The Myths and Truths about Getting a Free Government Cash Grant.

The first question I always get concerning information about the granting process is “Can I really get a free government cash grant?” I try to ask the person exactly what they want to use the money for, and then I explain the types of programs available, but I can always see the dollar signs in their eyes and they ask again, “So, can I really get a free government cash grant?” The simple truth is that there is no such thing as a “cash grant”, but there are grants available for just about any kind of need.

The number of government programs and private organizations that offer grants is staggering. The number is approaching 100,000 and the list keeps growing. Finding a grantor is not all that difficult, but the process you must follow to qualify is where most people get confused, frustrated or just plain fed up and quit.

The process you must follow is time consuming and hard work. You must work within the limitations and time table of the grantor, not your own agenda of wants and needs but what the grant is designed to benefit.

If you have a project that helps you open your own business and fulfills a need in the community, provides jobs, and stimulates your local economy, you are much more likely to qualify for a grant than just asking for funds to help yourself build a pool out back for you and your friends. You can still have your own business with no obligation to repay any funds, but all the proceeds of the business are yours to keep just as if you funded the entire project yourself.

What most people do not understand is that if they have to work at it for 6 months and they get a $50,000 grant that is better than trying to get a loan or working 40 hours a week and try to save that kind of money. Your time is a valuable investment and it is better spent working on a grant than wishing something good might someday just happen to you out of the blue.

The first thing you should find is a mentor. Somebody whose opinion you respect and is already successful in business or your community. The next step is to buy a program that shows you the steps and coaches you through the process. The process is too intimidating to go at it alone. Stay away from the ones that cost hundreds of dollars and guarantees you a grant. They are almost always a scam and they will take your money and you will never hear from them again unless it is to sell you something else. Most legitimate programs sell for under $50.

Be prepared to devote sometime every day to work on your project. You must approach this like it is a job or you will never be taken seriously by a grantor or see any funding. It is not all time consuming but there does need to be some commitment on your part to see your project through to the end.

For more information and a list of some good granting programs that I have researched myself please go to http://www.grantsformoney.com

An overview of business financing options in the US is a post from: Government Grant Programs

One of the major obstacles to starting a business often times is the inability to get a loan. Other people choose to avoid going into debt on a venture, since all businesses have the risk of failing. You don’t want to find that the great idea you thought you had, really wasn’t able to get off the ground and now your stuck having to pay off a loan without the cash flow to do it.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to getting a loan to start that business. Here are just a few:

Grant money – This is free money which never needs to be paid back. There are multitudes of grants available, and your business idea just may as well qualify for one or more.

Be cautious though. There are a lot of scam companies that will promise you government money by writing your grant proposals. Be sure to check out which ones are legitimate and which ones are not. Contact the Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) and speak to them about the proper way to go about applying for a grant.

Equity Partners/Investors – You will probably find that other people will have an interest in your idea if it’s a good one. If you need money, but do not want to borrow it, you can sell a portion of your company in the form of shares of stock. You will have to form a corporation or LLC to do so. Be careful how you structure the ownership equity of your company, so you don’t lose control.

Bootstrap – “Bootstrapping” is a term used to describe the starting of a business with virtually no money. These businesses “pick themselves up by their bootstraps” and get moving. This can be very difficult, but if done right you can build a thriving business with little or no risk. Service businesses that require no purchase of equipment are the easiest to start. For example, you may start a house-cleaning service using your own vacuum cleaner and the supplies under your kitchen sink and in your garage. Perhaps a concierge or dry-cleaning delivery service using your family car. These types of businesses rely heavily on Word-of-Mouth advertising to get started, so make sure you reward your clients who offer referrals.

With a bit of creativity and a lot of thought, there is no reason that you can avoid the risk of taking out a loan to start that business you’ve been dreaming about. Talk with other business owners and seek out others who didn’t use loans to start their businesses. Ask them questions and see what they have to teach you. I would also recommend speaking to a business adviser from www.score.org, whose services are offered free of charge.

