Best For Tech Businesses: Sbir Program
Grant amount: $150,000-$1 million
The SBIR program provides grants for small businesses and entrepreneurs to enable them to develop and research high-tech innovations for federal agencies that have the potential for commercialization. Common areas for businesses that receive this funding include homeland security, clean drinking water, healthcare, green construction, and more.
The mission of this program is to support scientific excellence and innovative technology to grow and build the US economy. For technology businesses, the SBIR program provides substantial seed money and contracts with government agencies that will help qualifying businesses research and develop new technologies.
To apply for an SBIR business grant, you need to meet the following criteria/eligibility requirements:
- Applicants must be a for-profit business.
- Applicants must have less than 500 employees.
- A majority of ownership must be held by one or a combination of the following:
- One or more individuals that are citizens or permanent residents
- Other for-profit businesses
- Venture capital-operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms.
Quick Tips For Getting More Grants
There are a lot of simple things you can do to improve your chances of winning grants. Most are easy to understand, but you need to make sure you keep them in mind.
Heres how to get more grants:
- Always look for new grant opportunities .
- Make sure the time spent to apply for a grant is actually worth the grant amount.
- Read over the individual application instructions to each grant. Some are similar, but few are the exact same.
- Double-check that you are eligible before spending a lot of time on an application.
- Provide specific numbers on how the grant will be used and how it will help.
- Double-check your spelling and grammar.
- Submitting your application early may make you look more prepared than late-submitters.
- Back up claims with credible citations.
- Be realistic when mentioning your business costs or revenue.
- Find a book from your library on grant writing if you want to write better grant proposals.
Private Grants For Small Businesses
Corporate and larger companies sometimes give grants as part of their philanthropic efforts, including grants for small for-profit businesses.
Doing research within your industry is the best way to find grants that apply to you and your business. Some well-known ones include the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest and grants available for members of the National Associate of the Self-Employed.
Don’t Miss: Grants For Teachers Buying Homes
Common Types Of Government Grants
- Small Business Grants – A significant portion of federal grant funding is for businesses and corporations, large or small. The Small Business Administration oversees SBA Grants and has worked together with public and private funding agencies and organizations to offer grants focused on scientific research and development , technology innovation, and job creation.
- Pell Grants – The government invests in education. This type of grant is specifically targeted at pro-profit and not-for-profit organizations and institutions in the education sector to create learning opportunities and improve education quality.
- College Grants – Many post-secondary institutions offer monetary awards in scholarships and grants for students. Requirements for applying for these grants will vary from institution to institution.
- HUD Grants – The government offers financial incentives for developers in the public housing sector. Small businesses looking to expand may also be qualified for certain opportunities. The government does not provide financial support for personal home renovation/repair needs.
- Veteran Grants – The government offers many financial incentives to assist veterans to adapt back to society.
- Grants for Women – The government has made available many funding opportunities to help women-owned, or women-led businesses capitalize on opportunities. The goal is to diversify markets and promote equal growth globally.
Applying For Grants To Small Business Owners
- Staying selective: Youll want to pick grants that youre eligible for. Youll also have a better shot if your products or services align with the goals of the company thats offering the grant. They look for businesses that are a good match for what they stand for.
- Sharing your passion: Throughout your grant application you should communicate your passion for your business. This helps the reviewer get behind your ideas and feel invested in your goals.
- Using numbers to back up your points: Organizations want to invest in businesses that are thriving and show growth potential. This means that youll want to use numbers like sales figures and growth percentages to show you have the potential to grow your business.
- Providing accurate information: If you make any mistakes in the application process or the information you provide isnt up to date, it can slow down the reviewing process. To help prevent this, you can have multiple people proofread your application before you submit it.
- Getting advice from others: You can talk with program staff, experts, customers or former grantees for advice and tips on filling out applications. Its also a good idea to run your products and services by them for advice.
Recommended Reading: Amazon Grants For Black-owned Businesses
Private Small Business Grants
In addition to government grants for small businesses, some private corporations and foundations also offer small business grants, including some small business startup grants. Private grants require their own applications and may contain eligibility restrictions limited to certain industries.
| Grant Program |
|---|
| Startup businesses |
Tips On Grant Applications / Grant Writing
Also Check: Federal Government Help Cash Grant Program
Good For: R& d Companies
The DoD offers grants to small businesses through the STTR program and a number of other initiatives, like the Defense Enterprise Science Initiative. The Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office, and the U.S. Army Research Institute are all looking for research and development of technology that will help them reach their goals.
