Advantage and Disadvantages of Grants

¶ … Grants

Block grants

Block grants can be defined as a kind of grant-in-aid employed by the federal government to provide state governments, as well as local governments, a detailed and quantified amount of funding. The purposes of these grants are to address social services, community development, and public health. The advantages of block grants include enhancing government efficiency, redistribution of authority, and accountability by means of decentralization (Dilger and Boyd, 2009). The disadvantages of block grants include the notion that they can weaken the attainment of nationwide goals and can also be employed as a back door means to decrease government expenditure on domestic problems (Dilger and Boyd, 2009). Examples of block grants include the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Block Grant and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).

Employment grants

The purpose of employment grants is to come up with policies that effect change in employment terms, by overcoming barriers and coming up with initiatives to increase employment. One advantage of employment grants is that these grants can provide employment for all, including those with disabilities. One major disadvantage is that aspects such as employment depend on the actions undertaken by the government, and are also influenced by forces of demand and supply. An example of these grants is Signature employment grants which are awarded or funded by the Kessler foundation for people with disabilities.

3. Program grants

The main purpose of program grants is funding different organizational or institutional programs for different areas. One of the advantages of these grants is that organizational departments are able to undertake their programs. There are disadvantages of these grants. First of all, there being different programs for several departments and organizations, these organizations find intense competition. Another disadvantage is that the grants serve the endeavors of a specific program and not the whole organization and therefore can be limiting. One example of program grants is the office of justice program grants.

4. Technology grants

The purpose of technology grants is funding non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and small businesses for the advancement in technology for different sectors. The main advantage of these grants is that they advance different sectors in terms of technology such as education and medicine. The disadvantage of these grants however is that they can have regulation in the level of technology to be used and advanced and also because they are highly competitive (Hall, 2010). Examples include Medical technology grants and Education grants.

5. Construction grants

Construction grants are grants which provide money or capital to construct new physical facilities and amenities. The main purpose of these grants is to ensure the completion of construction sites for new facilities. The benefits of these grants are that they cover the time period given for the construction. The disadvantages of construction grants are similar to those of project grants; also, they are fixed for a certain period of time (Hall, 2010). Examples of construction grants include the Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grant Program.