If you need help try searching locally for assistance to see what
resources are available before launching
into a full
internet search. One place to start would be by dialing 211
on your phone or going to
www.211.org. If this is not helpful you
can find
a list nonprofits in your area to contact by going to
this link:
http://www.irs.gov/app/pub-78/
Another source of
information is the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance, which is a directory of over 15
types of federal assistance, including grants and loans. There are
about 1,500 programs listed in the CFDA. Each program has a summary
which explains program eligibility requirements, agency contact
information, and application instructions.
Also you might want to visit Gigoit:
http://www.gigoit.org/index.php is FREE, easy and
good for the world! You can donate and receive reusable items in
your community.
Gigo, or "GIGO", is an acronym that stands for "Garbage In,
Garbage Out". Since many useful items may be on their way in to
the local landfill to become garbage, they provide a method to
distribute these items out to the local community.
In addition to the information
listed on this page you can click your state link below to see
additional assistance information that is specific to your
state:
Wish Upon A Hero
WUAH is
one of the world's largest social helping websites:
www.wishuponahero.org.
Everyday new wishes are posted and everyday wishes are granted.
Wishes range from needs to wants and can be searched by
category, time, location and even by keywords. Anyone can become
a hero just by granting a wish. It's easy, it's free and it's
inspirational. The world is now empowered to help itself.
Wish Upon A Hero was first conceived by founder Dave Girgenti
shortly after the September 11th attacks on New York City. Dave
dreamed of creating a platform
where can people help other people directly. This idea became a
reality in
September of 2007 when the site was launched. The full story can
be found here: http://www.wishuponahero.com/aboutus/
Modest Needs
Modest Needs is a non-profit organization reaching out to
hard-working individuals and families
who suddenly find themselves faced with small, emergency
expenses that they have no way to afford on their own. To learn
more go to:
http://modestneeds.org/
The www.FreeNapkin.com
system is very easy to use simply claim items you want and then
provide a positive feedback once you receive the item. You can
also donate as well unused items. It is simple to upload your
item onto freenapkin. The system casts-out the normal
buyers/sellers and replaces them with the claimers/donators.
When you become a registered user (becoming a registered user is
quick and free) you can list any item around the house on your
account.
MicroGiving
MicroGiving connects those who have (Donors) with those who need
(Recipients).
To learn more go to:
http://www.microgiving.com/
Attention Teachers www.DonorsChoose.org
is a website connecting classrooms in need with individuals who
want to help.
Non Profit Directory
Non Profit National Resource Directory A free online
listing of consultants, coaches and vendors dedicated to helping
the nonprofit sector survive and thrive. There are over 70
categories of service listed in the directory. It is possible
to search by service category or state. Listings include
references and/or testimonials as well as contact information,
links to websites, blogs and articles and background on each
business or service listed.
Government Assistance
If you want to know exactly what
you might qualify for then we would recommend you go to:
http://www.GovBenefits.gov. This
website is the official benefits website of the U.S. government,
with information on over 1,000 benefit and assistance programs!
The fastest way to see what you
can get in assistance is to complete the free anonymous
questionnaire by
clicking here.
When you finish filling out the information it will generate a
list of benefit programs for which you may be eligible and how
to apply.
Also, the following are direct
links to official information on grants, loans, financial aid,
and other benefits from the U.S. government:
The mission of the
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is to assist
low income households, particularly those with the lowest
incomes that pay a high proportion of household income for home
energy, primarily in meeting their immediate home energy needs.
Some forms of assistance available to low income households
through State LIHEAP programs include: financial assistance
towards a household's energy bill, emergency assistance if a
household's home energy service is shut off or about to be shut
off, and a range of other energy-related services that States
may choose to offer, such as weatherization improvements,
utility equipment repair and replacement, budgeting counseling
and so forth.
Telephone
Assistance Programs for Low Income Households
Lifeline, Link Up, and Toll Limitation Service (TLS)
help keep Americans connected by making basic, local
telephone service more affordable for more than 7 million
Americans. For information about applying for these
discounts, click on your state in the map found of this
page:
http://www.lifelinesupport.org/li/low-income/lifelinesupport/browser/
Food Assistance
Angel Food Ministries offers food each month delivered
throughout the United States for pickup. The cost is
$25 for a box of food but you get at least double your
money in food. Value of food is anywhere from $42 - $78. They
accept cash, checks, and food stamps.
Go to the website to find a host site near you, then call the
host site to find out how to place a order and when to pickup.
http://www.angelfoodministries.org
Operation Green Plant: Grants of 100 to 1,000 seed
packets are offered on the basis of availability and relative
need and are intended to help feed hungry citizens and improve
local parks, nursing homes, libraries, community gardens,
schools, and other public spaces by planting vegetable and
flower seeds.
