If your situation meets the often stringent requirements of medical-related U.S. grants, you may use the money to help pay your medical bills. Applying for grant money offered by the U.S. government is a tedious and difficult process. Third-party service providers like Grant Funding Source offer (for a fee) software and personal assistance to help those hoping to receive grant money navigate and, they promise, more successfully apply. However, the government makes everything you need to apply available for free.
Grant money is meant to fund very particular situations, and applicants are expected to meet stringent obligations if accepted. However, money is available for those who meet the qualifying standards and who promise to use the money appropriately. After all, the point of these direct payments is to "encourage or subsidize a particular activity by conditioning the receipt of the assistance on a particular performance by the recipient" (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, http://www.cfda.gov). The best place to start the grant application process is the Internet.
Visit the U.S. government's Web site dedicated to the dissemination of its benefits at www.govbenefits.gov.
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Take the questionnaire available when you click on Benefits in the menu on the top of the screen. Doing so will determine the grants for which you are eligible and will guide your grant application process.
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Follow the provided links on the same Web site; download the forms required and/or apply online.
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Fill out the forms completely and submit the required documents in advance of your need for the money (if you must pay your bills by December, don't wait until November to apply for a grant). To be most successful, consider buying a book that explains how to apply for your specific grant in such a way that you have the best chance at receiving the grant money. How to do so is not always intuitive, and each grant provider has its own expectations.
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Await the review of your application and the government's determination.
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For additional information, visit http://www.cfda.gov, the online Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), which will be operational as of April 21, 2009. A PDF is available to download until April 21.
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