Getting a government grant could be like striking the jackpot. You will get money for the business without any from the burdensome debt obligations that always go with it. Who doesn’t like free money?
But where do you find them?
While federal small business grants tend to be probably the most well-known, government grants exist on the state and local levels too. As grants are usually highly competitive, finding one which closely fits your business’s circumstances could be a huge advantage. Below, we’ll consider some of the grant programs provided by the government where you'll find them.
What Grant Programs Will the Government Offer Small Businesses?
When you take all amounts of government into consideration, it comes with an overwhelming number of grant programs around to small businesses. As grants tend to be specialized, the secret is usually finding ones that fit the character of your business. Below are some currently popular grant programs for small businesses.
The Small Businesses Innovation Research (SBIR) & Smaller businesses Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs
The SBIR and STTR are federal programs designed to help small businesses participate in research and development and connect these to nonprofit research institutions. Basically, the government wants companies that might be able to commercialize scientific discoveries.
Many federal agencies which range from environmentally friendly Protection Agency towards the Department of Defense participate in the SBIR Program. You need to be aware that these grants are usually highly competitive.
Targeted EIDL Advance
This one probably won’t be for sale an excessive amount of longer, but the Targeted EIDL Advance is available to businesses in low-income areas that have suffered financial hardship due to COVID-19. Unlike most grants, the Targeted EIDL Advance isn’t competitive; it’s first-come, first-serve.
State Trade Expansion Program
The State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) is aimed at helping smaller businesses export their products to other countries. Though technically an SBA program, funding is sent through the federal agency to state-level organizations, which then decide how to make use of the funds may ultimately be utilized. This often takes the form of grants to businesses that are looking to expand their subscriber base past the border.
New York State COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program
An example of a state-level business grant program, New York’s COVID-19 recovery program, offers between $5,000 and $50,000 in grant awards to smaller businesses which were running a business before March 19, 2022, and suffered a 25% loss in year-to-year gross receipts.
Other states their very own COVID recovery grants for small businesses.
How To locate Government Grants For the Small Business
Government small company grants are available at every level, from federal down to municipal. Most government entities will have information listed about the grants they offer somewhere, although not every state or town puts that information in the same location. Still, with some googling along with a general idea of where you can look, you ought to be able to find all but probably the most elusive federal government grants.
Online Resources
The internet is commonly the resource of first resort, and for good reason — there’s a lot of useful information on it. Further, many grants have online applications, so linking up with the right site can help you save a lot of time and energy.
Here’s where you’ll want to begin looking:
- Grants.gov: The name says it all. Grants.gov is a government database listing federal grants. Searching for grants underneath the “Search Grants” tab, utilizing a wealth of filters to narrow down your results. There’s also some general details about grants on the website that may provide you with a concept of what the federal grant application will be like and also the terminology you might want to know.
- The USDA: The USDA may not be first of all , comes to mind when you’re thinking of grants, if your business is located away from urbanized periphery associated with a city with a population of fifty,000 or more, you can be eligible for a a USDA grant. Seek advice from your state office to see what’s obtainable in your area.
- The National Institutes Of Health: If you take a company in or adjacent to the medical industry, the nation's Institutes of Health could be a great supply of grant funding. With COVID still a significant issue as of this writing, there are many grants centered on coronavirus-related issues.
- Economic Development Agencies: State and regional grants could be a little trickier to find since its not all state or municipality presents its grant resources in the same manner. One strategy that can be useful is to find a state or county’s (or city’s, in case your municipality is large enough) economic development agency’s website, as those will often list business grants. The state-level agencies often have links to the regional and local agencies. The US Economic Development Administration’s economic development directory is a great starting point.
- The SBA: Though many of the Small company Administration’s grant programs seem to be reaching no more their funding, the SBA has offered numerous grants for businesses that the pandemic has injured economically. They may not get future rounds of funding, but it’s worth keeping the eye out on their behalf as long as the pandemic roils on. Besides the aforementioned grants, the SBA also provides grant funding to nonprofit organizations that provide guidance to small businesses.
- Search For Targeted Grants: There are large subsets of grants that target specific populations. Though the sites listing these programs in many cases are mixed with private grants, you’ll usually see federal government grants among them. For instance, you might want to search for grants for veterans, minorities, or women. You can also look for grants specific to your industry.
Offline Strategies
Unfortunately, the greater well-advertised a grant opportunity is, the greater competition it’s prone to have. If it’s online, you can now find it as fast while you did. However, sometimes you can get ahead of the game by keeping your ear to the ground in your local community. You may be in a position to unearth some lesser-known grant opportunities this way.
Here are some possible ways to go about it:
- Use Your Local Library: Remember libraries? They’re still around and can be an excellent resource for uncovering local programs and events. Your librarian can probably point you in the right direction.
- Join A nearby Industry Group: Grants in many cases are specific to industries, so getting associated with a local industry group can be a easy way hear about grant opportunities decreasing the pipe.
- Attend Industry Events: Likewise, industry events could be a good way to learn about contests, investment opportunities, and grants.
- Connect With Small Business Development Centers: Your city, county, or region probably includes a small company development center that the SBA funds. These organizations could be a great source of information and training.
Small Business Grant Application Tips
The major disadvantage to grants is that there's often tremendous levels of competition for all that free money. Getting a grant can be a time-consuming process with multiple steps and lots of methods to disqualify yourself accidentally.
If you need to increase your likelihood of being bold amongst the crowd of applicants, you’ll need to make sure you provide all the details the grant application asks you for. Blank spaces are among the simplest ways for screeners to weed out applicants. At the same time, you’ll also want to consider ways in which your company might be uniquely qualified for the grant money. You are able to accomplish this by standing out from the crowd and being very specific about how exactly you intend to make use of the funds.
More Grant Helpful information on Small Businesses
Finding the best grant opportunity for your business can be a time-consuming process, however, you can save a little frustration by taking advantage of the resources we checked out above.
Looking to learn more about business grants? Take a look at our feature on business grants and taxes. Need info on targeted grants? We are able to help you get started with our grant guides for veterans, minorities, or women.