Assistance with Pets
The LifeLine
Grant Program provides funding to Good Samaritans, animal
rescuers, non-profit organizations and pet owners to help them
care for animals in life-threatening situations. Learn more
about our various LifeLine Grants and find out the eligibility
requirements go to the following link:
http://www.uan.org/index.cfm?navid=28
"Helping people
help pets". To better the lives of sick, injured and abused
companion animals. We are dedicated to insure that no companion
animal has to be euthanized simply because their caretaker is
financially challenged.
http://www.imom.org/
Canada's Guide to Dogs - A comprehensive resource and
information site about Service Dogs and Working Dogs in Canada.
http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/
Canine Assistants
is a non-profit organization, founded in 1991, which trains and
provides service dogs for children and adults with physical
disabilities or other special needs.
http://www.canineassistants.org/
Affordable Rental Homes Social Serve is a website listing 'affordable' rental homes
and homes for sale in certain states. Does not include all
states.
http://www.socialserve.com/
Health Insurance for Children State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
For little or no cost, this insurance pays for doctor visits,
prescription medicines, hospitalizations, and much more for
children 18 years and
younger. Most states also cover the cost of dental care, eye
care, and
medical equipment. Telephone: 1-877-543-7669. Insure Kids Now!
Website: http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/
Help For Vision Problems If you do not qualify for government aid or private health
care assistance that covers the cost of routine eye or vision
care, VISION USA can help. VISION USA provides basic eye
health and vision care services free of charge to uninsured,
low-income people and their families. VISION USA was
established in 1991 by AOA doctors of optometry who donate their
services.
http://www.aoa.org/visionusa.xml
Sight for Students, a Vision Service Plan (VSP)
program in partnership with The Entertainment Industry
Foundation, provides eye exams and glasses to children 18 years
and younger whose families cannot afford vision care. Telephone:
1-888-290-4964 or visit:
http://www.sightforstudents.org
http://www.zennioptical.com/cart/home.php
Using the latest modern materials, manufacturing and marketing
systems Zenni brings their product direct from their factories
to you. No middlemen, no retail overhead, and practically no
advertising budget, they leave it to you, their satisfied
customers to spread the word. Zenni does not pay for or sell
expensive, or even inexpensive, brand names, but only their own
manufactured brand.
39dollarglasses.com was developed by
eye doctors to create an inexpensive method for people to
acquire high-quality, finished prescription eyeglasses. From
their experience in both private offices and retail
establishments, the founders decided they could provide this
service for people inexpensively, bypassing expensive retail
establishments. They use the same high-quality materials, but
can offer them at a high discount because of their high volume.
They also don't have the additional overhead constraints (such
as retail rent space, behind-the-counter employees, and
expensive displays) that your doctor's office or optical must
overcome.
Dental Help National Foundation of Dentistry For The Handicapped
Volunteer Dentists 1-877-357-8660
Help With Medical
Equipment for Disabled Adults & Children
Friends of Disabled Adults & Children
provides over $8 million each year in equipment and services to
the community at little or no cost to the recipients. FODAC is a
501(c)(3) and does not have direct funding from
Medicare/Medicaid for the services offered. Most equipment is
issued for a suggested donation but some services have mandatory
fees.
http://www.fodac.org/fodac/index.php
Disabled Children's Relief Fund (DCRF),
a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, provides disabled children
with assistance to obtain wheelchairs, orthopedic braces,
walkers, lifts, hearing aids, eyeglasses, medical equipment,
physical therapy, and surgery. Blind, Deaf, Amputees, and
children with Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Spastic
Quadriplegia, Encephalitis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Spina Bifida,
Down's Syndrome, and other disabilities receive assistance. DCRF
focuses special attention on helping children throughout the
U.S. that do not have adequate health insurance, especially the
physically challenged.
http://www.dcrf.com/ordereze/default.aspx
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)
Public agencies that provide assistance to children with
diabetes and other disabilities and to their families are listed
on the State Resource Sheets published by the National
Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY).
These free resource sheets, which list the names and addresses
of agencies in your state:
www.nichcy.org
Help With
Hearing
The World's First Disposable Hearing Aid - Songbird has
developed the world's first disposable hearing aid for the
millions of Americans with mild to moderate hearing loss who
have chosen to forgo the commitment and expense of traditional
hearing aids.
http://www.songbirdhearing.com
In 1984 The
Starkey Hearing Foundation started with a simple premise:
Alone we cant do much. But, together we can change the world.
