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A successful business usually begins with one great idea. Then, with some financial assistance from outside resources, this idea is eventually turned to reality. There is a trend happening here. Money may not make the world go round, but it can do some extraordinary things, like turning your ideas into dollars.
There lies the dilemma: Just how many clever ideas can people come up with. It’s countless, of course. Now, out of all those ideas, how many will actually become successful business ventures? One hundred? One thousand? Of the few that make it work, there are countless others who had great ideas, but lacked the finances to make it work.
What if you knew of a way to finance your dreams? It’s not a business loan. The security you need may be found in the form of a business grant.
Unlike a loan, you are not required to pay back the money you receive from your business grant. That’s why many people refer to it as “free money”. While it is technically “free”, there are strict sanctions and obligations in force.
The best thing about business grant money is that it is readily available. It’s out there, but may have to search hard to find a grant that is perfectly suited to your business. Federally-funded business grant money is particularly hard to come by.
While many private institutions and nonprofit groups offer business grant money to enterprising individuals, most of the “real money” usually comes from government programs.
Congress allocates about $67 million in business grant money, which is distributed to 57 federal agencies around the United States. The grant amounts vary from project to project. A basic street-paving project proposal, for example, may be awarded anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000 in business grant money.
The only requirement demanded by the federal government is that your business project must benefit the local community or the general public. Browse the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) and you will find two types of business grant money: one for rural businesses and one for minority business ventures.
Rural business grant money is provided to encourage sustainable economic development in rural communities with exceptional needs. The grant program has a strong emphasis on helping existing businesses grow, so public entities and nonprofit corporations receiving grant money may in turn award money to the residents they serve.
Native Americans living on federal or state reservations and other federally recognized tribal groups may also apply for business grant money. Other eligible applicants include cooperatives with members that are mostly rural residents, and those that conduct activities for the mutual benefit of the members.
Minority business grant money offered at the CFDA is, in contrast, aimed at fostering new minority business enterprises. These funds also maintain and strengthen existing firms, increasing their opportunities to participate in and receive benefits from the economic system.
Qualified applicants for this type of program are federal, state or local government entities or quasi-governmental entities, colleges, universities, American Indian tribes, nonprofit organizations and for-project organizations.
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