It is important to go
through the entire source. You don’t have to
read everything, but you have to at least
review the title of every entry. Place a
check mark on those entries that you feel
MIGHT be of some interest to you.
Two grades can be
enough. But it must be at least 2. Read each
entry in detail and place either an “A” or
“B” next to the entry. Using a “1” or “2” is
also good. The higher grade should identify
those entries that seem more likely and the
lower grade should identify programs that
are a little less likely but are “maybes.”
As you probably
guessed from reading the step above, you
should now go back and contact all your “A”
list programs first. Leave your “B” list
programs for a later round. You want to
tackle the most obvious first. You can start
digging deeper later, but you may not have
to. I know it sounds like an obvious choice,
but some people get overwhelmed with so many
places to go to. This prioritizes the
process for you.
This is a must. Do not
assume that you know everything about the
program just by reading the description in
the book. You have to get the details before
you make the decision if this is a program
for you. You can contact the agency in any
of the following ways:
A. by
telephone,
B. by email,
C. by website, or
D. in person
You may even want to
do a combination. You can go to the website
and review their programs and then call and
ask for specifics. But remember; even if you
get details about a specific program on the
web be sure you contact the agency by phone
or email to insure you have the complete
information. Like printed material in books,
a lot of material on the web can also be out
of date or even misleading.
Your initial contact
with an agency should be friendly. Many
people are intimidated to contact any
government agency. Remember you don’t have
to know what you are talking about, because
most of the bureaucrats don’t know what they
are talking about either. This is the
government, remember. Your best approach is
to try to be as inclusive as possible in
your initial contact. Try not to say things
that can get you a “no” answer right off the
bat. For example, don’t let the first words
out of your mouth be:
“Hi, I
want a grant to start a bakery. Will you
give me one?”
This can get the door
closed on you right away when in fact there
may be lots of money sitting there waiting
for you. The bureaucrat answering the phone
may not be aware of any grant programs
because he just started working there a few
weeks ago and is really not aware of all the
programs. Or he may not be aware of any
money that says “bakery” on the label. Or if
you are looking for a townhouse he will look
down his list for the word “townhouse” and
tell you that there is no money available.
Or the government may be offering other
kinds of money that does not have the name
“grant” attached to it but it means the same
thing. They may be offering money in the
form of “direct payments” or under a program
called “loans,” but in fact you never have
to pay back the money if you live in the
house for more than 3 years. That’s just as
good as a grant.
You can miss a lot by
trying to be very specific. The problem is
that most people in the government don’t
even now what is available. By being
specific the official can find an easier way
to tell you “no” and send you on your way.
You’ll be happy, because this is what you
sort of expected anyway. And the official
will be happy because they don’t have to do
any more work. So it is much better to start
with something like:
“Hi. I’m trying to
get a description of all the money
programs that are available for housing
or real estate.”
You want the official
to stretch her imagination and try to come
up with a complete list for you. When you
get a complete descriptive listing, review
it in close detail and call the office back
and tell them all the programs for which you
would like to apply.
When you are calling
the government, getting a lot of voice mails
or being put on hold, it’s hard to remember
how important that person is who finally
answers the telephone. That’s the person who
can give you the money. So how well you
treat them can determine your success or
failure in getting what you need. If you
start yelling when the person answers the
phone because you’ve been sitting on hold
for the past 10 minutes, you don’t sound
like you are going to be the highlight of
any bureaucrat’s day. That bureaucrat gets
paid the same amount of money whether they
help you for free for 2 weeks or if they
hang up on you right after you say hello.
What you have to do is try to get that
person to want to spend time with you. You
want them to enjoy talking with you. The
more comfortable they are in talking with
you, the more likely they are to share
inside information that will increase your
chances and make it easier for you to get
the money. It is basic common sense that can
easily be forgotten, like: a) Don’t be nasty
when they answer the phone because the first
words out of your mouth can set the stage
for the entire conversation. b) Don’t act
like you hate them except for the fact that
they are sitting on the money (even though
it may be true) because this will come
through in your conversation and they will
not want to help you. c) Send “thank you”
notes when people are exceptionally nice
because it is the best way to ensure that
you are remembered the next time you call. I
can go on and on, but simply put …. TREAT
PEOPLE LIKE YOU WANT TO BE TREATED.
