Community Development

How to Apply for a Federal Grant

We often hear of federal grants and how they can help make our lives better. Well, they actually do, make our lives better. But instead of assisting our personal financial needs such as personal debts and rent payment, federal grants intend to make our lives better by innovating solutions to the problems in the community and the society.

This post is aligned with a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on nonprofit information, educational grants and Civic Engagement programs from around the world.

Small Business Development Centers – An Introduction

Small Business Development Centers are partnerships between universities and the Small Business Administration, to provide management and technical assistance to businesses on a very large scale.

This post is part of a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on small business grants and loans, home buyer programs and Community Foundation programs from around the world.

Grow Fresh, Organic Produce With These Tips

As the trend of organic gardening becomes more popular, so do holistic lifestyles. People who want to develop a more environmentally friendly attitude may not know where to start to reap the benefits of organic gardening. Read these tips to get started.

Allow your children to actively participate in planting your organic garden. Growing a garden offers a unique learning experience, and you and your child can grow closer while growing healthy food for your family.

Aspirin water will strengthen your plants against diseases. Your plants can benefit from a solution you can make by dissolving one and one-half aspirins into a couple of gallons of water. All you have to do is spray the plants with this solution and you should see good results. Try to apply the mixture to the plants at least once in each three week period.

One way to encourage an organic garden to be sustainable and healthy is to put aside a section to stay undeveloped, thus encouraging wildlife to approach it. You will find that many of the supporting cast of insects and birds that aid in plant production and pollination will be present on your land and actually help your developed gardens to produce better.

Pay attention to how much light your indoor plants are getting. If your dwelling does not enjoy a great deal of natural sunlight, it makes sense to grow only those varieties meant to thrive in such environments. You can also try using artificial lighting to help.

Prepare the ground for a perennial garden quickly and easily. Use your spade to slice chunks of turf up, then flip each piece over, and spread wood chips on top to a depth of four inches. Let the area have about two weeks, then dig it and plan the new perennials.

Gather together as many tips and tricks for improving your organic garden as possible. The more you have, the more knowledge you can potentially gain. Keep in mind that the tips in this article are only intended as a starting point.

Reasons To Consider Converting Your Car To Biofuel

How can green energy benefit you? It lowers utility bills and lets you help out the environment. What are some ways that you can help? Keep reading for insight on how to make this positive step.

Using less energy daily means large energy and financial savings. Unplug appliances when you’re not using them. Also, remember to turn off lights when they are not needed. These easy ideas will help you save a lot of money over time.

Solar Panels

Solar panels are easy to install and can collect sunlight for energy. Before you do this, you should research just a few things first. One thing to factor into your considerations is the amount of sun your house actually gets over the year. If your home does not get a lot of sunlight, then solar panels will be pretty useless.

A solar water heater may be a viable option in your home. This works best in areas where the temperature doesn’t drop below freezing. Solar energy systems circulate water through solar heaters and then pump it into the house. As is true with many solar options, you should keep your traditional water heater for times when there is not enough sun, or in case you need to use a lot of water.

On hot, summer days, hang your clothes outside. The sun will make your clothing smell great. They’ll smell so much better than if you shoved them into a dryer! You can save a significant amount on your utility bills, too, because the dryer uses energy and heats up the air, causing the air conditioner to run more often.

If you want to reduce your carbon footprint as well as save some money, do a load of dishwashing only when the dishwasher is filled to capacity. It is wasteful to run the dishwasher with just a few items inside. You might be surprised by the number of items that you can fit in your dishwasher. Try your best to align your dishes properly so that you maximize your space in your dishwasher, play Tetris with your dishwasher.

Lots of people think about green energy, but less people are taking the steps necessary to implement it. This article should have offered some ideas for you to go green!

From Idea to Business – SCORE Success Story

Learn how with the assistance of a SCORE mentor, this woman turned her wall art idea into a viable business.

This post is aligned with a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on small business grants and loans, home buyer programs and impact investment programs from around the world.

Some Quick Home Improvement Tips That Will Help You

Feng shui can be used to give your rooms a positive energy. They believe that a clear doorway, for example, can help bring fortune into your home. This article gives you some excellent tips on how to excel at feng shui.

