ConsumerWatch

CONCORD (CBS 5) ― They line up early, hoping for help, and looking for money.

More than 150 people showed up at a hotel in Concord on an afternoon in early April, lured by ads from the National Grants Conferences. Ads that promise to help people "profit" from the government bailout and other government programs, and claim to help people get "free money" for real estate, for a business, to buy a house, pay rent or improve property.

Charles Kay of Vallejo was one of the attendees. He said he was, "looking to maybe buy a foreclosed property." Daniel Wynn of Hercules said he was there because he was, "hoping to buy some properties."

But behind closed doors, what they got was a hard sell.

Standing in front of a picture of President Barack Obama, Trent Ellingford of National Grants Conference told the crowd, "You can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the solution. If you're part of the solution, there is an open checkbook, but it's going to happen with or without you."

The three hour presentation wound down with a pitch for money. Ellingford asked attendees to sign up for the company's program at a cost of $1,000. At least a dozen people signed up at a seminar attended by a CBS 5 producer.

Cammie Allen of American Canyon attended a National Grants Conferences seminar in Napa last November, hoping to get grant money to open a dollar store. Allen signed up, and paid a total of $1000: $950 for membership, and $50 for course materials.

In return, Allen said, "they were going to mentor you and help you with your application, before you submitted it to the government so that you would get the grant. They said you could be denied a grant for just using a stapler to staple the pages together, rather than putting a paper clip on them."

So Allen wrote up a business plan and took it to a second National Grants Conferences seminar, a month later in Sonoma. Allen said she expected to get help with her grant application. Instead, she said she was hit up for more money for more intensive training.

Allen told CBS 5 she, and other conference attendees, were asked to pay $2,995 for a "silver" level membership, $4,495 for a "gold" level membership, all the way up to $23,995 for "elite" mentoring.

"They wanted thousands and thousands more dollars," Allen said. "I did not even get up and go the next morning, I was so irritated."

Allen is not the only one. There are scores more complaints about the company online. The Better Business Bureau of South Florida, the consumer agency closest to the company's headquarters in Boca Raton, has logged at least 129 complaints in the past three years from consumers who say they were misled or charged more than they expected.

And two years ago, National Grants Conferences settled a fraud lawsuit brought by Vermont's Attorney General for $350,000.

CBS 5 tried to talk to company representatives at the conference in Concord, but they refused to answer our questions.

The company did respond to questions e-mailed by CBS 5. Among the answers (scroll down below for complete reponse), they said their fees are "akin to a tuition" that any student would pay for an education. The company also said it could not say how many of its clients have actually received government money, because it says clients often don't report back on their success or failure. They also said it has helped "thousands of average Americans learn about the government funding system," including how to obtain loans, subsidies and government contracts.

So what abut the company's claims?

Mark Quinn heads up the San Francisco Division of the Small Business Administration, a federal agency.

"There are no grants to start a business. I've been in this business 30 years, the question has been coming to me for 30 years," Quinn said.

Quinn wouldn't comment on National Grants Conferences, but sounded a warning about programs that try to piggy-back on the stimulus plan. "The first business that was stimulated was scams to try and convince people there was an easy way to get the money," he said.

Response from National Grants Conferences to CBS 5:

National Grants Conferences™ ("NGC") is a nationwide research and educational organization and clearing house of information on accessing the government's federal, state and local grant, loan, subsidy, and government contracting system. NGC's purpose is clear: there are billions of dollars of government funding available through this system, but information and assistance on how to access these funds is not readily available to the average American who wants to own a home, invest in real estate, or start or expand a business. NGC offers an affordable alternative that gives the average person the tools, training and assistance often needed to navigate this well-intentioned yet elusive government funding system. In the words of several former members of Congress and government agency officials involved in this arena, NGC fills a very real need to "help the little guy navigate the system" , stating that "these are real programs, with real dollars, for real people," and NGC fills a much needed void in teaching real people how to access the system.

NGC accomplishes this goal in much the same way as other higher education institutions such as colleges or universities do, by offering a comprehensive range of courses and training events which are geared toward providing the necessary information, tools, and training to go out there and apply the learning in a tangible, real-world manner. And, like any other learning institution, NGC charges a tuition fee for enrollment in its educational programs. But, also like any educational institution, NGC does not and could not guarantee a particular result or outcome for its students. That depends, in each case, on what the student does with the tools and training they've been given. Some students are grateful for the vast amount of information received, for free, at the complimentary introductory seminar while others actually purchase and enroll in additional educational courses and training events that we offer and apply the knowledge they've learned with tremendous results. As with any self-help educational program, the student plays the key role in his or her ultimate success. Just as a college degree does not guarantee employment, participation in NGC's courses, camps, and training events does not guarantee any particular financial result or outcome.

