Where to Find Scholarships for Single Mothers
Being a single mother is no piece of cake, and the financial aspects are possibly the toughest hurdle they have to face. Single mothers must consider their kids as a key component of planning for the future. The employment situation, everyday expenses, medical expenses and the cost of education are just a few of the important items to keep in mind. Most single moms are prepared to take a second job as circumstances dictate, and are ever on the alert for that better, higher paying job. The resume is kept current. To help overcome their weak financial positions, many single mothers are considering furthering their educations. How can they do this while working one or possibly two jobs and barely eeking out an existence for their families? Following are some answers for strapped and stressed-out single moms who need to find scholarships for single mothers.
Grants
Grants do not require repayment of the funds awarded, so they are not loans. Grants are given to single mothers in financial need. To obtain one, you must go through a screening process so the providers of the grant fund can test for eligibility. Grants are typically given to moms seeking higher education. The amount provided will depend on the financial need of the grantee. A few types of such grants are:
- Government grants for housing
- Government grants for single moms for college
- Government daycare grants for single moms
- Government grants for single moms to pay rent
The following are grants not offered by the government but by private organizations.
Sunshine Lady Foundation
A nonprofit organization founded by Ms. Doris Buffet in 1996. It is solely dedicated to mothers who face abusive relationships and therefore lack the ability to function in society in any normal and successful way. The organization offers scholarships for single mothers, education funding and much more. Visit http://www.sunshinelady.org/ for more information.
Our Families, Our Future
An organization lending scholarships for single mothers wishing independence from government funds or any other source of funds. Notably, this group trains women for positions in the work place so they can care for their children.
The Women’s Opportunity Awards
These awards are given to mothers who are the primary source of the family income. The scholarships for single mothers serve to motivate the recipients and they seek out the hardest working ones to offer the grants. Their website is http://www.soroptimist.org/.
Institutional Grants
These scholarships for single mothers are granted by colleges and universities to single mothers who have registered with them to attend classes and programs. They work like this: Suppose a single mother is looking for online classes and has no computer. This organization will provide her with a computer often at no cost. This is a substantial aid to a single mother’s educational opportunities, as she does not have to be away from her children to attend classes.
The single mother who will qualify for these grants and scholarships must understand that there will be restrictions. Their annual income needs to fall below a certain level. There is an application process for these grants and scholarships for single mothers that require the applicants to describe themselves and their economic backgrounds. Application forms are available at local welfare offices.
And if You Are Not Qualified?
Do not give up in frustration. There are grants offered by the United States Government specifically for single moms. In order to take advantage of such grants, you will need to perform some type of service as outlined in the terms of the grant. Some of them will be in agriculture, art or education. For example, there is currently a grant available from the National Parks Service for those who prefer outdoor work, and another in water conservation. Visit www.grants.gov and http://www.neh.gov/ for further information. This is an invaluable website for researching many types of grants. The applications can be downloaded from the website.