Adding big value to your home can be accomplished with even the smallest of improvements. If you want to sell your home, do a few small projects first. It is not very hard to transform your house, outside and in, with an easy paint job. Doing this simple job, which only costs a few hundred dollars, can add almost $1,000 to the value of your home!

When renovating, weigh carefully the value of personal touches against the return you will get when you sell your house. You could make your home less attractive to a buyer if you make it stand out from others in the neighborhood.

A kitchen remodel is less expensive if you refinsh existing cabinets. It is possible to paint the baseboards and add new doors and pulls in order to transform them. These changes should not cost you a lot, but they should make your kitchen look like a new room.

Drywall Mud

You can cover up blemishes in the wall while adding visual interest just by using drywall mud to add texture. Creating texture is simple and virtually effortless. Put drywall mud on the walls with a trowel and then use a sponge, a brush or any item you can think of to add some texture.

Make puncture holes in paint can rims with a nail. This lip on the paint can will fill with paint, when replacing the lid it can cause the paint to spill over. Creating holes on the rim of a can of paint will reduce spillage of paint when you replace the lid by creating places where the small amounts of excess paint can drain into.

As stated in the beginning of the article, feng shui is an interesting idea that basically states that the arrangement of furniture in a home can have an impact on good fortune. Apply what you’ve just learned, and get started on your next project today.

Horticulture Is Easy When You Follow This Advice

You have the desire to set up an organic garden that is nutritious and fresh. This is great timing! Read on for some helpful tips on how to grow a beautiful organic garden.

Select plant types that will bring a higher profits and yield. There are genetically modified plants that resist cold and/or disease. These often give higher yields due to higher survival rates.

Both cat grass and wheat grass are good for giving your errant feline pause. You may also place something offensively smelly atop the soil, like citrus peel or mothballs.

Do you ever wish that your fresh mint leaves would not grow as quickly and overcome your garden? Rein their growth; you can do this simply by planting mint inside a larger garden container or pot. You have the option of planting the container with the plant to keep the roots from taking the garden over.

Know when is the best time to harvest your vegetables. Different veggies have different windows of time in which they should be picked; it is during this period that the vegetable is most flavorful. Zucchini and baby peas, for example, have the best flavor when harvested early. However, tomatoes should be as ripe as they can be when pulled from the vine to ensure the best taste. You should know the proper time to pick vegetables.

Grow heather so that you can attract useful insects. Bees like heather, and they get their nectar from it early in the spring. Beds of heather are largely undisturbed and make a perfect living space for spiders, beetles and a variety of other beneficial tenants. Because of this, you should put on a pair of gloves when it’s time to prune the heather.

You must always take care of your knees when working in the garden. It’s not a good idea to spend much time standing while you are bent over at the waist. If you kneel, you can easily work on your plants without placing stress on your back. A knee pad can be placed under your knees to protect them from damage and strain while you are working.

Now you know a bit more about what you are doing in starting an organic garden. If you already knew about organic horticulture, you should be an expert by now. The different tips and methods you can use are endless, and as long as you can follow and implement the information correctly, you should have no trouble growing a fantastic garden this season.

Amazing Advice For A Thriving Organic Garden

A lot of people are becoming more aware of the chemicals that are put in our everyday produce and how this can harm them, this is why they decide to grow organically. Also, many organic gardening techniques are quite inexpensive. This article provides several useful tips that will help you improve your organic gardening techniques.

Your children can help you with your garden. Toiling together in the garden brings your family closer together and offers many different opportunities to learn new things and instill green values.

Planting organic strawberries is a great way to encourage your children to get involved. Kids are quite eager to pick fruit from a garden, and will help with the planting if they get a nice snack out of it at the end.

If you are growing plants inside of your home, you need to keep the thermostat set to 65 to 75 degrees during the day. It is important for them to be kept in this temperature range if they are to grow properly. If you think it would not be comfortable to keep your residence that warm in the winter, consider purchasing a heat lamp to use on the plants.

In order to maximize the efficiency of your gardening, ensure your gardening tools are kept close by you. You can wear an apron or pants that have a lot of pockets, or use a big bucket or can. If you have your pruning shears, spade, trowel and gloves handy, you will be able to get your gardening chores done much more quickly.

