• There are many grants available to help organizations which provide assistance to single mothers. Education grants for single mothers are available to residents of NY state through TAP.mother and son image by Paul Moore from Fotolia.com
  
  A grant is not a loan. It is an award of financial assistance from a federal, state, or private agency for a specific, usually public, purpose. It is usually not merely for financial assistance, but it can be. In terms of grants specific for Buffalo, NY, grants for education are available to needy single mothers through the New York State TAP program. Most of the other grants are from federal or private agencies who provide various types of support to needy recipients, including single mothers, or, in most cases, to organizations supporting single mothers.
  
  

Categories of Federal Grants

• This is a short list of agencies from the federal government which have grants available that would benefit single mothers, or in most cases, organizations supporting single mothers. There are a total of 900 federal grants available from 23 separate agencies.
  
  Business and Commerce
  
  Community Development
  
  Education
  
  Employment, Labor, and Training
  
  Food and Nutrition
  
  Health
  
  Housing
  
  Law, Justice, and Legal Services
  
  Social Services and Income Security
  
  Some specific federal grants:
  
  Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
  
  Office: Office of Public and Indian Housing offers a Family Unification Program (fup) grant for housing that applies to needy families, youth, including single mothers.
  
  Agency: Department of Health and Human Services---Children's Health Insurance Program
  
  

Housing Grants for Single Mothers

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
  
  The Catalogue Of Federal Domestic Assistance
  
  The Nehemiah Program provides first time home buyers with grants.
  
  

Education

• This is a list of ways by which single mothers can gain financial assistance for higher education:
  
  - Direct financial assistance from your college
  
  - Federal and state subsidized grants
  
  - Work-study programs
  
  - Support from alumni, local clubs, or religious groups,
  
  - Corporate-sponsored scholarships or tuition-aid programs for employees or for children of employees
  
  Education Grants.com lists a number of places to go for education grants, that apply to single mothers in the Western New York State region.
  
  The New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) helps eligible New York residents pay tuition at approved schools in New York State. An annual TAP grant can be up to $5,000. The grant is partly based on the need of the recipient.
  
  A Pell Grant is a federal grant that is based on the need of the recipient that gives between $400 and $5,350 to eligible applicants.
  
  Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is also a need-based grant designed for students with the greatest financial need.
  
  

For Organizations

• Single mothers can benefit from a wide variety of financial assistance.mom image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
  
  There are many grants available for non-profit 501(c)3 organizations designed to include or help single mothers.
  
  Some of these are:
  
  W.H.O. Foundation (Women Helping Others) which provides specific grants which positively impact women, including single mothers. http://www.whofoundation.org/WhoWeAre/index.asp
  
  The Mary Kay Foundation gives $20,000 grants to 150 women's shelters.
  
  http://www.mkacf.org/Pages/ShelterGrantProgram.aspx
  
  The Open Meadows Foundation is a grant-making organization for projects that are led by and benefit women and girls, particularly those from vulnerable communities. http://www.openmeadows.org/
  
  

Economic aid for individuals

• The Mayer Foundation offers economic assistance in the form of $2,500 and $5,000 to individuals and organizations in economic distress. http://foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/mayer/about.html