email your Congressman and ask for help.

their staff lives for this sort of constituent service opportunity.
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they gotta be good for something … it sure isn't governing the country.

There aren't many government grants for individuals to fix up their houses except under very specific circumstances. Contact your nearest HUD office for info on what might be available.
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There are essentially only 4 sources for grants. A little known fact it that you do NOT have to be a non-profit to get a grant, regardless of what others tell you … I've helped for-profits apply for grants.

Federal grants are called Small Business Innovation Research grants. These are given primarily for some new innovation. You can find out what's available at:
http://www.sbirworld.com
There is also info on this site about how to apply.

Some cities offer grants to small businesses if they will locate in the downtown area, for the purposes of building up downtown traffic. Check with City Hall.

There are some governemnt grants for minority businesses. You can find info at:
http://www.mbda.gov

Finally, private foundations offer grants. You can get a list of most US Foundations and private grant sources at http://www.foundations.org/grantmakers.html.
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List of free government grants. Billions availale. Never Repay!!!

http://www.freegovntgrants.blogspot.com
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There is a grant from the government website Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance called

10.417 VERY LOW-INCOME HOUSING REPAIR LOANS AND GRANTS
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.PROGRAM_TEXT_RPT.SHOW?p_arg_names=prog_nbr&p_arg_values=10.417

OBJECTIVES
Section 504 loans and grants are intended to help very low-income owner-occupants in rural areas repair their properties.

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS
Loan funds may be used to make general repairs and improvements to properties or to remove health and safety hazards. Grant funds may be used only to pay for the costs for repairs and improvements that will remove identified health and safety hazards or to repair or remodel dwellings to make them accessible for houshold members with disabilities. Loans and grants are typically used for repair or replacement of heating, plumbing or electrical services, roof or basic structure as well as water and waste disposal systems, and weatherization. Loans bear an interest rate of one percent and are repaid over a period up to 20 years. In addition to the above purpose, loan funds may be used to modernize the dwelling. Maximum loan amount cannot exceed a cumulative total of $20,000 to any eligible person and maximum lifetime grant assistance is $7,500 to any eligible person. The house must be located in an eligible rural area which does not exceed 10,000 population.
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