You can access information about free grants by surfing government websites such as these:a

* Housing and Urban Development or (HUD)

* The Department of Education Grants and Contracts Information

* Department of Transportation or (DOT)

* The Department of Justice (DOJ)

* Environmental Protection Agency or (EPA)

* National Institutes of Health (NIH)

* Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

* Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)

* Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA)

You can also find some information by taking a look at the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). It has some useful details about the different government assistance programs that have been approved by Congress. You can find it at http://www.cfda.gov/.

There's also an information service for free grants called GovBenefits. It was designed to eliminate welfare bureaucracy and provide the public with more efficient services. You can find it at http://www.govbenefits.gov.

If you happen to be a student, you can find information about grants that pertain to you by looking at the website of FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Students Aid. It can be a big help to many people. You'll find useful tips about grants and various loans and aid that are available on campus. It will offer you a guide to help with the procedure. Check it out at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.

The information you get from the websites of federal agencies is only a guide, however. You still need to do the hard, and time-consuming, work of preparing the applications. For that reason, there are a lot of people that don't take advantage of grant opportunities even though they might be eligible. It's usually organizations, like cities, states, universities, or federal agencies that are served—not so much individuals.

If you have sufficient determination to get a piece of that huge fund that gets Congress' approval, then you'll need the right information to help you. Remember that you're competing with massive organizations that want it as well.

It's important to keep in mind that the majority of federal grants are given to large-scale projects that provide substantial benefits to a community. Examples of such projects would be paving streets, water conservation, flood control, and so on. Your application has to provide details on how you intend to accomplish your task. You'll need to be quite skilled at the process of building or construction to take care of this by yourself. You need to account for all your expenditures and agree to government audits every year. You always must undertake to spend the money you get from that grant only on your project. If you don't use it all, you are required to return it. Another thing that you must do is carry out what you planned to do exactly as you stated. Changes must be approved by the government. If you don't comply with these rules, you can face a variety of penalties, including fines and even imprisonment if public funds are misused.

Applying for grants is not a process that should be done in haste. There are good opportunities, but also obligations for the would-be grantee.