago runs all sorts of business and job training, but has in the recent past offered the B.E.S.T program especially for ex-offenders. Project ReMade in the San Franciso area run by the Stanford Law School provides business training for women ex-offenders that have been out at least a year, but less than five years who have a high school diploma or a GED.  WIBO (Workshop in Business Opportunities) in New York that does all sorts of business training has workshops for ex-offenders.  Most interestingly, in the San Francisco area, the Springmeyer Law Firm offers pro bono services for ex-offenders who are starting up their businesses.

For more information on ex-offender business training opportunities, see this Inc magazine article, which is a few years old, but still has good information.

Finding More Microlenders in the United States

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.

Grants and Easements for Environmental Preservation

Besides preserving the ecosystems of government-owned lands, federal and state governments often offer grants, tax breaks and technical assistance (advice) to the owners of private lands in order to preserve those ecosystems.  Of course, this is only for people who own land is is ecologically valuable, especially wetlands and environments that support rare species of animals and plants.   One of these is the federal wetlands program, but many states offer programs, too;  Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, even northeast Indiana (among many others) offer programs to land owners in the form of grants and easements (payments to keep the land undeveloped and in its natural state).   The National Landowners Network has a site that gives a state-by-state and federal rundown of financial incentives for land owners who agree to make their environmentally valuable land kept in its natural state, with commentary on its impact and usefulness to the land owner.

Got a Countrywide Mortgage? You May be Eligible for Help.

Bank of America, the new parent company for Countryside, has settled the suits against it by the governments of: Illinois, California, Iowa, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, Washington and Connecticut. The states of North Carolina, West Virginia, Indiana and Michigan were also in settlement talks. They involve accusations of deceptive mortgage practices by Countryside in the last few years. Among the charges by various state's attorneys-general, Countryside offered "teaser" rates that were short-lived and then jumped significantly. It's alleged that they also offered loans to people who could not adequately document their incomes, knowing that they would be unable to pay in the future. The total amount of money under the state settlements could run up to $8 billion dollars, and affect 400,000 borrowers.

What does this mean for you? If you had a mortgage from Countryside, depending on the settlement struck by your state, you may be eligible for a renegotiation of your mortgage, or foreclosure relief. It's earmarked for customers who have been foreclosed on or are in serious risk of foreclosure. In Ohio, eligible mortgage holders should soon start getting letters, telling them about their options. For more information, call 1-800-669-6607.

If you are in one of the other states affected, and have gotten a loan from Countrywide in the past few years, contact the attorney general's office in your state to see if you may be eligible for assistance.

Takin' It To The Bank

In your quest to find out about all the money you can get, there is free, skilled, legit help along the way. People turn up their nose at public assistance and food stamps, but the fact remains that, along with earned income tax credits, these are some of the biggest financial programs available. There are also sources of financial help you may not know about--help with fuel bills or insulation, for instance. And, for people in Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and the District of Columbia, there are people who can tell you what major financial help programs you are eligible for.

The Benefit Bank has a network of agencies that host them throughout each of these states. When you go to their website, you can enter your address, city and state, and pick which services you would like information about: taxes, benefits, or voter registration, and click "search." It will pull up a list of Benefit Bank places that provide counseling. You can call the one most convenient to you and set up an appointment to meet with them. You will need to bring supporting documents, like pay stubs, so ask what sort of documents you need. Check out this site and find someone who can really help you get money.