• The stiumuls act signed in 2009 funds grants and reinvestment programs.cash image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com
  
  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed in the year 2009 and signed into law by President Obama. This act designated large amount of funds, tax breaks, and other financial advantages for American businesses and American citizens. The goal of the program is to provide opportunities for Americans to get back to work, to reinvest in the country's infrastructure, and to provide funds for worthy projects. The list of grants that this act funds is quite large, and there are already quite a few examples of how it's been used .
  
  

COPS Grants

• Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) programs are common in many jurisdictions. The idea behind community-oriented policing is to get officers assigned to regular areas, have them walk a beat, interact with the community, and build a bond of trust with those they protect. These programs can get expensive, and the ARRA has provided grant programs available to law enforcement departments in order to fund these initiatives. The Department of Justice provides the necessary funds to local and state law-enforcement departments who fill out the necessary forms and who are awarded the grants they apply for.
  
  

Energy Star Program

• Though it was already in place before the act, the ARRA has provided additional funding to the Department of Energy's Energy Star Appliance grant program. This program is an initiative designed to financially compensate people for replacing inefficient appliances with newer, energy star appliances, which the government has approved as efficient. Those who wish to apply for this grant will need to fill out the proper applications through their state's department of energy, since the funds are distributed from the federal government to the state government. Due dates and necessary forms will vary from state to state.
  
  

State Energy Program

• Also an already existing grant program, the State Energy Program is meant to provide funds to all of the states to improve their energy efficiency. These grants must be filed for by the governor of each state, who has to show plans regarding the plans for the state including its utility regulatory policy, building code requirements, and the prioritization of existing state programs. There is a certain amount of money alloted to each state based on a formula, but the ARRA increased the total amount of money available to the program by $3.1 billion.