Grants to Help Finance a Small Business

How to Find Grants to Supplement Your Small Business Loan

Your small business needs capital. You don’t want to take another loan, and you suspect there might be grant funding available. Unfortunately, the news abounds with nightmare stories about scams and fake grant applications that take your money at best and steal your identity at worst.

Here’s how to find grants to finance a small business.

The Small Business Administration and Grants.gov

The Small Business Administration is your first and best resource for help to find a grant. Visiting its website, as well as the federal government’s grants resource Grants.gov, yields a wealth of information.

Do not pay a service to do what you can do for free. Grant information is available free of charge online. You can apply free of charge online. If you receive a solicitation to help you secure a grant, and the solicitation promises you funding or requires you to pay a fee, it is a scam.

Do not forget to contact state and local government agencies when investigating your grants options. Spend your time wisely, however, and use common sense; if you run a solar power research company, begin your search with the Environmental Protection Agency instead of Housing and Urban Development.

Also, do not provide your social security number or a credit card number when applying for a grant. Legitimate grant applications do not require this information. Remember also that many companies employ grants professionals who secure funding for a living; as a result, make your application error-free and as thorough as possible.

Corporate Grants

Like federal, state and local governments, corporations also provide grants to deserving businesses. For example, a healthcare company might offer a grant to a company that is working to find treatment for a disease. An environmental company might offer grant funding to a new solar or wind power company. Also like government grants, applying for a corporate grant should not cost your company any money.

Should your search come up empty, consider alternate funding solutions. Options such as the joint venture partnership provide funding in exchange for an equity stake, which may just offer the boost your business needs to go to the next level.