Grants to Support a Woman Writer

Would-be writers are always looking for grants to not merely augment their income, but replace it entirely.  "How am I supposed to write, if I have to go to work?" they ask.  Good question.  However, the few grants available to support writers are not at all no-strings attached.  They have plenty of strings, with an eye towards funding a piece of literary art at the end of the grant period.  They aren't funding your fantasy, they are contracting you for work.

A good example are grants through the foundation A Room of Her Own Foundation, named for the famous essay by Virginia Woolf which argues that women need a room of one's own to flourish as artists.  With an eye to creating such a financial room for women writers, the foundation funds a big $50,000 grant aptly called the Gift of Freedom, which covers a woman's expenses while she works on a book for two years.  But it's not free form: you have to submit a plan to create your book, and your recent finances are scrutinized to weigh you ability to live within the funding and create a book. 

Likewise, the $10,000 Shakespeare's Sister fellowship is designed to help support a woman playwright start and compose an original play (not remake an old one), while working at various retreats.  Again, the writer has to have a completed a play already and thereby establish that they are capable of working on and completing a work in one year. 

The other literary grants they provide, To the Lighthouse and Clarissa Dalloway book prizes, and the Orlando prizes, are for smaller amounts of money and the publication of unpublished works.  They aren't sized to subsidize your life.  As a result, you aren't scrutinized to see if you can produce a work.  Remember that for every great amount, there are great strings.  It's not evil, it's common sense.

Money to Study Flying and Aeronautics

For young people with the hope of learning flying or studying aeronautics, there are some scholarship programs to help you out.  The Experimental Aviation Association has several scholarship programs for young people who want to fly.  Some, like the David Alan Quick Scholarship and the Bud Milligan Scholarship, are for the study of aerospace or aeronautical engineering.  Some are scholarships for the organization's summer air academy.  The Karen Johnson Solo Scholarship is a scholarship for young women to finance them through flight school to their first solo.  The Clay Lacey Professional Pilot Internship finances pilot internships.  Check them all out.

The International Council of Air Shows supports training and education in air show and acrobatic flight.  The Jan Jones Memorial Scholarship is a fund to support young women who wish to learn acrobatic flight.  The French Connection Memorial Scholarship provides funds for a male and female flight instructor to learn acrobatic flight.  See their website for a full list of scholarships in acrobatic and air show flight.

Competition for Women Entrepreneurs in Michigan

On the reality show Shark Tank, budding and expanding entrepreneurs get to pitch their ideas to a panel of investors who decide to invest in the business or pass.  In Michigan, Walsh College and several business and community partners have joined to create a program in which Michigan female entrepreneurs can compete for money to start up or expand their business.  It's the Entrepreneur You contest, which is fast approaching its 2013 deadlines. 

To compete, you must be a woman or part of a majority woman-owned business in Michigan that  falls into one of three categories; a company of less than $500,000 revenues, a "lifestyle business," (one that supports a substance for a particular income level and no more, with revenues of $100,000 or less per year.  The last category is for social entrepreneur businesses that are created for a particular social good.  All the categories and rules are in the guidelines. 

The deadlines are coming up fast--August 7th for companies, and August 13th for the lifestyle and social entrepreneur competitors.  All finalists will get coaching and mentoring, and the winners will get money and more mentoring to further their business creation or expansion. 

Real Minority Business Help--Where to Find Help in Minority Business Certification

A lot has been made of "grants to minority business."  Often, these are wildly exaggerated. There are NOT grants to start up most businesses--even when grants are targeted for business, it is for businesses that are already up and running, and are given to encourage a business to expand.  However, there are programs targeted to minority businesses with an eye towards increasing their business prospects.

One of these is minority certification.  If a business is certified as minority owned, it may help them get business from contractors, or state and local governments, who are trying to do more business with minority or disadvantaged businesses.  For instance, the state of Ohio has a searchable list of minority-owned businesses, and EDGE-certified (businesses owned by disadvantaged people) that governments and contractors can use to identify such businesses.  The state of Ohio has a webpage showing you how to get that certification for your business as well as contacts throughout the state that can work with you to get it.  Call 1-800-848-1300 for the nearest office.

