If you don't practice, you don't deserve to
win.
Andre Agassi
International Tennis Champion
There really are a lot of business funding
grants available. Thousands upon thousands of them.
Many of them go unused each year.
The reality is that most companies -- well over
90% -- just don't qualify to go after these business grants. In
determining whether or not your company might qualify, consider these issues:
1. Is your company focused on a social
or scientific issue? An ice cream parlor in a nice neighborhood probably
won't qualify. An ice cream parlor that trains kids coming out of
juvenile detention centers is a real possibility.
2. Do you have the experience to do
what you say you are going to do? Don't expect a $10 million grant to
start out with. If this is your first grant, look at more modest grants.
3. Do you have the backing of your
community? This is a biggie. With an Advisory Board comprised of
seven of the top non-profit leaders in your area, it's a shoo in.
Without community support, there isn't much chance at all.
4. How flexible are you in your plan?
If you really have to build out your clothing store with a marble floor and
velvet curtains, you probably don't have the flexibility to meet the
requirements of business funding grants.
So Where Do You Find These Grants?
Lots and lots of places. Here are a few
to get you started.
Centers for Disease Control. Highly sophisticated scientific based
grants. Most grants are pre-determined to accomplish specific goals.
Some are more open to new concepts.
Wisconsin Business Grants. Wisconsin is one of many states that
works to promote business grants in its state. Your business will need
to be located in the state that provides the grant, but these grants are good
enough that they are well worth checking out.
SBA Hotlist.
A great source for business grants of all sorts. Direct links to major
US Government granting agencies.
Small Business
Development Center. Sponsored by the Small Business Administration,
this project has backed hundreds and hundreds of new and emerging businesses.
Grants for NonProfits. A project of Michigan State University
Libraries, this describes over 100 grants for nonprofit organizations.
Rural
Development Grants. Announcements are made here as funds become
available for rural development projects.
Australian Government Grants. Broken down by agriculture, tourism,
automotive, entrepreneurship and others, this is a very broad based funding
site for Aussies.
This is barely touching the surface of what is
available. A lot of information is available online. A lot is not.
I do recommend that you pick up a good Grants
Directory that lists all kinds of grants from government grants to non
profit grants to minority grants to business funding grants. It will make
your grant search go a lot faster and a lot smoother.
