Government Grants For Single Moms: Emma Johnson Single Mother Grant

There are many challenges that come with being a single mother. Most single moms who are obliged to care for their children alone frequently have to give up their goals of pursuing their desired careers or earning a college diploma.

It's an understatement to say that it costs a lot of money to raise a child. According to USA Today, center-based child care prices jumped 41% from the previous year. This might be more than half of a single mother's salary.

Low income individuals and single moms and pregnant women need to do everything they can to maximize the opportunities that come their way. In addition to the Single Mom Grant, other grants can help pave the way for single mothers who need assistance to provide for their families or further pursue their educational goals.

The role of government grants can be invaluable for single mothers who need extra assistance. It can help them overcome the challenges that single moms may face, such as the struggle to make ends meet for daily needs. Unlike a loan, a financial grant provides a certain amount of monetary assistance that you won't have to pay back.

How Can Government Grants Help?

Government loans for single mothers have helped them realize their ambitions. Some women have pursued higher education to boost their work prospects. Others have created their own business or expanded existing ones.

Through government loans for single mothers and non-governmental subsidies, many single mothers care for their children by providing them with a safe place to live, adequate food, and appropriate health care.

There are several types of government grants that can help single mothers get the help they need:

• Educational Grants – help single moms get a degree and pay for personal expenses

• Child Education Grants – help fund educational expenses of kids
• Housing Grants – help a single mother pay for rent, purchase a home, or pay for other housing expenses such as utility bills

How To Get A Grant

You can receive hardship grants for single mothers primarily in one of two ways. You can start by submitting a grant application to your federal, state, or local government.

Receiving grant money for single mothers from businesses and non-profits is a second approach to raising funding. Since private institutions provide these funds, the requirements for their usage may be less stringent than those for government grants.

The application progress for private grants may be more rigorous compared to public government grants. Your ability to qualify for financial help can depend on a variety of factors including your poverty level and other factors. In order to receive assistance, here are some requirements that you may need:

• Notice of past due rent, past due utility, or eviction
• Total amount of rental defaults
• Documents that show past rent payments

Emma Johnson Single Mother Grant

A U.S. Census report estimates that just 43.5% of custodial parents receive the complete amount of support they’re entitled to. In contrast, over 30% don’t receive any child support payments at all.

Unfortunately, this common issue can hold back women from pursuing their careers entirely because of the lack of child care and financial support. In order to remedy this, Emma Johnson's grant program decided to establish the Kickass Single Mom Grant to help out single mothers afford better healthcare, childcare, and deal with other financial issues that can cause stress.

A single mother raised Emma Johnson, but her husband also abandoned her to care for their two children. Fortunately, Johnson didn’t allow these setbacks to deter her from achieving her dreams. Despite working so hard to raise her children, she continued to strive for success.

In her footsteps, Johnson hopes to inspire other single mothers. Johnson donates $500 to a deserving single mother every month. If you think you could be one of these women, click the link above and fill out the application.

Applying For The $500 Kickass Single Mom Grant

The goal of the Kickass Single Mom Stimulus Grant is to lend assistance to single moms struggling with issues like with money, health, stress, child care, illness, and loneliness. In order for applicants to proceed with an application for the grant, the qualifications on their website are relatively simple compared to the majority of other grant applications:

• You’re a single mom
• You need the money right now

If you meet these two qualifications, you’ll need to provide some personal information on their website which include information and questions as follows:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Email
• Paypal
• Phone
• City
• State
• Country
• Link to your Facebook or Instagram account
• Number of kids you have and other people you are responsible for
• Specific job scope and responsibilities
• Did you lose work because of COVID-19? (Yes or no)
• Two sentences on why you need the money now.

To provide you with some inspiration, here are some successful awardees of the Single Mom Stimulus Grant as mentioned on their website:

Juanita Madden, pregnant mom of 2 in Nashville whose hours as a dog groomer were slashed: “I’ve had loss of income due to Covid, found out I was pregnant then recently my fiance passed away and I’m trying to do everything myself. This would help me keep my hope that things will get better.”

Patrice Marlow, North Charleston, S.C., mom of 3 lost work when COVID-19 closed the restaurant where she was a server, and her income was limited by lack of child care.

Connie Papayani, mom of 5 and medical biller in Islip Terrace, N.Y. “My landlord needs his house back by October and I had less than $200 in income in June and July. No money in savings. Feeding kids on food stamps.”

