Grant searches should begin with a look at government programs. The Department of Education offers a free handbook ("Guide to Federal Student Aid") that explains federal student aid programs and how to apply. The handbook also explains FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), a form that any college student or future student should fill out. The FAFSA is used by most colleges to determine student aid needed, and there is a section on the form pertaining to disabilities.
Older or disabled women seeking grants should also be familiar with the Higher Education Act, which gives information about the Federal Pell Grant, Work Study, and Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants. These grants are available based on a range of criteria, such as financial need and disability. The website Disability.gov gives detailed information about federal grants and a list of links to educational scholarships for people with specific disabilities, such as spina bifida, blindness, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.
Most colleges offer grants for disabled students, and information can be obtained in the institution's financial aid office. Michigan State University's Library has a listing of grants available for the disabled. Also, the University of Washington provides the helpful document "College Funding for Students with Disabilities," which gives detailed information on many funding opportunities for college students and places to contact for more information. Some specific scholarships that exist are the National Council of Jewish Women's Jackson-Stricks Disability Scholarship for disabled students attending a New York metropolitan area college, and the Lilly Reintegration Award, sponsored by the Eli Lilly company, for people living with mental illness.
To encourage and support women returning to college, many foundations and organizations offer grants and scholarships. Every college's financial aid office can give information about specific grants available for women who have been displaced from education or are just beginning their college careers. Specific plans include those like Purdue University's Span Plan, which is for women who have been out of high school for at least three years. The plan gives "grant assistance to adult learners who have been displaced from the college environment."
Another grant opportunity for older women is from Soroptomist International of the Americas. This organization provides grant money for women who support their household and have been "severed from a post-high-school education and who would benefit from a college education." The grant can cover additional expenses. The AARP also offers scholarships to women 40 and over "who are seeking new job skills, training and educational opportunities to support themselves and their families."