Small Business Grants: How To Find Funding For Your Business
Whether you are just getting your small business up and running or looking for more capital to grow and expand, exploring small business grants could be the answer to your financial needs.
While it does take some effort to research and apply, getting a grant could be the turning point that leads to your business success.
There are many different types of grants you could be eligible for, including federal small business grants, private grants, local grants, or even grants designated specifically for women, minorities, and veterans.
The coronavirus pandemic put unprecedented stress on small businesses. As we enter recovery mode, there are several stimulus and relief grants to help speed up efforts.
In this article, we will cover:
- The difference between a grant and loan
- Federal small business grants
- Private grants for small businesses
- Grants for women, minorities, and veterans
- COVID-19 grants to help small business
- How Next Insurance helps small businesses
Recommended Reading: Best Western Grant Creek Missoula
First Nations Development Institute Grants
Since 1993, First Nations has been offering grants to help support Native American organizations and projects, totaling $51.6 million in grants, along with technical resources.
Past grant opportunities include programs for Covid-19 response, native youth and culture support, college scholarships and a native youth business plan competition, among others. Visit the First Nations website to learn more about new grant opportunities when they become available.
Global Flagship Accelerator Program
The small businesses and startups that need the funding can look for this program. They can do this on a year-round basis with the 500 Global Flagship Accelerator Program. Since 2010, this program offered opportunities to small businesses. In addition, apart from the 150,000 dollar investment, they also offer the four-month accelerator program in San Francisco to small businesses. To know the rules of the program, one can visit the website and get the whole information from there. Also, can check for the eligibility criteria of the program to get help.
You May Like: How To Apply For Ida Grant
Do You Have To Pay Back Small Business Grants
No! Thats what makes them grants.
Unlike loans, grants do not require you to be paid back, and can be used for just about anything business-related.
Some grants do require you to report back how the grants were used and how they helped, but thats usually for them to get more publicity or to try and help you further.
Government Sources For Small Business Grants
There are a wide variety of grants from the government from both the federal and state level.
Grants.gov: The first place all small businesses should go to look for a federal grant. Its a database of thousands of grants with powerful filters that will help you quickly narrow down the results to grants that you have a good chance of getting.
Small Business Administration Grants: The SBA mainly helps small businesses find conventional means of funding .
But they also have a few grant programs, targeted specifically at businesses involved with research or exporting.
Here are the primary grants they sponsor:
SAM.gov Grants : This is another great federal grant database with a modern re-design. While there is some overlap with Grants.gov, youll find a few unique ones as well that makes it worth your time to check. You can use the advanced search filters to only see grant results, or also see other funding sources like loans.
Don’t Miss: How Are Stock Grants Taxed
Government Grants For Small Business
However, you can look for government grants as well. Because many of the government grants are offered to individuals and businesses, but there is a need just to look at them. You can visit the Grants.gov website and look for the grants that you need. On this website, lots of grants are offered that are helpful for everyone who is in need. You can find the database of the grants that are offered by the government to give away to businesses and individuals. You will see that there are thousands of grants are available for that you can apply, even you or your company has any of your backgrounds. These grants are available for all backgrounds so that people who need help can apply for the grant and get help from those government offered grants.
The Coalition To Back Black Businesses
The Coalition to Back Black Businesses is a partnership of several brands that have come together with the goal of empowering Black-owned businesses.
The Coalition is supplying $14 million in minority grants, resources and training over a span of four years through 2023 that is meant to help small businesses recover from pandemic-related setbacks. The Coalition includes American Express, ADP, AIG Foundation, Altice USA, Dow and the S& P Global Foundation.
Select businesses will qualify for grants in the amount of $5,000 each fall, in combination with training and mentorship benefits. When the summer arrives, a few initial grant recipients will receive additional $25,000 enhancement grants as a means of additional funding and support.
Eligible businesses must be Black-owned enterprises located in economically distressed communities. You can apply on the Coalitions website in the fall when the application process opens. The grant committee will select 400 or more eligible applicants at random to receive cash awards and other benefits.
