Moving On
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Moving On
In this process the very first exercise I was given is one called mapping “what’s on my plate”. What is effective in my life? What is stressful and needs to be addressed? What is costing me more than it is worth and needs to be eliminated? Just one week into this process I feel as if a heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders in eliminating the ineffective activities/energy drains in my life.
If you want to know more, please really do look into Stephanie Frank’s work. Her service is very reasonably priced and she offers tremendous help in addressing the mess and getting you truly effective. Find out more by visiting the the Success IQ University
(You are welcome! I thank Gina every day for connecting me with Stephanie.)
So, in looking over my life, making the assessments on all I was spending my time on, I asked myself about this blog. Where does it land on my “what’s on my plate” chart?
This blog has been fascinating and rewarding to write. Visiting people and learning about the big! business grants kept me very engaged and honestly delighted. I loved hearing the success stories. I learned so much about the enormous government contracts, about charities and what they do with what they receive, education grants and foundations/ private funding. Bottom line: THERE ARE FUNDS FOR YOU – GO GET THEM!
I will tell you, at the outset I had it in my sights to connect women in business with big expansion contracts to funnel federal money to women in business. WOW! Talk about biting off more than I can chew! WAY too big of a world for the blogger. I found that many contracts (talking about the multi-million dollar contracts) were listed within five days of their deadline. This means you have to move at the speed of light to get your application well completed and in on time.
My answer for those of you interested in this is a very good one. Very Good.
I found an excellent contact to get in the running and win those big government contracts. This lady knows about the big money, nailing deadlines with outstandingly well completed applications, and she boasts over 90% success rate in getting the contracts she bids for – unheard of in the government contracts realm. She knows what she is doing. Her name is Olessia Smotrova-Taylor and her contact info is as follows :
OST Global Solutions, Inc. –
Your resource for Capture and Proposal Management.
15621 Holly Grove Rd
Silver Spring, MD 20905 USA
Tel.301-384-3350
But for the most part, most readers I heard from – men and women alike – were looking for debt relief, funding for college, extra cash, or help on saving their house, and weatherizing their house. You can read what information I found re: these topics throughout the blog – especially the TANF links for your state and on weatherizing your house. In the end I decided that I was not able to help people to the degree I was satisfied with – in the way they needed – to just get them the funds they need. So I am deciding to stop posting anything new to this blog.
About Education Grants: these are much easier to find and apply for. Look throughout this blog to get directed straight to Pell Grants and other such funding for education grants. Don’t forget to look through the lists of private funding in foundations (not just federal grants) for help in college costs.There are several articles on this topic on this blog with useful links. Go, go go.
All sorts of federal grant software programs and compilations exist for purchase on the net that list current offers and who qualifies. The list of new federal grants is always changing and there are always new things for which to apply. The online for purchase packages allow you to search through the grants for which you qualify. Some of these also help instruct you on the application process, which can be daunting. It IS convenient to sort through the grants available in the comfort of your own home – however – this info is also available for free – at your public library. You just have to have the patience and diligence to sort through it. And I say NEVER GIVE UP! Go either route – pay for or public information route – but NEVER GIVE UP!
I went ahead and purchased several different grant offers to offer any advice I can to readers as to which to purchase. Best advice? BUYER BEWARE! Some of the internet offers have horrendous! hidden charges. Others call you incessantly until you make the big $80/month purchase. I do not have a preference on any of the packages. I must admit – I much preferred using these packages to looking through it all myself.
The package I have linked here – Dollar Grants - is the most reasonably priced and most “on the level” for helping you sort through the mess of grants out there. As of today the one time charge is $24.50, and no further charge.
However, I DO have the secret for looking at what you are getting into with these online grant package offers. An any of the offer pages they are forced to place a Terms of Agreement and User Agreement. For most of them, this link will instruct you on what you are agreeing to, such as $2.00 for the first 3 days then a recurring cost of $79.95 until you cancel. If you really want to know more about them, they have a phone number they are required to offer for contacting them. Call this number and ask any questions you may have about the offer. The most important thing about that call is finding out just how legitimate the operation is.
Thank you, reader, for your visit and your time. May you find what you are seeking in all things. I gratefully bid you farewell, and I promise to tell you what I have moved on to do.
All the best to you and your loved ones in the New Year.