Other Grants That Can Help Single Moms

If you are looking for other grants in times of financial hardship, here are some grants that can help other single moms find self-sufficiency as long as they meet the criteria for financial need. These include U.S. government grants, state grants, free car grants and other emergency grants that can provide aid beyond financial assistance and child support.

For instance, there are specific grants that can provide aid for single moms who just got out of prison, single moms who lost a spouse, single moms who had to sell their home, or single moms who are at risk of becoming homeless.

However, each grant has its own qualifications and eligibility processes so it is best to explore as many options as possible and apply to the ones that best suit your needs.

U.S.A Government Grants

Low-income households may be eligible for government housing assistance if they meet certain criteria. “One-third of all single parents must spend more than half of their salary on housing,” according to The Life of a Single Mom.

It may be tough to come up with the dollars needed for food and other basics if so much of your money goes towards the roof over your head. You may be eligible for assistance if you find yourself in a situation where you can no longer afford accommodation. To see what you’re eligible for, fill out an online application.

Emergency Rental Assistance Program

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program, HUD Housing Grants, and Emergency Solutions Grants are some of the options that can help single moms who are struggling to pay the rent or keep their homes.

This program aims to provide aid to single moms and other individuals in need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. To check out the specific details for the Emergency Rental Assistance program in your city, county, or municipality, you can call 211.

The funds from this program are meant to cover rent, utilities, and home energy costs. It may also fund the cost of relocation expenses if needed.

In order to be eligible for this program, here are some basic qualifications:

• At least one person in your home lost income, qualifies for unemployment, owes large expenses, or experienced financial hardships (priority goes to those who have been unemployed for 90 days or more)
• Your household income is below the area median income (AMI); percentages vary depending on where you live but applicants with 50% or less income than the AMI have top priority
• You or one of your household member is at risk of becoming homeless

If you are qualified, here is some of the information that you may need to provide as an applicant depending on your place of residence:

• Name
• Street address, city, ZIP code
• Phone number
• Email address
• Preferred contact method
• Preferred language
• Landlord name
• Landlord phone number
• Landlord email address
• Notice of past due rent, past due utility, or eviction (yes/no)
• Upload notice
• Eviction notice (yes/no)
• If yes, including the the court date
• Housing risks
• Request for rent assistance

HUD Housing Grants

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) partners with landlords to lower rent costs for families, senior citizens, disabled persons, and those in need such as single moms. In order to check whether you qualify for HUD housing, you can browse their website and search for HUD apartments online.

HUD provides other options including state-sponsored housing programs for single moms in need of assistance, as well asHUD public housing for families through the Public Housing Agency of your state.

In order to qualify for an HUD housing grants, you may have to meet some of these basic requirements:

• Applicants must be at least 18 years old, and a United States citizen or a noncitizen who has eligible immigration status.
• Eligible immigration status includes a lawful permanent resident; registry immigrant; refugee or asylee; conditional entrant; parolee; withholding grantee; person granted 1986 amnesty status; resident of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, or Guam; victim or relative of a victim of trafficking.
• Single women or people are eligible, as well as households with or without children.

Note that on their page HUD refers to a household as a “family,” which means that single moms and those without children can also qualify. There are also nationwide waiting lists that you may qualify for even if you’re not a local, so it’s best to check if there are any openings in other areas.

Unfortunately, not all single mothers and household members may meet HUD qualifications. Here are some factors that will automatically disqualify households from receiving HUD housing grants.

A household will be disqualified if any member:

• Has been evicted from HUD housing in the last five years.
• Had assistance terminated by a housing authority for any reason
• Owes money to a housing authority.
• Is part of any state lifetime sex offender registry

Some factors that may make it more difficult, but not impossible to receive HUD assistance include:

• Having a criminal record may make it difficult for a person to receive housing, but it does not automatically disqualify them.
• A person with an arrest record, but no conviction, has a greater chance of qualifying than someone who has been convicted of their offense.
• Felons face much greater difficulty in qualifying, especially if it was a violence or drug-related sentence.
• Applicants with a history of drug use, alcohol abuse, violence, and other criminal activity that would threaten other residents may have difficulty qualifying.
• Each housing authority operates differently but may allow persons with a criminal record to qualify based on the length of time since the offense occurred, and the severity of the crime.
• Recent convictions may deem a household ineligible
• Any person who has been evicted from federally assisted housing in the past three years for drug-related criminal activity would be denied unless special circumstances are met

Emergency Solutions Grants

The Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program aims to:

• Engage homeless individuals and families living on the street;
• Improve the number and quality of emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families;
• Help operate these shelters;
• Provide essential services to shelter residents;
• Rapidly re-house homeless individuals and families; and
• Prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless.

