Free Money to Change Your Life [Paperback]

Matthew Lesko (Author), Andrew Naprawa (Author), Mary Ann Martello (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

Paperback: 1136 pages Publisher: Information USA; 1st edition (January 1997) Language: English ISBN-10: 1878346407 ISBN-13: 978-1878346407 Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 2.1 inches Shipping Weight: 6 pounds

Product Details

• Paperback: 1136 pages
• Publisher: Information USA; 1st edition (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878346407
• ISBN-13: 978-1878346407
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 2.1 x 8.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

467 of 476 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The marketing of this book seems to mislead, January 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Free Money to Change Your Life (Paperback)

If this book had a less sensational name than "Free Money to Change Your Life--" something like, "a guide to government grants to individuals" people would probably approach it with different expectations. Calling it "Free Money..." etc. is clearly going to attract people who want easy money. Getting grant money is not. That said, this reference is valuable in that it gets the word out about funding sources that are available. It is priced reasonably for a reference book of its size, but if you're really looking for "free money to change your life" and you are willing to put in some effort following up on the information and making proposals, a better bet would be to head to the library (or buy for $65) Foundation Grants to Individuals or a similar guide which is updated annually. This is aimed towards a more general audience, and as a place to start, it's worthwhile. I, personally, would suggest looking for it in a library, because even if there are grants that are ideal for your situation, most likely 90% of the information in the book will not apply to you specifically. Not a criticism, it is to be expected in a general reference on funding sources.

128 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars From the receiving end..., May 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Free Money to Change Your Life (Paperback)

First off, a caveat: I have not actually read the book. I haven't even SEEN the book, save for the occasional commercial on TV. I HAVE, however, been on the receiving end of many, many phone calls and letters from people who somehow found my office number in Mr. Lesko's book in the hopes that I could help them get a grant for their small business.

Folks, I don't know about the rest of the information in Mr. Lesko's book, but because of my office's inclusion in it, I'm a little suspicious as to the validity of everything else in the book. Yes, I deal with grants -- I'm the grants director for a higher education institution. However, take note: I GET GRANTS ONLY FOR MY ORGANIZATION, NOT FOR ANYONE ELSE. In addition, there seems to be this misconception that there are tons of "grants" out there for just about anything you wish to do.

Most reviewers of this book have already mentioned the narrow criteria of most of the grants in Mr. Lesko's book, so I won't beat that dead horse here. However, for future readers, please note that if you see a name for a grants person at a college or university or nonprofit in that book, chances are they will NOT be able to help you. Our names were likely thrown in there just because we deal with grants. You will be chasing after the moon if you tried to contact one of us -- not because we're mean or selfish, but rather because we genuinely cannot help you as that is not at all our expertise or job. You will likely be disappointed if you tried to contact us for "free money."

The vast majority of grant money available out there is for nonprofits, individuals wishing to pursue graduate-level work (Ph.D.'s and Master's degrees), or more rarely, individuals seeking funding to start up a nonprofit or charity venture. Most businesses, large and small, started out primarily with a package of loans from a variety of sources, with the occasional "incentive grant" from local, state, or federal sources (but only for narrowly defined endeavors). Your money and time would probably be best utilized if you pursued these more certain avenues than spending inordinate amounts of time chasing after hapless grants directors and federal agency bureaucrats who most likely won't be able to help you anyway.

80 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money!, March 16, 2000

By 

Sylvia Leal - See all my reviews

This review is from: Free Money to Change Your Life (Paperback)

This book never says how all those people got all that money in the advertisements. All it does is give you a list of addresses, and in most cases didn't even specify what you needed to say when you wrote them. It was really disappointing to see such a fat book with no useful information inside it. The least Lesko could have done was specify what each address was for or how his examples were able to get their money. In many cases, getting this "free money" is a lot more work than just knowing where to write. It just gets people's hopes up. However, it could be useful to someone who doesn't know how to use the Internet or ask their local librarian, but if you can get the information somewhere else I wouldn't give Lesko a dime of your money for such a waste of trees.