Ines Q Compton
President Obama: Insulation Is Sexy
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New Incentives For Rendering Homes and Commercial Buildings More Energy Efficient.
Ever since my husband and I have been married (25 years) we have bought, retrofitted, improved and sold homes. It was instinctive to improve our first home when I felt the cold air transfer at my window in the first house we bought.
We replaced the doors and windows and instantly enjoyed a much warmer house. After then adding insulation in the floors, walls, basement, and attic, our heating costs lowered by 72%! (There turned out to be NO insulation in the sub-floor in a home in Colorado high country. WHAT?!?!?) We have been buying, retrofitting and selling homes in this way ever since.
Yesterday, President Obama turned his attention to this topic in his talk at Home Depot. Click play beneath the video at the top of the article to watch what President Obama said (12/15/09) about the Recovery Act Funding and retrofitting houses.
Here is a table of what’s been allocated and what’s been spent to date in Government Grants for Energy Efficiency (click here) listed state by state.
Quick Facts:
* $5 Billion for low income home weatherizing in the US: insulation and replacing old heating/air with energy star heat pumps, replacing and sealing doors, windows and insulating walls, floors and roofs.
* Homes built prior to 1950 use 50% more energy than homes built today to achieve the same (heating/cooling) results.
* American homes and offices consume 40% of energy we use and contribute 40% of our carbon pollution.
Now: quick notes for help on retrofitting your homes.
1) There are funds for some Americans right now to weatherize your home. WHICH Americans? The Recovery Act funds each state for this. Each state then decides how to disburse these low income home weatherizing government grants. Click on your state to find contact info on Weatherization Programs in your state. .
Also you can look for government grants through your state in the Girlgrants’ article “Links to TANF in your state” ( go to TANF article). I clicked on Maine in the TANF article, and found out who is eligible.
“Am I Eligible?
You may be eligible to receive Weatherization or CHIP assistance if your total household income falls within 230% of the federal poverty guidelines or 75% of the state area median income, whichever is less. Eligibility for …” (for more go here).
2) There are jobs in this field and the field is quickly expanding. You can become a Certified Weatherization Technician, certified by the US government.. who then feed you customers through their programs that they fund. The people interviewed inthis video tell that they are ambushed with work and have people needing their labor on waiting lists! Imagine having a waiting list of clients in this economy.
Watch video of people who have been trained and are now working as Certified Weatherization Technicians (click here). It’s actually really exciting. Check it out.
Have A Favorite Charity? Tell Chase Community Giving
By · CommentsOne of My Favorite Charities: St. Bernard Project
A few months ago I wrote an article about the St. Bernard Project, citing it as an example of how private funding (and lots of donated labor, let’s not forget) can get your project off the ground and done. (Want to read about them and the house building drives they do…click here).
These guys are in the running for the $25K Gift as well as the $1 Million Gift sponsored by Chase Community Giving. If awarded the $1 Million, according to their figures, this could bring 66 families home in the coming year. Seems like this small organization is outpacing what the federal government is doing for the not-yet-over disaster-stricken New Orleans. You want to vote for these guys to be awarded the $1million? So do I.
Click here to vote for them to be awarded this gift.
SBP is a non-profit organization that seeks to help rebuild the hardest hit parts of New Orleans one house at a time. Scroll down to read their mission statement and their organization information. To keep up with them and check out what they do or go to http://www.stbernardproject.org/ ( or click here to read their facebook link).
Just a few days ago the deadline for the $25K Chase Community Giving voting campaign came and went. They announce omorrow (12/16/2009) which 100 charities received $25K each. (Click here – no earlier than 12/16 – to see who won ).
Now you can also vote at this site (click here) for the next round. Chase Community Giving is now offering $1Million in their next round of giving to charity. The dates you can vote are Jan 15-Jan 22. They announce the winner February 1, 2010 (click here in February to see who won the $1 Million Charity Gift.)
If you want to know how to nominate a charity for the $5 million giving initiative from Chase Community Giving, click here. You can click here if you are a charity and want to be in the running. To nominate your favorite charity, click here.
Don’t have a favorite foundation or charity? Look into the SBP. You could also look here for some ideas, or here, or here, just to get thoughts rolling on what exactly you want to fund.
For information on private funding, click here to read about the Foundation Center.
…. And I decided to look for some specific answers.
Got some.
