[TheForge] Grants?

[terry l. ridder]

hello;

On Fri, 6 Mar 2009, Jonathan Barnhart wrote:

>
> I've been trying for a long time to set up a shop, but something
> always happens financially to keep me from moving forward.  Someone
>

i know that feeling all too well. thankfully that is no longer the case.

>
> suggested that i should start looking for grants.  I tried looking
> around on the net and so far they mostly seem to be for non profit
> organizations. Does anyone here have any experience with grants and
> if so is there any such thing as grants for individual artists these
> days?
>

i have learned a lot about grants in the past three months. not from
applying for them but all about the legal and tax implications of
grants. i am still in the process of setting up a foundation that will
be helping disabled people develop their talents in metalworking or
other artistic/folk art/craft areas. currently the help the foundation
is giving is called 'gifts' to the person or organization receiving the
help. the maximum 'gift' is $10,000.00 usd per year. this is the federal
irs maximum limit on gifts before the 'gift tax' comes into play. there
are reasons to call the help being given 'gifts' because some types of
grants are considered taxable income. my goal is to help people not
place them in a position where the help causes them to pay federal
income tax on the help. this year's 'gifts' have all ready been given
out. this year's 'gifts' were given to people that i know of either
through the va medical healthcare system or local community.

currently there is no way to apply for the foundations help. the logic
being that if you apply for the help it is no longer a 'gift' and starts
to smell like a 'grant'. i hope that the accountant and the lawyers can
eventually get everything straightened out. i am hoping sooner rather
than later.

the help the foundation is offering to people is not so much to start a
business or even purchase a business it is to help that person develop
their talents in metalworking or other artistic/folk art/craft areas so
that they have a feeling of purpose in life and that they do have
something to contribute to family, neighborhood, church, etc.

far too many disabled people are in the situation where they are not
employed, may never be employed and are not given the opportunity to
thrive and bloom in a hands on learning environment. they do not have
the financial resources to pay for classes. they do not have the
necessary transportation to get to classes. they do not have a home
setting where they are able to have a craft room or metal shop. this is
what the foundation is attempting to address.

in some ways setting up the foundation is frustrating. you soon realize
that no matter how much help you provide it will never be enough. you
also realize that there are those out in the real world who are
professional 'victims' . they know the system so well that they play the
system for everything that they are able to get. they are the ones that
feel that i owe them something and that they are entitled to help from
the foundation no matter what. those people drain resources and the
desire to even try to help.

anyway if you want contact me off list.

>
>

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>