Housing Help for Single Mothers

Financial Help for Single Mothers Who Are Facing Foreclosure

Losing your home is common in divorces, but that doesn’t mean that you have to follow this trend among families in a single parent home. There is now financial help for single mothers who want to keep their home, including mortgage refinancing options and loan modification programs.

Your Options

Foreclosure can damage your credit score and cause your family to have to move away from a beloved neighborhood and school. When you are seeking financial help for single mothers to avoid foreclosure, the best place to begin is at your own financial institution. Your bank or lending company will have information that you can use to refinance your mortgage, allowing you to find a payment plan that fits your budget.

New laws that have passed allow anyone who has recently experienced a change, such as divorce, to refinance their mortgage to avoid foreclosure. Financial help for single mothers comes in many forms, and this alone can be enough to allow you to remain in your home even if you can’t afford current payments on your own. The key is to apply for refinancing as soon as you notice you are having difficulty making payments.

How it Works

Financial help for single mothers can help you stay in your home by reducing your monthly mortgage payments. You may be behind on payments, but you do not have to be behind in order to qualify for a refinanced loan. The loan terms may be slightly different when you refinance your mortgage, so make sure you check through your loan contact carefully to determine the interest rates and payment terms. The due date may also change on your payments, as well.

You do need to apply for a loan modification in order to qualify for refinancing. The process can take some time, so be prepared to pay your current mortgage for a couple of months while you are waiting for the new mortgage to be completed. All of the financial help for single mothers that you find will assist you in living the life that you want your children to have, and can even allow you to stay in the home that you love.

Your Lender

Your lender may also be willing to work with you to change the terms of your mortgage without refinancing if you are a single mother. Take the time to speak to a loan representative to find out if you qualify for this service.

College Grants for Single Moms

Financial concerns are the biggest barriers for single parents when returning to college. Though it may be daunting to think about paying for college, don’t let it get in the way of pursuing your dream. There are many different avenues for accessing funds for school, and the ones most people are familiar with are grants and loans. Because obtaining grants and loans are complex endeavors, this article will focus exclusively on finding grants. Grants for college students are pots of money that do not have to be repaid when you finish school.
Before you get started looking at and applying for grant funding, you need to know a little about them! Grants come from numerous sources including federal, state, local, and tribal governments, research centers, non-profit organizations, or even private foundations. Federal, state, and local government grants usually fund larger projects such as master’s or doctoral dissertations for research projects. If you’re looking for money to start or finish your undergraduate degree, you might want to look for smaller agencies, non-profit organizations, and private foundations. Another good resource is to go directly to your college/school’s advising office as some programs have small, need or talent-based grants specific to your profession or college.

Grants can be relatively unstructured and require little from the recipient other than to go to class and get good grades or they can require research, publication, or service in order to access the money. Some grants provide money up-front and some require that you pay for your classes, books, and materials and then submit receipts for reimbursement. You may have a credit card or other manner for paying for things up front, but if you can not swing tuition and books for a semester before getting reimbursed, then a reimbursement grant is not for you.

There is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ grant funding, there is only grant funding that meets your needs and fits with your own goals. The most important part is that you decide – before spending any time applying for funding – what type of funding you want and what type of commitment you want to have to your funder. You should also ask as many questions as you need to before applying for any funding so you completely understand everything the grant will provide to you and require from you.

So now that you know what type of funding you want to pursue, now to you need to find the funding sources. Many grant opportunities are created for specific groups of people or specific talents, hobbies, or professions. A good place to start is to sit and make a list for yourself of all your talents, hobbies, volunteer work, civic activities, and professional aspirations so you can focus your funding search. A big downfall of many new college students when looking for funding is that they spend too much time searching and not enough time writing the grant. Narrowing your search criteria will make it easier to identify grants that you have a good chance of receiving if you take the time to put together a great proposal.

Next… Writing the grant!

Writing the Grant

Each and every grant you find will have come with a set of instructions for how to apply. These instructions usually include a synopsis of you or your project (depending on what you’re trying to fund), your background as the applicant or a personal statement, letters of reference or support, and a statement of what the money will be used for and why you need it.

