Grants for homes that are available from the Federal government are restricted to such programs as the Department of Energy’s home weatherization program. These home grants are issued as block funding to “…states, U.S. overseas territories, and Indian tribal governments states, U.S. overseas territories, and Indian tribal governments” This is part of the description found at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/wap.html. The full details and eligibility guidelines are posted on the specific agency’s website: These home grants target narrowly defined programs, such as home weatherization or lead paint abatement.
The general procedures for this type of grant involves using a government approved contractor, verifying that the work was approved, and sometimes waiting for a local inspector to certify that the work and materials meet the governments standards. The home grant is usually capped at a specific amount. The contractor submits the invoice to the homeowner, who then submits it for payment. Depending on the program, the homeowner may have to pay the invoice, and then receives reimbursement by the granting agency up to the allowable amount.
The end user of the home grant generally has to fit a particular demographic, such as low-income or disabled categories, to be eligible for funding.
Grants for homes may also be accessed through private and corporate foundations, and are released as targeted or restricted funding. In most cases, the home grants are made to nonprofit entities, which then provide the specific material and labor to provide the needed service. These home grants may be used for such things as widening doorways or to provide increased access within homes.
When searching for home grants, you will want to include keywords that reference the specific need. For instance, if you need new windows, you would search “grants for new windows” rather than the more generic “grant for homes”. This might take you to grantors whose actual focus is energy conservation, and you can explore the programs in more depth to decide if they pay for new windows.
