10 Things To Avoid When Offered A Free Money Opportunity

1) Don’t Believe Anyone Who Guarantees You Grant Money…
… No salesman can ever guarantee you a grant from any government or non-profit organization. If this sales person knew so much about grants that he/she can guarantee you one they would not waste their time talking to you on the phone, they would be applying for the money. The person talking to you is obviously not an employee of any government or non-profit organization that offers grants. Of the thousands of grant-making organizations, they each have different laws and rules to follow for giving out the money.

2) Don’t Believe Anyone Who Guarantees You That It’s Fast And Easy…
… There are thousands of grant programs and every program has different requirements and deadlines. Some give the money out at only certain times of year and some give it out on a first come, first served basis. Some have applications that require filling out only a one-page form and others can require extra documentation like a business plan or formal proposal. Sure, there are cases where people call the government and get a check in the mail by next Thursday, but that is very, very rare. Most people are going to have to go jump through a number of bureaucratic hurdles to get the money.

3) Don’t Give Your Checking Account Information Over The Phone…
… unless you are the one that called them. Many scammers are only using personal checks for payment because they can take the money and run. Using a credit card, (not a debit card) is always the best way to purchase something because you can dispute payments to your credit card bill a lot easier than you can with your debit card or checking account.

4) Don’t Deal With Anyone Who Will Not Give You A Refund…
… if you are not completely satisfied with their product. Not offering this kind of guarantee means that they do not believe in their product enough, and they do not care about if a salesman is over promising or over selling their product.

5) Don’t Believe Anyone Who Tells You They Have Secrets…
… They might know some things that you don’t know, but there are certainly no secrets when it comes to getting grants. All information about grants from the government or from non-profit organizations is public information. It may be hard to get and take a bunch of effort but it is certainly not hidden to anyone willing to put in the necessary work.

6) Don’t Believe Anyone Who Says They Represent The Government...
… The government will never call you asking you to apply for money. It would be ridicules for the U.S. Congress to pass laws giving away money and then pass another law to give out more money to advertise they are giving away the free money. And anyone who says they represent the government or uses a government name is committing an illegal act.

7) Don’t Accept Any Guarantee Unless It Is In Writing…
… and you have the name, address, and phone number of the organization. Any sales person can guarantee you anything and once they have your money they can tell you that salesman was fired.

8) Do Ask Them If They Can Describe The Following….
…This will be a definite test of their knowledge about government grants.

a. Can you describe the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance? This is the main document that lists all the major money programs for the federal government and is available for free at www.cfda.gov .

b. What law gives anyone the right to see a copy of a successful application from someone who already received a government grant? The law is called the Freedom of Information Act and it allows any citizen to see the records of any public agency, including filled out
forms and applications. (They have the right to block out personal information, like social security numbers, of the applicants)

c. How can my Congressman or Senator help me get a government grant? Every elected official, at the federal, state and local level, have special people on their staff who help people in their voting district identify money programs available in the government. They can also be helpful in pushing along a grant application that gets stuck on the bureaucracy

9) Do Ask For Information On 3 Sample Grants…
… that you can check out before you purchase. Anyone selling information on grants will know that there are thousands of grants available and giving away THE SPECIFICS of a few samples can be another test of their integrity.

10) Any Legitimate Opportunity Can WAIT…
… If the caller is telling you that you have to take advantage of this right now or lose the opportunity forever, hang up immediately. If it is a legitimate opportunity you can call my back tomorrow and place and order.

Over 30 Million People Per Year Get Government Grants…
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