Specifically, NGC hosts complimentary Introductory Conferences in multiple cities weekly throughout the country, at which it offers and sells a membership package entitling its members to a comprehensive research materials, additional classroom training, and tele-consulting services on how to find and access federal, state and local funding sources that are available through the government grant, loan, subsidy, and government contracting system. Though there is a tendency for those new to this area to focus solely on the "grants" piece, we teach all four prongs of the government funding system -- grants, loans, subsidies, and government contracts – emphasizing that no one category alone is sufficient in working the system to its full potential. More importantly, we explain that oftentimes, the funding awards that flow from a HUD or SBA loan, subsidy, or government contracting program are more beneficial than awards from a traditional "grant" program. We emphasize that in order to build a strong and sturdy foundation, all four categories of potential funding, like the four legs of a table, are necessary to bear the load, and in the case of business funding, we emphasize that, dollar for dollar, the best programs are mainly in the form of SBA loans and government contracting awards and Grant money in the form of subsidies for inventory, machinery, technical assistance, training and job creation. A classic example is the Obama Administration's recent set-aside of $80 Billion dollars for SBA guaranteed loans where the government actually steps in and guarantees 90% of the principal as one way to loosen up credit in order to stimulate the growth and expansion of small businesses which are the true backbone of our economy.

National Grants Conferences is supported by highly trained and dedicated individuals in the fields of research, marketing, operations, human resources, accounting and customer service. For example, the materials that comprise a student's library of funding directories are prepared by NGC's research department and are derived from voluminous sources relating to applicable federal, state and local (town, village, city, county) agencies and municipalities nationwide. Beginning in 2008, NGC converted its funding directories to a digitized medium so that all research materials are now provided in an interactive searchable CD-Rom format to further enhance user experience, with hard copies available upon request. All research and reference materials that are provided to customers are reviewed and updated at least annually, if not more frequently, by a dedicated staff of research specialists. We are constantly monitoring government announcements and it is our policy to revise research materials as soon as practicable after a program revision. Even before written materials are revised and printed, our customer service staff is fully briefed so that customers can benefit immediately from the most up-to-date information.

In addition, all customer service and tele-counseling personnel are required to participate in and successfully complete an intensive training regimen that includes classroom attendance and written assignments. The initial training period is several weeks in duration and ongoing training occurs on-site and off-site regularly thereafter. In addition, customers seeking government funding for business purposes are assisted by a specialized unit within the Customer Service department comprised of personnel holding advanced degrees in fields such as business, finance, and economics. NGC has legal and other professional advisors and a terrific team of Instructors and mentors who are highly skilled business and real estate experts that provide instruction and training in our workshops and advanced courses and camps.

With respect to your specific question about the various levels of educational memberships (i.e., Silver, Gold, & Elite), NGC offers a comprehensive range of additional training courses and mentorships for those students who choose to embark upon advanced courses of study in business or real estate, just as a college or university offers various levels of study ranging from introductory courses for beginners to advanced or specialized courses of study. There is absolutely no obligation to purchase any additional courses, training, or memberships – all of NGC's course offerings are optional and consumers are free to choose among the various offerings, or simply decline the offer and take the tremendous amount of information acquired at the free Introductory Conference and go forward on their own. The fees charged for additional courses are akin to a tuition any student would pay for an education – NGC expends substantial resources in the development and fulfillment of its educational programs and, like any business, provides its products and services in exchange for a fee.

NGC is entering its 11th year and has helped thousands of average Americans learn about the various facets of the government funding system. With respect to your question about NGC's success rate, we do not publish any such statistical measure of success simply because it is not possible devise a reliable means or model of collecting or analyzing the data needed to quantify a true rate of success. NGC invites its students to share their successes, and the simple fact is that some do and some don't. Without a way to compel or control the amount of feedback received from our students, it is not possible to compute an accurate rate of success. Simply put, while many of NGC's students have achieved extraordinary success in obtaining government funding awards, NGC does not have the ability to track or distill that information from its records.

Over the years, NGC has found that many of our program attendees and customers apply what they have learned at the educational and training sessions and embark on the government grant, loan and subsidy application process without ever communicating any ultimate success they may have in fact achieved. And, since NGC itself does not make loans or arrange for grants, and since applications are filed by the individual member, this information only comes from a customer when they elect to share it.

Other customers, however, have shared in extensive detail the personal funding successes they have achieved with NGC's assistance, particularly when there has been a tangential community benefit that flows from their individual successes. For example, a few years ago, NGC showcased one such remarkable student's success by honoring her and her 501(c)(3) organization with the NGC "Community Service Award". The project involved a combined government funding award and private sector donations totaling over $12 million to launch an after school inner-city youth program designed to eliminate the "digital divide" by offering a place for children to learn computer and other technology skills. In addition to receiving several letters of commendation from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, NGC itself made a substantial charitable contribution to the program as well. The following year, NGC singled out another successful student whose government funding awards were used to launch and run a battered women's shelter. NGC has also waived fees for particular students affected by Hurricane Katrina and assisted in locating Katrina-designated housing subsidy programs. In order to protect the privacy rights of our students, however, we maintain confidentially agreements with them and unless they have signed written waivers, we do not disclose their identities.

NGC prides itself on a goal of 100% customer service and satisfaction. Anyone who attends our seminars is not required to purchase anything, period. If an attendee chooses to purchase our membership program and materials, however, the student can request a refund within a reasonable timeframe and will get their money refunded if they are not happy with the purchase.

Finally, we take offense to your reference to National Grants Conferences as a "scam outfit" and would caution you about using that term in your story.

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