If you’re a single mom and you need rapid assistance in finding a home or financial aid for staying in your current home, contact your local HUD field office to get in touch with your local ESG grantee.

Educational Grants for Single Moms

There are also educational grants that can help support single moms who have difficulty paying for their own education or that of their children’s. This includes the Education Support Award, P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education, and Soroptimist Live Your Dream Awards.

1. Education Support Award

In 2022, the Foundation will offer five Education Support Awards of up to $5000 each to assist low-income single moms with children who are pursuing further education or training. Awardees are notified by phone or email in late fall.

Some qualifications include:

• must be a woman, at least 17 years of age.
• must be a mother, with minor children.
• must be pursuing a first degree at a postsecondary level of education (eg, vocational, associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral) AND degree program must add to level of education accomplished (ex: bachelor’s after associate’s, or advanced degree after a bachelor’s)
• must be pursuing a degree/credential at an institution that does not discriminate on the basis of sex/gender, lgbtq+ status/identity, race/ethnicity, religion, disability, immigration status
• must be enrolled in a not-for-profit, accredited institution or program in the U.S. during the 2022-23 academic year. College Navigator is a great look-up resource to find out if your institution meets that criteria: https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
• must be low-income (all annual family income less than $20,000 for a family of 2; less than $24,000 for a family of 3; less than $28,000 for a family of 4).

2. P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education

The P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education (PCE) is intended to provide one-time need based grants to women who are citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States or Canada to completing a degree or certification necessary for improving or gaining skills leading to employment. The maximum grant amount awarded is $3,000.

The PCE grant may be used to pay for costs such as:

• tuition
• books, supplies
• testing and graduation fees
• transportation (only for estimated cost of gas, parking, and local bus fare,
• not for auto loan payments or maintenance)
• childcare (only while in class or studying)
• uniforms required by the educational program
• equipment/tools necessary for the course of study

Grants may be awarded for academic or technical courses including online programs offered by educational institutions in the United States or Canada.

3. Soroptimist Live Your Dream Awards

Every year, Soroptimist distributes more than $2.8 million in education awards to approximately 1,700 women all across the world. It aims to provide resources for single mothers to improve their employment opportunities, educational skills, and more. The application is open from August 1st to November 15th on an annual basis.

You may be eligible to apply if you are a woman who:

• Provides the primary financial support for yourself and your dependents. Dependents can include children, spouse, partner, siblings and/or parents.
• Has financial need.
• Is enrolled in or has been accepted to a vocational/skills training program or an undergraduate degree program.
• Is motivated to achieve your education and career goals.
• Resides in one of Soroptimist International of the Americas’ member countries/territories (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guam, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan, United States of America, Venezuela).
• Has not previously been the recipient of a Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity or Live Your Dream Award.
• Does not have a graduate degree.
• Is not a Soroptimist member, an employee of Soroptimist International of the Americas or immediate family of either.

State Grants For Single Mothers

In most situations, state financial aid programs for single moms are identical to those offered by the federal government. Need-based aid is accessible to all students, but some states set aside monies specifically for the most disadvantaged.

Although the economic difficulty is a major factor, it isn’t the only drawback taken into account by state granting bodies. State college aid is also targeted at people whose social circumstances significantly impede their access to higher education.

Some states utilize your FAFSA to assess eligibility, while others ask for more information. For further information on grant opportunities, contact your state’s higher-education agency.

The following are some of the state grants available to single mothers:

• New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)
• Enhanced Tuition Awards (ETA)
• New Mexico College Affordability Grant
• Kansas Comprehensive Grants

Frequently Asked Questions:

Searching for single mother government loans is not something to leave to chance. You might qualify for college funding from unexpected sources, so make the most of what you have to offer. Your business, community organization, college, or another entity may be able to help you pay for your education.

There are also dental grants for single mothers, to know more visit our blog about it today.

Are you interested in learning about how to get a free laptop for low-income families? Visit Gov-Relations today and access our numerous resources to learn more.