Start on the Web. Find and apply for grant opportunities at the Grant.gov website. This free Web portal offers thousands of free grants to students, small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Interested parties must register to gain access and begin the application process. Once registered, an applicant can track his application for various grant opportunities and record the result of each petition. To begin a search, scroll the cursor to the right-hand side of the screen. Locate the chapter titled, "Applicants," and then click "Grant search." Narrow your search by type of grant and industry to begin.
Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, application for educational grants. Request a FAFSA application by mail or log on to the FAFSA website to complete an online application. You will need to have the following documents when you apply: Social Security number, driver's license, W-2 forms, Federal Income Tax return, bank statements and alien registration card, if applicable. Dependent students will also need to provide tax and financial records for parents. Married students will need to provide that same documentation for her spouse. All financial records must reflect the earned income, investments, benefits and expenses applicable to the previous year. For example, when applying in 2008, an applicant will need all financial records for 2007.
Exhaust all possibilities. Thousand of free government grants are available on the Web, for a student in search of financial assistance to a start-up business in search of capital. The process is moderately easy to begin and generally requires a Social Security number, W-2 form, bank statements and income tax records from the previous year. This information is used to quantify the amount of financial assistance required, versus the amount of financial assistance requested. For students in search of grant money, you must provide an estimate or projection from a university of the costs associated with each year of study. Expenses like tuition, housing, textbooks and supplies are all standard costs that should be included in that estimate.
Visit your local library. The Web contains an endless resource of free government grants, as does your local library. Visit your local library for a complete listing of grant opportunities available to small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Print or copy the information or log on to the provided website to complete an online application. Because of the popularity of such reference materials, books that contain a listing or grant catalog are typically held in the reference material section of the library and cannot be checked out. Ask the librarian to copy the information you require or record the relevant information on your own.