Different Types Of Federal Grants That Can Help You Fulfill Your Dreams

By Neel Oct. 10th, 2012

Every year, thousands of dollars are give away as free money to american citizens who qualify to receive a portion of this money for their personal use. The objective behind giving way these grants is to help people live a better and productive life. As a matter of fact, these thousands of dollars are distributed among different type of grant issues for different purposes.

Federal government grants by Government-Grant are classified under various categories on the basis of different requirement of the citizens. It is very important to know about all types of grants before you apply for them. In this article, we will explore all the major type of grants classified under Mandatory Grants and Discretionary Grants.

Mandatory Grants: As the name suggests, these grants are mandatory to be issued every year by federal government. There is a fixed amount that should be issued to institutions that are eligible for the same and meet all the prerequisites. The major advantage of these kind of grants is that there is no such competition, and anyone meeting all the requirements under the set criteria is eligible for the grant. Mandatory grants are divided into three sub categories - block grant, open ended grant and close ended grant.

Block Grant: The federal government issue these grants to state or local government to handle the specific problems such as disability, education and so on. The receiving party can exercise its own discretion to use the grant in a best possible manner for general purpose. Thus, a Block Grant provides more flexibility to the receiver to manage the local needs and requirements of the state and people.

Open Ended Grant: These are also known as Open Ended Entitlement Grants. There is no upper limit to the amount for such grants. For example, In this type of mandatory grant the government authorizes a percentage of funds sufficient to pay for a certain cause without any upper limit.

Close Ended Grant:Close ended grants are totally opposite to the open ended grant. In such grants the awards have an upper limit and fixed sum of money to fund any certain activities.

Discretionary Grants: These grants are issued only after an extensive competitive process. Applicants are required to win these funds through a strict procedure of selection. The government has all the right and authority to choose the winner on their own discretion. The applicant have to submit their business plan or project proposals to the government when then make the final decision on the basis of certain parameters. The final amount of the award is determined either on the basis of the formula to calculate the grant or through a negotiation between the receiver and the federal. Discretionary grants are also known as “project” grants Discretionary federal government grants by Government-Grant are issued for various projects on the basis of the requirements and funding needs of the citizens.