Today the Foundation is sustained by the efforts of thousands of
volunteers and donors around the world. Supporters allow the
foundation to deliver more than 50,000 hearing aids annually
through more than 100 hearing missions a year in countries
stretching from the U.S. to Vietnam. For more information visit:
www.sotheworldmayhear.org
The HIKE fund is a not-for-profit charity that provides hearing
devices for children with hearing impairments between the ages
of newborn and twenty years whose parents are unable to meet
this special need financially. For information visit:
www.thehikefund.org
Funding For
Medical Coverage
The UnitedHealthcare Children's
Foundation is offering support to meet the needs of children
across the United States with assistance grants for medical
services not fully covered by health insurance. Parents and
caretakers across the country will be eligible to apply for
grants of up to $5,000 for healthcare services that will help
improve their children's health and quality of life.
http://www.uhccf.org/
Help for
Newborns Newborns in Need, Inc. (NIN) is a 501(c)3 charity organized to
take care of sick and needy babies and their families; and in
cases of crisis, to help where help is needed.
http://www.newbornsinneed.org
Help For Seniors
BenefitsCheckUp is the nation's most comprehensive Web-based
service to screen for benefits programs for seniors with limited
income and resources.
The website was developed
and is maintained by The
National Council on
Aging (NCOA): http://www.benefitscheckup.org
Federal Grant Opportunities www.Grants.gov
is your source to FIND and APPLY for federal government grants.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proud to be
the managing partner for Grants.gov, an initiative that is
having an unparalleled impact on the grant community.
Learn more about Grants.gov and determine if you are
eligible for grant opportunities offered on this site.
Prescription
Assistance The Partnership for
Prescription Assistance brings together America's pharmaceutical
companies, doctors, other health care providers, patient
advocacy organizations and community groups to help qualifying
patients who lack prescription coverage get the medicines they
need through the public or private program that's right for
them. Many will get them free or nearly free. To access the
Partnership for Prescription Assistance by phone, you can call
toll-free, 1-888-4PPA-NOW
(1-888-477-2669) or visit:
https://www.pparx.org
Patient assistance programs
are run by pharmaceutical companies to provide free
medications to people who cannot afford to buy their
medicine. RxAssist offers a comprehensive database
of these patient assistance programs, as well as
practical tools, news, and articles so that health
care professionals and patients can find the
information they need. All in one place.
http://www.rxassist.org/default.cfm
Prescription
Hope is a national program offering a solution for
low income individuals, families, disabled people,
and seniors on Medicare, to one of the most
difficult problems in the health care system -
providing affordable access to prescription
medication.
http://www.prescriptionhope.com/
NeedyMeds is a 501(3)(c) non-profit with
the mission of helping people who cannot
afford medicine or healthcare costs. The
information at NeedyMeds is available
anonymously and free of charge.
http://www.needymeds.org/index.shtml
Wheelchair Donations
The Wheelchair Foundation provides help through partner
organizations around the world to identify potential wheelchair
recipients.
http://www.wheelchairfoundation.org/
ADL Foundation http://www.adlfoundation.org/
To apply, an applicant must submit a letter to the ADL
Foundation requesting help in obtaining a mobility aid. Upon
receipt
of the application, a foundation facilitator will screen the
applicant for eligibility.
Grave Marker Assistance Affordable
Markers has been inscribing markers since 2002. Currently
markers cost around $129. To date they have
inscribed over 75,000 grave markers. They currently service 13
National Cemeteries, inscribing grave markers for US Veterans.
All Granite markers meet or exceed the National Cemetery
Administrations strict guidelines. Granites absorption, abrasion
resistance, density, compressive strength, modulus of rapture
and flexural strength meet or exceed the guidelines as
classified by the National Cemetery Administration and the Natl
Building Granite Quarries Association.
All Granite blanks are cut from Quarries in the United States.
Assistance With School Supplies
ClassZoom
seeks to assist low-income school students and their classrooms
by providing school supplies and other school-related items.
These items might include pens and pencils, paper, backpacks,
rulers, calculators - anything a student might need in a
classroom, but is unable to afford. As a secondary goal,
ClassZoom may provide items or resources that will benefit an
entire classroom - particularly in low-median-income school
districts.
http://www.agrainofhope.org/classzoom.shtml
The Kids In Need Foundation
is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1995. The Kids
In Need Foundation's mission is to ensure that every child is
prepared to learn and succeed by providing free school supplies
nationally to students most in need.