Think of it as being
back in school when you would go and brown
nose the teacher. The good brown nosers
would meet with the teacher after class and
not only talk about school, but also talk
about their life. They would show the
teacher pictures of their dog and talk about
how much they like baseball; anything to get
the teacher to relate to them not as a
student but as a person. Once the teacher
sees a student as a person, it’s hard to
flunk them no matter how bad they are. These
bureaucrats have the power to pass or fail
you on your money exam. So the more they get
to know you as a person, the more likely
they are to help you pass the test. So when
you are talking to them, don’t be afraid to
talk about personal stuff along with the
professional. They certainly have the power
to help, because they are the ones who give
out the money.
If being good on the
phone increases your odds of getting the
cash, then face to face will do even more.
This may not be practical or even possible
all of the time, but it is certainly another
way for a bureaucrat to put a face with an
application and this will make it that much
harder for her to just say “no”.
I really mean don’t
wait until the last minute to apply.
Especially with those offices that only give
out money at certain times of the year. As
deadline time approaches, the bureaucrats
can become too busy to provide you with any
individualized help. So the best strategy is
to call early and to call often.
If after reviewing all
of their programs you decide that they have
nothing for you, you have one more important
thing to do before you move on. Call up one
of the program officers and tell them about
your search. See if they are aware of any
programs that may suit your needs, or if
they know of other agencies that have ANY
kind of financial assistance for your
project.
These people are in
the business and are likely to attend
meetings and conventions with people from
other agencies who also hand out money. They
are on the front line of government programs
and will likely know other people who do
this work.
Keep going through
this process and keep applying to as many
programs as possible. Apply even if people
tell you that you have a very small chance
of getting the money. Apply even if they
tell you that you “may” not be qualified.
When you hear terms like “may” or “small
chance” this still means that you do have a
chance, and that is all you need. Don’t
worry about filling out so many
applications. Once you’ve done the first one
the rest are pretty much the same. The whole
process is a numbers game. Just like the
lottery, you have to play to win.
No matter how easy the
application may appear you are likely to
encounter some difficulty with at least one
question. But this is not a real problem.
There is plenty of help.
The best way to handle
this is to call the office giving out the
money and ask to speak to a “program
officer” for the program to which you are
applying. They are the people who are
directly involved in handing out the money.
Be blunt and tell them that you “have no
idea what they are talking about in question
#6 on the application.” You are probably not
the first person in the world who had
trouble with that question. The office
probably realizes it is confusing, but they
didn’t have money in the budget to reprint
the forms.
If for some reason you
are not getting help directly from the
office giving out the money, you can always
contact the office of your elected official.
This is your Congressman or Senator at the
federal level, your state elected official
for state programs and your councilman or
mayor at the local level. They all have
people on their staff whose job it is to
solve problems that taxpayers are having
with the government.
We all hate to be
nags. But it is important because an
application can get lost so easily in a
mountain of paperwork.
- Call to make sure they sent out your
application.
- Call to make sure they received your
application.
- Call to make sure you know when you
will be notified if you are accepted.
- Call a few days after the
notification date if you have not heard
anything yet.
It may be
uncomfortable at times. But the squeaky
wheel does get the grease.
If you get the money,
call. Make sure you thank them and ask all
the stupid questions you think are necessary
to know when, where, and how you are going
to get your money. If your application is
rejected, be sure you call anyway. This is
the only way you may learn the truth about
why you did not get the money. Ask how soon
you can apply again. They may be accepting
applications every month and too many people
applied last month. You always have to keep
learning how and why organizations give out
money and by being an applicant you are in a
wonderful position to ask.
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