How to start a small business with no loan is a post from: Government Grant Programs

Unless your business involves the development of new technology or is a non-profit organization, you will be wasting your time looking for a grant. Read what the Small Business Administration has to say about this:

”Even though many publications and talk shows publicize grants to small businesses there is only one grant available and that is for research and development for technology based products and services for the government. ”

If you are looking for funds for your business or other needs, take a look at government loans(webpages below). There you’ll find resources relating to Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, State and Local Economic Development Programs, non-government business funding, and funding for rural businesses, housing, and farms.

Information extracted from:

http://www.proposalwriter.com/ govtloans.html

Getting a government grant for a business – Part 10 is a post from: Government Grant Programs

Individuals seeking government grants are nearly impossible. What I’ve found in working as a grant writer, is that almost nearly all government grants go to nonprofit organizations and to the government themselves. Unless you are an individual seeking to obtain a government grant for educational purposes, I would say that your chances of seeking a grant for your own personal use is slim.

However, there are ways to obtain a government grant. Are you a corporation, a small business owner, even a sole properietor? I would suggest that you partner with a nonprofit organization in your community, create a program and attempt to find a grant to fund your project. Government grants are geared towards increasing the national economy. For example, if you are a business owner seeking a grant, I suggest you contact a local agency devise a program to create jobs. These jobs could be to allow low income individuals to gain job skills, apply for a grant. There are plenty of grants out there from the government. You may want to check the Federal Daily Register to see what grant opportunities are available in your locality. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to network with your local congressional representatives, whether it be state or local.

Grants can also be obtained from the federal government if your area is declared a national disaster area. For example, I live in the state of Missouri. During the month of March 2006 are state was hit by numerous of tornadoes. The government declared this state a national disaster area, therefore the Federal Area Emergency Management Agency offered individual and businesses grants through the Small Business Administration.

Grants: How to get money from the government is a post from: Government Grant Programs

Pursuing small business grants from the federal government is a lot like chasing unicorns. Many people believe the federal government provides grants for businesses, but in the time I worked for the U.S. Economic Development Administration, I never found one.

On the other hand, it is possible to obtain grants for small business startups through more local agencies of the government. Cities, counties, and state agencies are far more productive sources of small business grants than is the federal government.

It helps to start by creating a sound business plan, in line with the format provided by the Small Business Administration(SBA).

The key rule for success in obtaining grant money from any source is to develop a relationship with that organization whose programs have the best “fit” with your business purpose. First decide if your business’ mission is something the grantor would currently like to support. You can research this by studying their Web site or sending a letter of inquiry. If it is, then try to find an opportunity to meet the director of the grant program and establish a personal rapport. There are opportunities to do this at conferences, perhaps hosted by your state economic development agency.

You may be wondering, “If this article is about ‘Tips for filling out business grant applications’, why is he talking about all this other stuff?”

Good question! The reason I’m suggesting you do all this research and relationship building is that before you sit down to fill out the grant application, you need to know what the agency’s hot buttons are and you need the edge of establishing a good personal impression with the people who will be deciding whether your grant gets funded or not. Filling out the application becomes easy if you know what the grantor is looking to fund.

Every grantor, whether it is a city, a foundation, or a state economic development agency, will have specific publicly-announced criteria for what they want to fund each year. Your job, in filling out the application, is to show them how your project perfectly fills the bill. If you can’t deliver what they are looking for, don’t bother to apply.

The closer you are to the source of the grant, the better your chances of success, if your business meets all their other criteria. For instance, you are more likely to succeed in receiving the funding you seek if you apply locally, rather than in a state-wide grant competition.

If you want to get

Tips for filling out business grant applications is a post from: Government Grant Programs

The internet is an excellent research tool for those who are interested in obtaining a government grant. You can virtually visit each office and find the information you need without having to trek around town in your car. Most of the time you can prequalify or find out what you need to get the ball rolling before you ever have to step foot outside of your home. You can easily assess what kind of information you will need, as well as help you may require to secure the grant.

The official United States government website pertaining to grants is www.grants.gov. This site provides the following information:

1. Help with finding grant opportunities.
2. Training materials to help you get the most of your application.
3. Apply for the grants you are interested in.
4. Track your application.
5. Free software.

Everything you could possibly imagine will be on this site. If you are interested in a particular grant and it is not on this site, chances are it does not exist.