When you are doing work in your garden, be efficient. Don’t waste your time by looking all over for your tools. Take the time to prepare the necessary tools, and then store them in a easily accessed place once you are done gardening. It may be necessary to don a tool belt or cargo pants with extra pockets.

Pine Needles

For some plants, pine needles makes an ideal mulch. A number of plants commonly grown in garden settings do best in an acidic soil. For these types of plants, pine needles are wonderful for mulching. Lay a few inches of needles over the beds to allow them to decompose and add some acid to your soil.

Organic gardening is healthier. You won’t be exposing your plants – and yourself to toxins or chemicals. Use the tips you just read to help you start planting your organic garden. You can also look forward to a boost in the volume of wildlife inhabiting your nature-loving garden.

Get Great Advice On Home Improvement Projects

Improving your home can greatly benefit you, regardless of how skillful you are. Avoid being tricked by home improvement television shows. There is a lot more to a home improvement project than something that is extremely big. This can even be entertaining, find out how.

A signed contract for your home improvement project should ideally include both your signature and that of the contractor. The best idea is to have the contract evaluated by your lawyer. The cost, dates and warranty information should all be stated in the contract.

To help stop air from getting through the doors, you can purchase sealant strips and draft excluders. Draft excluders slide under the door to keep air in and out. Sealant strips do the same thing and fit around the door frames. Sealant strips can be purchased at most hardware stores.

Whenever you work with electricity you should always kill the power at the circuit breaker. If you do not turn off that electricity you may electrocute yourself and die.

An important component of home renovation is your bathroom. Other rooms can be easily customized, but bathrooms must be kept in good condition. Ensure that your shower and sink are in solid condition. If they are not, then you should replace them immediately. If you have linoleum floors, switch to tile.

Install peepholes into your doors that lead to the outside of your home. Never open the door before you determine who is on the other side. Peepholes are easy to install and are one of the least expensive home improvements you can make. All that is involved is a little drilling and a few minutes of your time. Having a peephole will take away the anxious feeling whenever there is a knock on your door, because you will have the luxury of seeing who is on the other side.

When you upgrade your home, the job can be large. It only requires a little education on the basics to get things done right, so you do not have to master professional level skills, unless you really want to. Keep all of the tips fresh in the front of your mind and start chopping away at the needed jobs once they’ve had time to soak.

Green Energy Tips That Truly Make A Difference

Green energy is increasing in popularity of late, due to the current economic downturn everyone is aware of. Green energy is cheaper, allowing people to spend a lot less while protecting natural resources. The following article will tell you how you, too, can make use of green energy.

Think about getting solar powered lamps for outdoor lighting. These lamps are cheap and don’t require any power besides sun exposure. This will save a lot of energy. Another added convenience is that they do not require any wiring for you to enjoy outside lighting.

Use a solar-solar powered system to heat water. Using natural gas and electricity is certainly the norm, but it’s not very energy efficient. By contrast, solar energy is very efficient, and it keeps water temperatures steady just as well as traditional heating methods. Some of these upgrades, while more expensive up-front, may qualify for green energy tax deductions.

Shading windows from sunlight whelps to save energy. Additionally, curtains and blinds can enhance the energy-saving effect you achieve. Since this will make your house cooler, you will use the air conditioner less. Energy and money are both saved this way.

Do your laundry using cold water, if you can. Almost 90 percent of the consumed energy while washing your clothes is spent on heating up the water. Just make sure you don’t harm your clothes in the process; check out the labels on your clothes and make a judgment for yourself. In addition, remember to wash full loads to maximize energy efficiency.

Instead of using the dryer in the summertime, hang clothes outside in the warm sunshine. The sun will make your clothing smell great. They will smell a lot fresher than if you were to use a dryer. Also, using your dryer less will save you money in energy costs on your utility bills each month.

When you calculate the solar panel needs of your home, figure out the hours of sun you get in the winter. This prevents any unanticipated effects from a winter months, and it keeps you ahead of the game for summer months. You can actually get money back from your utility company for any energy your generate if you’re on the net usage plan.

This article’s easy tips can help you save money and improve the vitality of the natural environment. In a down economy, using green energy is a smart way to lower your bills, which saves money while saving the plant for future generations.