are assistance through grants supposed to be given back?

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4 years ago, I recieved assistance, in the way of a small grant, for a deposit for housing(about $200). I am now moving, to a 3 bedroom place, due to medial necessity for my 8 year old son. The place that gave us the money now wants it back. It is through a goodfellows fund.
I need the money for our deposit for the place that we are moving to. I wont get my old deposit back till 2 weeks after I move out, so I was going to borrow some money and pay it back with the deposit( in other words, Old deposit will go indirectly toward the new deposit plus about another$300 since my old deposit is about $600 and my new one is $900. Am I wrong to assume that I should not have to pay back a grant?

Depends on how the organization providing the grant does things.

This looks like a grant to cover rental housing deposits for low income people. My guess is that they assume that you should keep the place clean and in good repair and as such, the money should be returned to them once the purpose of its use is over.

I actually approve of this because there are unfortunately people who would abuse this service by getting them to pay the deposit, then destroying the place leaving the grant funding organization to foot the bill for their misdeed.

I'm fine with returning it too when I no longer have a need for it, but I still have a need for the deposit. The only reason they are asking for it is because I am one of those that keep the place clean and in good shape to get the deposit back when I move out.
I had called the place a few weeks ago asking for assistance because I am moving to a 3 bedroom place, and don't have the higher deposit. Now it looks like I will be another $200 shorter that I was originally. We are supposed to move in about 9 days and I do not have the deposit.

Never assume, it leads to nothing but trouble . Okay, this is totally from a layperson's point of view, not meant to be legal advice in any way, shape or form.

Why are they asking for it back? What reasons did they give? Do you still have the paperwork for it? check that documentation. Was there a stipulation that you had to go into a certain housing arrangement or the grant would be revoked? Usually you don't have to pay back a grant unless you haven't used it for what has been given (although you have clearly used it for that purpose, and will again - over 4 years, you used 50 dollars a year of their gift - hardly what I would call scamming the system so I am surprised they would make a big deal out of it) . However, if you signed something in the beginning that stated "if you move out of this house, then we get the grant back" then you would be legally obligated to give it back, even if it very ironically was going to hurt you financially. If there was nothing saying it wasn't a free and clear grant, then make darn sure that they *can legally* take it back before you give them any money. There are people out there, as we all know, who will try to bully people if they can get away with it (especially when it involves money) so I would suggest looking into it carefully and ask for the reason for the repay in writing.

If you do have to repay it for whatever reason, don't feel bad about telling them that it will be coming $25 a month or whatever you can afford so it won't cause a financial burden for YOU - which is why you asked for the grant in the first place.

Good luck!

I never signed anything. It was all done on the phone. The Goodfellows grants aren't usually payed back because it usually covers deliquent rent, utilities, and the person is not required to pay it back. I guess they figure that if I have to come up with $900 BEFORE I move, that when I get my old deposit back, it isn't concidered an immediate need for the money, even if I had to borrow it from someone with the guarentee that they would be payed back asap(when I got the deposit back). Either way, I am still haveing to put in more than I will get back, since the deposit is larger than where I am now. the reason they want it back is because I told them, on a recent request for financial assistance for the current move, that I will most likely get all of my deposit back becasue I leave the place clean and in good repair. I guess she figured that I was an easy way to retrieve some money, since they can't get it from anywhere else, due to the economy.