Another website run by the government is www.govbenefits.gov. It lists all of the government benefits that you may be entitled to. Again, if what you are looking for is not on one of these Website, you most likely will not find it. They are set up to immediately address any questions or concerns the user may have. The Website are kept up to date and provide relevant information. They are used to streamline the grant application process as well as to answer the millions of questions they get each year. These Website are truly a gold mine for those who are interested but do not know where to begin. It is easy to navigate and written quite well.

This website is truly a gold mine for those seeking federal grants but do not where to begin. It is easy to navigate and simply written. The site also has links to other sites that may be of interest. If it is on their website you can be confident that it is reputable. But due diligence is always in order.

The website Govbenefits.gov focuses on public support. You will find varying programs from adoption assistance to federal student aid on the website. It is a federal collaboration of different agencies. You can enter your search terms or search by category. It has a list of those funded federally and well as state funded. You can check for eligibility of any program on the list. Be sure to use the sites below to your advantage, you as taxpayers pay for them. There is never a need to pay for information that is available for free on the governments webpage.

Using the Internet to Find Grants is a post from: Government Grant Programs

Many people, all over the world in fact, face the problem of trying to start a business. It is a classic dilemma: you have an idea to make money, but you need money in order to start the business. It’s a classic "Catch-22" scenario. So, that is where a government business grant can come into play. As it happens, the United Kingdom is one of the very best places on Earth to either start or expand a small company.

The good news about business grants from the government is that there are lots of them out there. The bad news: you have to seek them out and apply; they do not come looking for you. There are close to two dozen different business grants in the UK. So, let’s look at just a few of them. First, there’s the direct grant, where a program will give you some funds to pay part of the costs for training, product development etc. Now, that’s a key point: part of the costs. It’s rare for a grant to completely cover the costs of some aspect of your business, but it will at least cover a portion.

Then there are grants that are much like a small business loan. The difference is, if your business fails, you do not have to repay the money. And then there are real business loans; they are called soft loans because the terms and conditions are very generous. The interest rate is usually quite low, some are even interest free. Next, you can get what is known as equity financing. With this type of grant, you don’t pay the grantor back in cash, but in shares in your company. In this case, the grantor looks at your business as an investment; they believe you have the potential to grow your company into something profitable, and that will mean that the shares they own will increase in value.

Sometimes, business grants in the UK aren’t about money at all; they have to do with skills. After all, many new businesses often lack knowledge or skills in a particular area: marketing, promotions etc. So, some grant programs have come to recognize this, and they offer free (or greatly reduced) advice on those critical subjects. Then there’s the issue of resources. For some small business owners, it’s not that they don’t know what they’re doing; it’s that they don’t have the physical materials or maybe a factory / store to develop their product or service. So, some grants are made of up raw materials, office equipment etc. Going hand in hand with this type of grant is the transfer of technology. Very often, new and innovative inventions or processes are created by large corporations or government labs. In the U.S., NASA was responsible for incredible breakthroughs in fuel cells, computers etc. So, sometimes large corporations or governments will share these new developments with some small companies as a means of both helping they to get started, and to disseminate the technology.

Then there is the issue of not new technology, but merely the best way of doing something. As an example, a dozen people will have a different way of laying bricks. Yet, one of them might do it the best and most efficient way. Over time, that way will become the industry standard. This is also known as "Best Practices", and some companies will share these with start-up firms to help them operate in the most efficient means possible.

Business Grants in the UK is a post from: Government Grant Programs

Despite what many people tell you, the idea that the government is just sitting around with a pile of money waiting to give out to you or any other small business is just plain wrong. This is not to suggest however that no grants are available to anyone at any time.

The whole idea of a grant is to provide capital for some activity the government wants to encourage. Typically this means in less desirable areas or opportunities. So although there may be grants available for things such as encouraging the arts or research into a specific disease, unless you can fit your business into these niche areas, there is not a lot of grant money your dream.

This isn’t to say that assistance isn’t available at all, just that grants are probably a long process when and if you happen to find one where your small business fits. There are other ways however that you might explore to fund a small business.

