Hello reader. I decided to write a post to you about my recent decision to stop posting to this blog. It is December 31rst, 2009 and thanks to some very good help I am getting from Stephanie Frank and my coach Gina Gaudio-Graves, I am looking through my schedule and streamlining my life. I have decided to focus on and pursue the life of my dreams with an entirely new level of commitment. With the concerted help of these two HIGHLY qualified women, I feel I WILL GET THERE. (Look into Gina’s Mission on helping 1 million people live the life of their dreams.)

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