Individuals Seeking Grants
San Diego Grants does NOT provide any services to individuals seeking funding - we only serve tax-exempt charitable organizations.
Please use caution when seeking grants -- click here to learn why what you've heard on television, radio or the internet regarding "grants for individuals" is not true.
We are providing a list of Colorado resources that may help you find money if you are an individual with a disability or have a child with a disability. Other individuals are very unlikely to find any grants.
The myth of free money:
Promoters of "free" government money have been investigated for fraud, and they typically distort the facts. Here's what one reviewer of Matthew Lesko's books accurately described the information that they contain (also see the bottom of this page for information on how these books have been under legal scrutiny).
"This is info anyone can find out easy and free by simply visiting or calling the welfare office, HUD, the job service, social security, the neighborhood action program office, a veterans service office, or a local charity office. I already knew the supposedly 'secret' info Lesko presents, and more. Being a person that is partially physically disabled and was out of work for 3 years (due to an injury) I had participated in a number of the programs Lesko describes. Programs such as job retraining and placement, SSI, Medicaid, food stamps, and energy assistance. I even went through 4 years of college for free at Uncle Sam's expense, thanks to the US Department of Education's free financial aid for students. However, Lesko wasn't the first person to tell me about these programs."Help for individuals with disabilities from these legitimate organizations and resources:
The
Small grant program for teachers
A program provided by the San Diego Foundation provides elementary school teachers with less than five years of experience with some funds to implement innovative classroom project, and for public high school arts teachers to cover classroom costs. See http://www.sdfoundation.org/teachersfund/application.shtml for details.
Other resources
Federal Government provides information on programs that may benefit individuals with disabilities.
Housing/Homeownership programs are not grant programs, but links to local nonprofit groups that help people purchase homes, provide access funds for down payments and offer other assistance.
General Federal assistance provides information on programs that may benefit individuals, but most of their listings are for tax credits, loans, or referrals to existing programs funded by the federal government. Includes a searchable database.
Warning: Do not pay money for guides that promise free money and grants for individuals.
A New York Consumer Protection Board report details why guides to government grants for individuals and those who promise free or guaranteed government grants are misleading at best and scam artists at worst. The report says that companies are profiting from the false notion that the government has billions of dollars available to help people pay their credit-card bills and other expenses. The free money provided by the government comes primarily from programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and similar entitlement programs. A 2004 article from MSNBC also describes that “free money” from the government for individuals is a myth.