Of these small business financing options, one of the most popular is the loan. That’s right, just go out and borrow the cash needed. If you’ve done your homework and have a solid business plan then the thought of self financing through your personal credit lines shouldn’t worry you. After all, you’re really betting on yourself that you will be successful.

There is a lot of confusion about the Small Business Administration. Yes, this is the government agency dedicated to helping small business…just not with grants. The SBA actually funds a very small portion of the total number of small business loans that are called SBA type loans. What the SBA actually does is “guarantee” to the bank that the money will be paid back, either by you or as a last resort by the SBA/government. If this sounds a lot like the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) you are correct.
Like the FHA, the loan needs to meet their lending or “insurance guarantee” standards. For a small business loan, it’s much the same. The SBA will look at your credit, ability to pay back the loan and the business plan.

Other potential sources of private loans can be found based on ethnic, religious, military service – veterans, or other sub groups of the population. Check out all resources until you find a group willing to finance your dream.

Finally, never give up. I personally know someone who wanted to start a home construction business and needed funding for his first home. The SBA was not an option, and being young, most banks just looked and politely declined. Long story short, he ended up going to 53 different lending institutions but he DID finally find a small, local savings and loan willing to take a chance on the new guy. Why? Because although he didn’t have all the necessary “security” they were impressed by the list of financial institutions he went to and was turned down but never gave up.

Government Grants for Starting Or Growing a Small Business is a post from: Government Grant Programs

First, it is important to realize the difference between organizational and individual grants. An organizational grant is submitting a grant on behalf of a company, state, local or tribal government, academia, or other type of organization.

An individual grant is submitting a grant on own behalf, and not on behalf of a company, state, local or tribal government, academia, or other type of organization.

There are basically 2 rules for getting a Federal grant:

1. Finding Grant opportunities.

2.Applying for an grant

FINDING GRANT OPPORTUNITY

In order to find the appropriate grant opportunity one must first decide what he needs grant for. The various categories supported by the government for issuing of grants are Arts, Community development, Health, Employment training, Humanities, Natural resorces development, Agriculture, small-scale business, Education, Energy , housing, Science and Technology. Apart from these there are various other categeries .

APPLYING FOR THE GRANT

Once you have located an opportunity for which you wish to apply. First step to check with some agency whether your opportunity is available and is the gov accepting it right now. Then you need to get an application and get it filled. Now this seems the most tricky part as the your sucesses depends on the way you file the application.

Some of the useful links are :

http://www.grants.gov/

http://www.govbenefits.gov/gov benefits_en.portal

http://www.ngma-grants.org/lin ks.htm

Getting a government grant for a business – Part 9 is a post from: Government Grant Programs

According to an article in Wall Street Journal’s Startup Journal, about half of all small businesses finance their formation or expansion with credit cards, according to a survey by the National Small Business Association and Arthur Andersen. The same survey showed that only 6% were financed with an SBA loan, and just 2% received venture capital funding.

There are very few grants available for starting or expanding a business unless the business involves research and development or high technology. Many grants have caveats, such as:

They are available only for a specific group of people. Mainly: Research and development for high technology, biotechnology, military products and energy related products, and grants for people who will locate their business in a poor area and employ the people who live there.

You must compete with hundreds of other companies.

The money must be used for a very specific purpose. (You may not be able to pay your rent or mortgage with that money.)

Many government grants can be applied for only when they are announced in the Federal Register, or only during a small window of time once a year.

It often takes a lot of work to apply for a grant.

You often have to provide a personal guarantee (putting your house on the line) and/or take on responsibility for raising 10-30% of the finances from your own sources (e.g. savings, loans from relatives).

You often have to report on your use of the money, or follow particular rules.

You can explore the SBA’s list of Federal Grant Resources, but you’ll soon realize that most grants are not available for the typical business.

Here’s what the Small Business Administration says about the pervasive idea that they give out grants to businesses:

"SBA does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses. SBA’s grant programs generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments in an effort to expand and enhance small business technical and financial assistance." – Source: SBA.

For more information, visit: http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris2 3/grants/2biz.htm

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Finding out how much you can get from a government grant is a post from: Government Grant Programs