Where To Find Small Business Grants For Your Start-Up
Grants are given every year for a variety of reasons, from small business start-ups, continuing education, preserving historic monuments, to art. Business grants are usually given to applicants that have a solid business plan, and the more detailed the reports are, the better chance of getting the grant.
When starting up your own small business, the first priority would be to find start-up capital. The best capital to get is the small business grants such as free grants that you never have to pay back, or other types of grants that are more like loans and require repayment with interest.
New business owners and existing business owners are eligible to apply for business grants. There is a wide array of Federal business grants available such as Free Government Money for Minorities, Free Government Money for Women, and Obtain Free Government Money for equipment, rent, offices, expenses and overhead
There are numerous sources to find the best business grants:
- The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is a major provider of business grant money.
- The Federal Register is another good source to help you keep current with the continually changing federal grants offered.
- FedBizOpps is another great resource, as all federal agencies must use FedBizOpps to notify the public about contract opportunities worth over $25,000.
- The U.S. Government’s Grants has its own website where you can find, obtain information and apply for many of the grants that are available.
- Government’s Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) provides a listing of government grants and other types of assistance that you can receive.
Federal law mandates that government agencies and private foundations give away over 1 trillion dollars to individuals and businesses. Foundations are required by law to distribute 5 percent of their market value assets or interest income annually, whichever of these amounts is greater, or risk losing their tax-exempt status.
The incentive for giving away grants is great. First, elected officials seeking reelection give away billions in government cash so that people vote for them; second, big corporations save a lot of money in taxes by giving money to foundations.
Another option when starting your business would be to apply for private grants from foundations and corporations. Foundations award grants to businesses that are able to help the foundation reach its long-term goals. In the United States there are more than 65,000 private grant foundations which award more than $20 billion to applicants. Two good resources for private grants are the Foundation Center and the Council on Foundations.
Susan Jan
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/where-to-find-small-business-grants-for-your-startup-56899.html
3 Comments
Gayle B
Saturday, 29th August 2009 at 7:06 am
Where can I find FREE federal grants for small business start up ?
Need info to start a truck company hauling dirt, etc
questionable reality
Saturday, 29th August 2009 at 12:08 pm
This is a popular misconception. Government grants are reserved for non-profits, or to foster innovation; to back companies developing cutting edge technology which is viewed as too risky for conventional financing, but necessary to keep the U.S. in the lead technologically. The only assistance offered to small businesses is an SBA loan. For this you will need excellent credit, a business plan, and some of your own money to put in. With an SBA loan, the Government doesn’t give you money, nor do they loan it to you. The Government becomes your co-signor guaranteeing 80% of your loan back to the bank if you default. There is NO free or easy way to start a business. That’s why most end in bankruptcy. Personally, based on the type of business you want to start I think you’ll be wasting your time with SBA. Talk to a local lender about financing your first truck and perhaps a small operating line of credit. Or, look online for leasing companies to finance the truck. Keep in mind that most construction companies you work for will be very slow payers. You’ll probably need about two months operating expenses saved up to float you until you start receiving payments.
References :
owner of construction business
imisidro
Saturday, 29th August 2009 at 12:10 pm
You stand a greater chance of getting a government-guaranteed loan through the Small Business Administration http://www.sba.gov/financing than a government grant. Read the SBA Financing page to learn about criteria needed for borrowing
It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK – lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.
Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov – these are two FREE sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.
Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/mostrequesteditems/CON_FAQ2.html
"The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments."
Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business — THERE’S NONE.
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show
Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT – Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program
Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women’s Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women’s business center that will train women entrepreneurs
I suggest you read the following books to get ideas of how to finance your business:
Financing Your Small Business http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1572484500/powerhomebizguid
Small Business Financing: How and Where To Get It http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0808007386/powerhomebizguid
Financing the Small Business: A Complete Guide to Obtaining Bank Loans and All Other Types of Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580626815/powerhomebizguid
The SBA Loan Book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158062202X/powerhomebizguid
Angel Capital : How to Raise Early-Stage Private Equity Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471690635/powerhomebizguid
Financing Your Small Business (Barron’s Business Library Series) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764124897/powerhomebizguid
For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center’s Foundation Grants for Individuals Online http://gtionline.fdncenter.org . It’s a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for "students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices." Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don’t have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.
References :
http://www.cfda.gov
http://www.grants.gov
http://gtionline.fdncenter.org
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol66/grants.htm
http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html
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