Under the right conditions, a government grant can be extremely helpful to those in difficult circumstances. For the most part, however, a government grant is a fairly difficult thing to qualify for and get. Excluding scholarship grants for education purposes, government grants can only be used by government entities or non-profit organizations--individuals cannot qualify for grants. In recent years many people have sought after government grants as a way for quick money, but there are quite a few requirements involved.
Government grants are a dead end for most businesses, which are actually better off to find some other sort of funding, such as through the Small Business Administration, or money through a private investor. Non-profit organizations can, however, receive grant funding. There is a caveat though: there are grants that might be used to start up small non-profit businesses. Once such a business has received a grant it theoretically could become a for profit business. But as with any grant, the legalese is usually baffling and unintelligible.
Even in the cases of non-profit entities it can be a very difficult process to get a grant. The government has complicated legal procedures set up that often deter seekers of grants. The government will often reject grant proposals on the basis that the proposals themselves were not properly written. There are many people in government positions who have dedicated great amounts of time to become grant writers. These grant writers must be well-versed in understanding what sorts of grants can qualify, as well as what sort of language to use in writing the grant proposal. Grants not written within fairly strict requirements get turned down quite easily.
Though government grants are difficult to procure--featuring widely varying requirements, many grants for duplicate purposes, and are subject to the specific government entity to judge whether the requested grant will be made--for those who qualify there some obvious advantages. Depending on the purpose and the type of grant, those who qualify may be able to receive thousands of dollars. Certain categories of grants can even bring in a million dollars or more into some organizations, though these kinds of grants are usually reserved for larger groups that have to have a good purpose for such a large quantity of money.
Scholarship grants are the only type that can be granted to individuals. These grants are a form of financial aid that are sometimes available for low-income families where the cost of college tuition would be a major financial burden. 