Before I go into all the details – I want to go for the juicy part.
If you want to start! a business in healthcare or healthcare education and prevention in your community, there are funds for you RIGHT NOW to start your business. Remember: what the Obama administration is looking to accomplish is to broaden the scope and reach of the local health care centers. That means more community clinics, rehab centers, and outreach programs of all kinds. That means you.
If you or someone you know (and love and want to prosper) owns/operates/shares ownership of any kind of health center seeking to grow their clinic, there are grants for ….
Well Done, Michelle.
I just had to share the great results that Michelle is getting in sharing the TANF lists with the children in her classroom. Their parents are applying for and……
The numbers of welfare applicants is in and it tells a sobering story of what is going on in these United States.
There are 15 states that are recording a 10% increase in welfare cases, such as Illinois, New York, Arizona and others. The 8 states left, all three states on the west coast, Colorado, Ohio, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida all claim to have seen an increase of welfare cases in their state of more than 30% from last year.
Of the 50 States, only six states have a 10% or more decrease in welfare cases for a year ago: New Jersey, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. While 18 states have seen little or no change in the number of welfare cases, it seems unemployment payments are catching the unemployed and keeping them out of teh welfare lines for now.
Also, it is easier to qualify for…
Links To Apply For TANF in Your State
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Is TANF a Government Grant?
You bet.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was established in 1996 to help individuals, families, and children under the care of a grandparent, get back on their feet. Their goals, as stated by the Department of Health and Human Services:
“States receive a block grant to design and operate their programs to accomplish the purposes of TANF. These are:
* assisting needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes
* reducing the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage
* preventing out-of-wedlock pregnancies
* encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.”
The Numbers:
Number of welfare recipients nationwide for every December since Temporary Assistance for Needy Families took effect:
Year Number of welfare recipients
2007: 3,880,321
2006: 4,074,689
2005: 4,386,206
2004: 4,695,211
2003: 4,843,562
2002: 5,013,728
2001: 5,276,319
2000: 5,527,071
1999: 6,175,831
1998: 7,578,222
1997: 9,326,683
1996: 11,533,710
Source: Dept. of Health and Human Services
As we see, in 2007, the number of cases per month had gone down to just over $3.8 million, which is where it has remained for the better portion of 2008 – we only have figures through September 2008. The number of monthly recipients was at about $3.87 million in September 2008.
This is a full 67% decrease in total welfare recipients since 1996! Not because they turned people away who qualified, but because that’s how few people applied. This would suggest there is room for more famlies to get help for a while in these tough times.
There is a national number you can call for TANF: 1-800-706-8263. You can also contact your local Department of health and Human Services.
I suggest going to the sites, as they list a variety of help US citizens can get. (They even have cash for refugees in most states, as you will see on the sites.)
The info and the applications are available on the sites. They are fully informative. At the very bottom of this article are three really useful tools to help you determine your likelihood to qualify.
In as much as it seems easy to have looked these sites up (!) it was not. Unbelievable how difficult they make some of the sites to navigate. Where were the actual applications for TANF? and not just the paperwork about it. Though the studeis/data are helpful, you need to be able to find a page to see if you qulaify and then another easy page to apply. I will see if I can pull tha ttogether.
Until then, here are the links for your state. This was last updated on June 23, 2009.
Need Help From Grants Now?
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Two years ago, a teen friend (19) became pregnant, and a single mom. I couldn’t imagine her covering all her bills herself. I approached her with a few ideas of programs she could look into for help, and together we set out to find what she could apply for.
We did a fair amount of digging around and found several programs to apply for. WIC , PHA’s, Oregon Farm food Program, and TANF.
Now she receives state funds for her utilities. Another state fund pays most of her rent. Yet another funds the food basics; not just anything she wants, but things like milk, eggs, peanut butter, bread, rice, beans. She works at night when her friends can cover for her at home. It didn’t take long for it all to kick in, but it took a while to find about all the programs. She’s covered for now, (as long as the state funds aren’t spread too thin).
These programs are government grants, but many do not see it as such. Federal funds are given to the state to make it the states’ job to distribute the funds as is needed in their state. So the programs that funded my friend, were all federal grants funded through the state.
Of course, the library holds all the grant information, all of it. Online websites such as grants.gov and the like are your second best option.
What else to do right now?
