# "Free Grant Money" - is this a scam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 12, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-grant-money-is-this-a-scam/45253 "2000-12-12T23:03:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-grant-money-is-this-a-scam/45253/1 "2000-12-12T23:03:07Z")
[http://3506561211/dv42942000/index.html](http://3506561211/dv42942000/index.html) I got this in email today, and was wondering what it was all about. They want a $40 fee that will be refunded (they say) if you don’t qualify for a grant. Anyone know what this is about? ---
**Author:** ![Nanook\_of\_the\_North\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Nanook\_of\_the\_North\_Shore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanook_of_the_North_Shore)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-grant-money-is-this-a-scam/45253/2 "2000-12-12T23:25:48Z")
This has been discussed a couple times before. The general concensus was that while the grants are real, its still a scam because of the amount of time and effort required to get them. Here are a couple of threads discussing it. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=43040](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=43040) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=6798](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=6798) ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Mr.B\_to\_you](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@It\_s\_Mr.B\_to\_you](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Mr.B_to_you)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-grant-money-is-this-a-scam/45253/3 "2000-12-12T23:37:09Z")
I sometimes “write grants” which is bureaucrat-speak for write grant proposals. They are major time wasters, bu the money does arrive. Smaller libraries and collections, etc. try their best to live off these. Some are from the sorry wills of misguided not-really-rich people, and most of the money ends up with their lawyers who are executors of the trust, and charge real money to read the proposals paid for by struggling charities and municipalities. The whole system needs to be dismantled, since both the giver and the receiver are usually taken advantage of by the middlemen. The “Grant List” providers are, sadly, the least of these sponges. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-grant-money-is-this-a-scam/45253/4 "2000-12-12T23:56:07Z")
Ok, say I give the people at that website $40. What happens then? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2000, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-grant-money-is-this-a-scam/45253/5 "2000-12-13T00:05:30Z")
First, it’s not a Free Grant if you have to pay $40 for it, is it OC? Second, you don’t give them $40, you give them all sorts of information about your personal checking account that would let them do all sorts of things to it. Third, it looks like a big scam to take money from your account. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2000, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-grant-money-is-this-a-scam/45253/6 "2000-12-13T00:51:52Z")
Well yeah, I’m not gonna DO it, I’m just curious what it is about. ---
**Author:** ![Timothy\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Timothy\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timothy_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2000, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-grant-money-is-this-a-scam/45253/7 "2000-12-13T01:15:53Z")
What’s it about? I’d say it’s about 40 bucks.