Don’t Miss: Catalog Of Federal Domestic Assistance Grant
Doordash Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund
Everyone knew that because of the covid-19 pandemic many businesses have to face losses. Not only because of Covid-19 but because of many other disasters as well businesses and restaurants had to face many problems and they have to be closed for months. Natural disasters such as floods, fires, hurricanes, and lots more disasters affect the lives of people in the United States and they have to face lots of problems that affected their life badly.
According to Doordash, when any disaster happened, then because of this restaurant and the small businesses had to face a loss of an average of $3,000 every day, they have to remain close for a month at least. For the businesses that are affected by natural disasters, the Doordash works in partnership with Hello Alice, so that they can help those small businesses. For helping them, and the capital they need to match with that, Doordash offers the fund of $10,000 to the affected small businesses.
One can apply for this grant, to get help from Doordash. One can apply for this grant, before its deadline. The applications are open for this fund and one can apply for this fund before the end of January. This grant helps the small businesses and helps them to get back to their normal state.
How Do Business Grants Work
Sounds too good to be true? Truthfully, obtaining a small business grant can be a lot of work, but thats why were here for you. Plus, the funds received from the grant, might be all the help your company needs in order to succeed.
Small business grants can come from the federal government, state government, local government, and corporations. Each of these sources have their own benefits, and their own draws. For example, the federal government has more grants available, but the local government is more likely to reward businesses that give back to the community. Each grant from each establishment has a specific focus, and business owners will want to find and apply to those grants that pointedly meet their needs. Unlike loans, grants cant be spent on anything the business deems fit. Grants must be applied to the specified areas explained in the application. Depending on the company, that money may be allocated specifically to hiring fees, land, building, technology, programs, sustainability, etc.
Recommended Reading: Bank Of America Grant Program
Small Business Grant For Black Women
With Black Girl Ventures, black women entrepreneurs receive coaching and useful resources to grow their business. The organization offers a crowdfunded pitch competition program. Applicants need to pitch their business idea here, which is followed by a Q& A session with a panel and audience. The audience votes with their dollars.
Business Grant Vs Business Loan: Whats The Difference
While both help you get money for your business, grants and business loans for small businesses are different beasts. The main difference between a grant and a loan is whether or not they require repayment. Loans require you to repay the money you borrow a grant does not. Grants can be awarded by government departments, trusts, or corporations and given to individuals, businesses, educational institutions, or non-profits.
Grants can be notoriously difficult to get, so if you apply for funding and are rejected, consider other financing, including business credit cards.
Here are other things to know about the differences between grants and loans.
Recommended Reading: First Time Home Buyers Grant Application
Whos Eligible For A Business Grant
Are you a small business owner? Yes? Most likely you, then. Any company meeting a small business grants specified criteria could be eligible to win. The better the application, the better the odds.
In addition to government and corporate grants, there are special interest grants. A special interest grant is one devoted to empowering potential minority groups. There may be a special grant for women business owners. There may be a special grant for hispanic entrepreneurs. Education companies. Special needs groups. Etc.
Focus Your Pitch On Innovation And Expansion
Organizations that issue small business grants typically favor business that they see as innovative, forward thinking, and on a path to growth. Focus your pitch on how you plan to scale, any new technologies you might be developing, and what your business can do to help the organization with its mission.
Read Also: Grants Pass Lodge At Riverside
Best Business Grant Support: Sbdc
SBDCs are government resources that help small businesses find the services and funding they need to succeed. Small business owners can find their local SBDC office for face-to-face business consulting to help them better understand how to successfully find and apply for grants that suit their business needs.
Why Are Government Grants For Small Businesses So Important In 2022 And Beyond
Government grants for small businesses are particularly important for developing a countrys micro, small and medium enterprises sector. Because these grants are funded by tax dollars, they have more restrictions than grants offered by private entities like FedEx and Cartier, as well as foundation grants like WomensNets Amber Grant.
Chief amongst these restrictions is an emphasis on how the money will be used to help the business make a meaningful impact in the community. Grants from the federal government were created to encourage businesses to be community builders and contribute to economic growth. A business that focuses on community development and innovation is sustainable and respected. This is the primary reason government grants for small businesses will remain relevant in 2022 and beyond.
Furthermore, many grant opportunities tend to reward innovation and scientific research. More grants tend to be offered in these categories because they give the country a competitive advantage. After all, it pays to stay ahead of the game.
Find more information on How to Start a Business here.
Don’t Miss: Forsyth County Small Business Grants