The Personal Statement/Background Statement: Many people do not spend enough time on this section and wind up writing what they think the reviewer wants to read. Anyone who has read grant applications will tell you – when the applicant is writing what they think is the “right” answer, their personal statement sections are bland, dry, and poor representations of who they are and what they can accomplish. This is where you show them who you are and why you deserve money. Remember: You are applying for money and just like a job interview you have to prove to them you deserve their funds – write your personal statement accordingly.

The Synopsis of the Project, Career Goals, or Purpose of College: If you’re writing about a specific project, you will need to have a clear idea and plan for your project before you start applying for grants. If you have a half-baked or poorly thought-out idea, your funders will notice this and kick your application to the curb. If you don’t know why exactly you want to go back to school, and that’s what you’re supposed to be writing about, then spend some time reflecting and thinking about why college is important so your statement can be moving and provocative.

Letters of Reference and Support: Many grants require you to submit letters from employers, former professors/teachers, or other community members that indicate you have a support system for getting through college or using the money from the grant effectively. Though this sounds basic, always pick references that you know will give you stellar reviews – don’t pick a person just because you’re “friends” or because you want to become friends. Funding your college education is not an appropriate time to start building friendships. Use the people around you who know you will be successful for these types of letters.

A couple do’s and don’ts of grant writing for college:

• Use clear, concise language and don’t use ten words when five will do
• Don’t use jargon or acronyms
• Don’t use slang or inappropriate language
• Do not, under any circumstances, use “text speak” (U, L8R, LOL)
• If you’re not a great writer, have someone proofread and edit your statements
• If you don’t understand what a grant is asking for, contact the grantor and ask – never guess!
• READ THE DIRECTIONS – many grantors will automatically disqualify any grant submitted that doesn’t meet their requirements and instructions.

Next… Creating a Project Outline

Creating a Project Outline

Many grants require you to outline an idea, project, research study, or other endeavor related to your education and college experience. Creating an entire idea or project from scratch is a big undertaking, but if you take the time to outline your ideas, the entire process – from start to finish – will run smoother and result in a better outcome! There are several parts to consider for a project outline: The audience reading your project, the title, the introduction/background, the purpose of your project, literature review, rationale of the project, methods for completing the project, significance and implications of the finished project, and timeline for the project.

The Title: Titles of projects should be as short as possible, using words that are commonly used in regular conversation. You don’t get bonus points for using a $25 word when a $2 one will do just as well – and it can sometimes do more harm to your proposed project than good.

The Introduction/Background: This section brings your reader into your idea and provides them a basic understanding any concepts with which they may not be familiar prior to reading your ideas. This section should be short, clearly written, and allow anyone reading it to understand the basic “gist” of your project by the end of the section.

The Purpose and Rationale of the Project: This section requires you to spend significant time brainstorming before and while you write this section. What is essential in this section is to specify for your readers—and for yourself—the precise focus of your project and to identify key concepts you will be studying. This section also answers several questions for your readers such as: What do you hope to find, what will the project add to the field of knowledge, why should this even be a project, and finally what will your project not be exploring?

The Literature Review: This section explores the existing research that is significant to the project. You should identify the existing research and literature that explores your project topic and how other scholars have approached your project’s major themes or ideas.

The Methodology for Completing the Project: This section is essential to creating an excellent project. This section will outline how you have chosen to go about implementing your project and making it “come to life’. This section includes a description of how the project will be achieved including the process, materials, procedures, tasks, etc.

The Significance and Implications of the Finished Project: A clear statement of significance will allow you to discuss how the project will contribute to your profession, to a plan for future projects, or serve your community. This section will also explain the usefulness or benefits of the project to both the outside world and the research community

The Timeline for the Entire Project: Many grants also require a schedule with anticipated completion dates for specific parts of the project. This timeline helps the grantors determine if your project is realistic and appropriate for their grant.
Remember: Outlines are not supposed to be finished documents; they are a roadmap to a finished product. They should include short sentences, succinct ideas, and occasionally bullet points unless the grant instructions specifically state something different.