I Love Schools is an
online program aimed at matching classrooms with the people who
can help them get the school supplies they need. Read through
teachers' wish lists to see if there are any school supplies you
are willing to donate. You may also post a "donor offer" and let
teachers contact you if they are interested in the items you
would like to give.
Health Insurance for Children Call
the program office in your state to see if your children
are eligible for free or low-cost health insurance.
Runaway Youth National Switchboard to
Call for Help
Call
1-800-RUNAWAY if you are a teenager thinking of running
from home, if you have a friend who has run and is
looking for help, or if you are a runaway ready to go
home.
Antitrust Violations E-mail,
call or mail a report of a possible antitrust violation
or potential anti-competitive activity, whether civil or
criminal, to the Department of Justice.
Consumer Fraud E-mail
complaints to the Federal Trade Commission.
Crime Victims E-mail
or call for crime victims' support and assistance.
Domestic Violence Hotline E-mail
or call for crisis intervention, information about
domestic violence and referrals to local service
providers to victims of domestic violence and those
calling on their behalf. Services are available in
English and Spanish.
Homeland Security State Contact List View
the map and find contact information for your state's
homeland security contact appointed by your governor.
Nuclear Facilities
E-mail or call to report any safety or security concern
involving a nuclear reactor, nuclear fuel facility or
radioactive materials.
Religious Discrimination Where
to file complaints for religious discrimination and
violation of religious liberty rights, by category.
Tax Violations Report
federal tax violators to the IRS' Whistleblower Office
and possibly earn a reward.
Terrorist Activity E-mail
leads to the FBI online or call your local FBI Field
Office.
Federal Advisory Committees Access
the database used by federal agencies to
continuously manage an average of 1,000 advisory
committees government-wide.
Viral Hepatitis
Call
to get information about viral hepatitis.
Home, Community &
Work
Accessibility E-mail,
mail or call with complaints concerning access
to facilities for people with disabilities.
Affordable Housing E-mail
a question to Ginnie Mae about affordable
housing.
Census E-mail
the Census Bureau questions and comments about
the Census.
Discriminatory Mortgage Lending
File an official complaint, if you feel that you
have been discriminated against based on your
race, color, national origin, religion, sex,
family status or disability.
Emergency E-mail Notification Sign
up to receive emergency e-mail notification of
natural disasters, or other emergencies in your
area, from local, regional and national
government sources.
Employment and Training Find
state contacts for unemployment,
welfare-to-work, adult and Native American
training programs, and more.
Hurricane Telephone Hotlines Hurricane
survivors can call government telephone hotlines
for assistance, health and safety information
and to learn how to volunteer.
Land Sale Complaints If
you believe you have been a victim of fraud and
abuse when buying or leasing land from
developers, you can file a complaint by writing
to HUD.
Librarians Chat
with or e-mail a government librarian
Radon Call
the hotline to learn about radon and indoor air
quality in your home.
Runaway Youth National
Switchboard to Call for Help Call
1-800-RUNAWAY if you are a teenager thinking of
running from home, if you have a friend who has
run and is looking for help, or if you are a
runaway ready to go home.
Army Family Assistance Hotline The
U.S. Army toll-free Family Assistance Hotline
provides referrals and information to the
families of soldiers deployed or activated in
Operation Iraqi Freedom at (800) 833-6622.
Veterans Issues E-mail
inquiries about medical and other benefits,
cemeteries, agent orange and Persian Gulf
illness.
World War II Memorial The
World War II Memorial, completed in 2004 in
Washington, DC, honors the 16 million who served
and the more than 400,000 who died.
Money & Business
Antitrust and Competition
E-mail,
call or mail the Federal Trade Commission with a
question or comment on an antitrust matter.
Antitrust Violations E-mail,
call or mail a report of a possible antitrust
violation or potential anti-competitive
activity, whether civil or criminal, to the
Department of Justice.
Bank Complaints File
a complaint about a bank or other financial
institution
Bankruptcy Fraud Report
suspected bankruptcy fraud to the U.S. Trustee
Program of the Department of Justice.
Banks Mail
consumer complaints about banks to the Federal
Reserve Board.
Business and Electronic Commerce
Practices E-mail
complaints (stores, finance companies, auto
dealers, mortgage companies, credit bureaus,
spam e-mail, etc.) to the Federal Trade
Commission.
Charities E-mail
complaints to the Federal Trade Commission.
Deposit Insurance E-mail
for assistance from the Federal Deposit
Insurance Commission.
National Forests Contact
the national headquarters office by comment
form, email, phone, or by postal mail
Passports for U.S. Citizens E-mail
or call the Department of State's National
Passport Information Center to learn about how
to obtain, replace or change a passport.
