Exploring Eligibility: Individuals Seeking “Grants” for House Repairs

Posted on by Grants.gov

One of the most frequent types of questions we receive is, “My house needs some repairs. Can you please give me a grant?” At the core of this type of question are two underlying questions:

  1. What is a grant?
  2. Am I eligible for a grant (or other type of government assistance)?

ExploringEligibility-BlogSeries

Let’s explore the eligibility question here.

First, it’s important to make a general distinction between individuals (i.e., one person) seeking government assistance and organizations (e.g., a university, state government, or nonprofit) applying for a federal grant.

The eligibility for any grant program, or other form of government assistance, is defined in the authorizing legislation (i.e., the bill passed by Congress and signed into law by the President). Here’s more about how grant policies are made if you’re interested.

The majority of the grants found on Grants.gov are for organizations. There are some grants that individuals are eligible for, but these are for things like fellowship programs, public diplomacy programs, and conservation innovations.

Okay, but what about the money for house repairs…

For you to answer this eligibility question specifically, you must explore the eligibility of the grants currently available on Grants.gov. How? Go to the Search Grants tab, then click the “Individuals” option in the Eligibility search criteria.

Search Grants

This will narrow the search results—look through the titles, select any interesting or applicable funding opportunities, then read them to figure out whether you are eligible. The funding opportunity announcement will tell you who is eligible to apply for a grant.

If you do not find any grants for individuals to fund home repairs, then there are currently no such government grant opportunities on Grants.gov.

But someone said I could get free money from the government to fix my house…

If you don’t find grants you are eligible for on Grants.gov using the search method described above, here are four ways to continue your search.

1) Explore eligibility for government assistance on Benefits.gov. Read through this website and answer the series of questions in their Benefit Finder tool to see if you are eligible to apply for government assistance.

2) If you haven’t found anything on Grants.gov or Benefits.gov, then check out the Government Benefits, Grants, and Loans page on USA.gov to continue your search.

3) After checking these federal government resources, you may also want to check with your state or local government websites for additional opportunities that may exist.

4) A final option is to subscribe to the Grants.gov search, which can send you an email each time a new funding opportunity that individuals are eligible for is posted. Set up your subscription here.

Remember, though, you may not be eligible for any existing government grant or assistance programs based on your current circumstances.

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9 thoughts on “Exploring Eligibility: Individuals Seeking “Grants” for House Repairs”

  1. Hi my name is Toshira Pounds I am a 44yr.old female with two life threating disease just had double open heart surgery to have a LVAD put in to help my heart pump. I also have Lupus and I am attached to a machine 24/7. I live with my mother and we are in great need of house repairs. We live in a small town called Abbott, Tx. There isn’t much in this town, my mother is also retired and on disability she just went back to work after I had the surgery. I need some help with trying to find help for these house repairs. If I could work I would, but my health conditions want allow that. Plus I’m getting ready to be put on the list for a Heart Transplant. So if you could help me it will greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

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    1. Hi Toshira, thanks for sharing & we hope you get well soon. As recommended in the article, please visit Benefits.gov and use the Benefit Finder tool to identify government assistance that you might be eligible for. The funding opportunities listed on Grants.gov are primarily designated for public programs and projects.

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  2. Hi, my name is Benetia Falkner. I have a home in Bedford, Ohio, not to be confused with Bedford Heights, Ohio. Currently this city which is run by a City Manager and Mayor does not have or apparently has not applied for federal government tax dollars for repairing homes for the elderly and the disabled. All expenses are forwarded to the residents; ie paying for water meters. I am certifiably disabled, 61yr.old single female. Went on disability because I could no longer physically perform the job. Ie; carrying a infant in a car seat after state custody, as a Social Worker.
    It appears that no one in this administration , in Bedford knows how to pursue funding for the elderly and/disabled. I’m not saying this in a crude but factual way.
    Would you kindly forward this information me and I will forward it to them. I also have experience in proposal writing. In the case of Toshiba Pounds, both she and I need and qualify for the assistance, however the cities that we reside in, has not pursued the funding through the Federal Government.

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    1. Hi Benetia, you may also want to check with your state or local government websites for information about potential benefits specific to your location.

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    2. You know, that stinks. I live in Georgia, and , need help repairing my roof before it falls in
      We can no longer even afford groceries cause our income is so low
      Guess there’s nothing more we can do but worry ourselves to death!!!!!!¡

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      1. Thank you for sharing. Please visit Benefits.gov and use the Benefit Finder tool to identify any government assistance that you might be eligible for. Please also consider visiting your state website to see if any additional benefits might be available to you.

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  3. i am seeking a home repair grant. I AM 74 years old and need financial assistance. where do i apply for assistance? i am an artist and asking if there are any grant s for artist, so i could publish my work.

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  4. Great blog. I own a roofing company in Huntersville NC, and have been a roofer in huntersville for a long time now, and have done a couple repairs on grants. Great programs are being offered, and people that really need the help are getting just that. Love to do the work too, because the money is quick to be received, but most importantly, the homeowners are very thankful. Great experience.

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