There are other centers that help minority businesses with certification and government contract readiness throughout the U.S.  For a list of state minority business certification offices, see this site.  There is also a federal site in the Small Business Administration that can tell you about the federal minority, women, and veterans business programs.

Money for Women Athletes to Train and Travel, and other Athletic Training Money

The Women's Sports Foundation has a fund to pay for serious, competitive women athletes to travel and train. It's for individuals and teams (and by teams, they don't mean a community, club or school team, but a group unto themselves), and the deadline for 2012 is June 8th.  The applicants have to have a successful competitive record outside of their region, either nationally or internationally, and have amateur status.  The purpose of the grant is to get the training needed to improve their game.

How to find out other grants for individual athletes?  There's a couple of strategies.  One is to find the governing body of the sport in which you are interested.  These national or international groups may have grants for individual competitors.  Access for Athletes is a fund sponsored by the Challenged Athletes Foundation for equipment and training for disabled athletes.  Often, you have to be a member to be eligible for a grant or scholarship, such as the scholarship by the American Painted Horse Foundation.  You can also go to a library close to you that has the Foundation Center Grants to Individuals Online, and choose the "advanced search" option, using "athletics" in the "field of interest" field. 

A Real Grant for For-Profit Women-Owned Busineses

I'm the first to debunk urban legends about all the grants for women-owned businesses, unless they're not urban legends.  The Foundation Center's RFP Bulletin rarely has anything for for-profits, but this past week, they did: Eileen Fisher, the clothing firm, announced available grants to women-owned for-profits that, in their words, "combine the principles of social consciousness, sustainability, and innovation to create new businesses or invigorate existing ones."  If you want to see examples of what that means, see Eileen Fisher's website for a list of past winners and their businesses.

The grants have two categories: one for start-up businesses (less than three years old), and another for more established businesses.  The former is for businesses that can document solid plans and potential for growth.  The more established businesses must have plans to take their business to a new level. They will give grants to up to five businesses in all, with grants of up to $12,500 apiece. The deadline for this year's application is May 15, 2012, and here's the application.

For more sources of funding for women's business funding, see this link.  And good luck.

The Truth About "Minority and Women Business Grants"

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.

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

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. 

Where to Find Free Clothes to Get a Job

People are trying to find work, but after being out of work for a long period of time, you may not have the right clothes to wear to an interview, much less show up at a work site every day.  Where could you get clothes for this?  In a number of places around the country, groups are springing up to help.

Among those for women are Women's Alliance.  In Toledo, another group that gives clothing to both men and women seeking employment is the Monroe Street Neighborhood Center at 3613 Monroe (419-473-1167).   Angel's Arms Clothing Closet in Holland, Ohio and Toledo, give clothing for all purposes.  There's also Dress for Success, which has many affiliates around the country.  In Chicago, there's the Bottomless Closet.

But there's stuff for men, too.  In Toledo, Dress Right (3613 Monroe St, Toledo, 419-473-1167) gives free career clothing to men in need, but you need a referral from a church or social service agency.   Career Gear is based in New York City, but has affiliates in San Antonio, New Haven, CT, Jersey City, Miami, Houston and Washington, DC.  and provides donated clothing items for men.  Among those providing clothing for both men and women seeking jobs is the LA Urban League, Working Wardrobes of Costa Mesa, CA, and Wardrobe for Opportunity in the Bay Area of California.

***For more Toledo clothing assistance, check here.

Roundup of Some Micro Grants for Business, Individuals

What’s a micro grant? It’s generally a very small grant that doesn’t have to be paid back. They are fairly common for nonprofit agencies, but can businesses and individuals get them too? Depends on where you are, who you are, and what you plan to do with the money.

