How do I get a business grant without paying for it?
The government offers all kinds of grants to start businesses, or for personal endeavors. The problem is that to get the grant, you must first put out money. I have been unemployed for three months with no money coming in. In order to start I business I need a grant. But to get a grant I need money. Ive been hitting the pavement looking for a job like nobodys business but nothing yet. If ANYBODY has any helpful hints, I would sure appreciate hearing them.
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You heard WRONG — that’s the myth scammers want you to believe so you will pay for the information on where to get these grants. They then send you a list, contact the organizations only to receive constant rejection letters because these organizations DO NOT give out grants for a person to start a business
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 starting a for-profit business.
One possible exception is for companies developing or exporting agricultural goods, including food and forest product. Another exception could be the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/sbir/index.html , which fund the research and development of technological innovation that meets specific government needs.
Your best bet actually will be from the states if they offer grant programs for business startups (or any other special interest groups — minorities, women, disabled, veterans, etc). Or check with non profit organizations, particularly women organizations (if you’re a woman) if they offer grants.
Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/loans-grants-funding/grants
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” The federal government does NOT provide grants for starting and expanding a business. Government grants are funded by your tax dollars and therefore require very stringent compliance and reporting measures to ensure the money is well spent. As you can imagine, grants are not given away indiscriminately.
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Grants from the federal government are only available to non-commercial organizations, such as non-profits and educational institutions in areas such as, medicine, education, scientific research and technology development. The federal government also provides grants to state and local governments to assist them with economic development.”
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 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 (you’d barely see any).
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
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.
Another option for you that can help you raise funds (though I doubt the full capitalization) is through crowd funding sites, where other people can give you funds for your business. Some supports creative endeavors while some are for businesses. Make sure to make your story compelling. Some examples of these sites are (for the complete list, see in the source)
- Kickstarter http://www.kickstarter.com/
- Indiegogo http://www.indiegogo.com/
- Chipin http://www.chipin.com/
- Citizen Effect http://www.citizeneffect.org
- Cofundit http://www.cofundit.com/