Probably the most famous giver of micro grants is Modest Needs, a nonprofit that takes requests for very small grants for specific purposes—car repair, or a trip to visit a dying relative—and allows others to vote on and donate money to fulfill that need.
But there are some others IIW (Investing in Women) has some yearly grants for entrepreneurial women, including Seeds for Success (not really so small, since it’s $20,000), and the Amber Grants, as well as listing some from other organizations.  There's also the Huggies MomInspired Grant Program and PeaChic grants.   The Partnership for Community Development in Hamilton, NY is giving micro grants specifically to for-profit businesses in that area. In the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Microgrants is a nonprofit organization looking for people for whom a grant of about $1,000 may help them up to the next rung in life. They specifically are looking for people “with potential” who are determined to improve their lot in life, and applicants are vetted for their potential. If you live in the Twin Cities and have the potential to improve your life with a small grant, Microgrants might be for you.

More Scholarship Money for Older Women

The AARP Foundation has, for the last three years, run a scholarship program for women 40 years and older who are or will soon be attending college. While this year's deadline is past, you can find out more about it at their website. They will be re-opening applications in February, 2010.

It's aimed at low and moderate-income women. Scholarships can range from $500 to $5,000, and up to 100 scholarships may be given in a year. Priority is given to those who are returning to the workplace after an extended absence, underemployed, or raising the children of other family members. It's for women attending an accredited technical, community college, or college, but is NOT for those attending graduate school.

Wisp (Women's Independence Scholarship Program, Inc) also offers scholarships to women who have suffered battering. 

Stuff Out There For Working Moms

A short post about some resources for working moms trying to get back to school:

Project Working Mom is a project of ELearning and various online schools that provide some information on finding money for online learning programs.

Singlemom.com has information on general scholarships and loans, but check the bottom of the page for programs aimed at single mothers.

Scholarship4Moms.net is another program for single parents. It offers scholarships of up to $10,000.

...And Urban Legends Make My Head Asplode.

Usually, my postings are made up of specific links and bits of information that you can use re: financial help for individuals. Today I'll take some time to talk about useless crap you can't use: urban legends about everybody out there who is supposedly getting free money, like women, immigrants and minorities. People, they aren't. They aren't getting rich off your tax money. The Arabs down the street from you? They didn't get their party store or gas station from free federal grant money. And nobody is screwing you because you are a white male. Just trust me.

What prompted this little diatribe from me is that yet another white male told me that he wasn't qualified for any programs, because "I'm not a minority or a woman, I'm not qualified for anything." I asked him who said this, he said, "They told me I made too much money." Well, that is quite different than being a white male. Some programs for homelessness and poverty were indeed geared for women, especially women with children. But I found some programs that he probably did qualify for, and sent him on his way.

In truth, financial help programs are frustrating to find, because they are never just cash to spend as you want or need. They are pointed to a particular purpose, and have a bewildering laundry list of limitations: usually, you must live within a particular political entity (city, village, county, etc.), and there are income limitations (it could be below the median county income for one program, or 150% of the poverty level for another). The agency could run out of money, thus ending the program, and so forth.

But while some programs, like government contract set-asides are aimed for women and minorities, or some programs are for enrolled members of American Indian tribes, most programs are created for people in certain areas, with certain incomes, with certain needs (like housing and transportation). And of all the most pernicious rumors, the dumbest is about immigrants who are supposedly set up in business by Uncle Sam.

In truth, many immigrants who set up businesses come from entrepreneurial families in the old country who give them the seed money to start. Often, they live tight-fisted lives, plowing money back into the business until they are economically secure enough, and their business(es) well enough established enough to enjoy spending money on themselves. But generally, they live by the Amish axiom: "The smart Amish have a big barn and a small house. The dumb Amish have a big house, and a small barn." That's why you see them in their own businesses so much. The government has no programs I know of to set up immigrants in their own businesses.

But let me make this sporting: if you are sure you know immigrants who landed big government grants, and can verify that minorities are living it up on grants created specially for them, please let me know. Leave a posting telling me what government program this came from, and what federal or state department. I have set this challenge to my patrons who swore their friends and relatives got lots of money that way. None of them ever came back to confirm it. Once though, some lady *lied* to me and told me she was getting free grant money. When I contacted the agency, they assured me it wasn't true. So prove me wrong, everybody.