Free money from the Government to start or expand your business? NOT!!!
There are plenty of adds in magazines and on the web proclaiming that for a small fee the advertiser will help you to obtain a Federal Grant to start or expand your business. Well, here is what the Federal Government has to say about that:
'The federal government does not provide grants for starting and expanding a business.Business.Gov (Small Business Grants)
“Grants from the federal government are only available to non-commercial organizations, such as non-profits and educational institutions in areas such as, medicine, education, scientific research and technology development. The federal government also provides grants to state and local governments to assist them with economic development.
Some business grants are available through state and local programs, non-profit organizations and other groups. For example, some states provide grants for expanding child care centers; creating energy efficient technology; and developing marketing campaigns for tourism. These grants are not necessarily free money, and usually require the recipient to match funds or combine the grant with other forms of financing such as a loan.
If you are not one of these specialized businesses, both federal and state government agencies provide financial assistance programs that help small business owners obtain low-interest loans and venture capital financing from commercial lenders.”
So, before you and over your hard earned cash to someone who guarantees to get you federal grant money for your business, ask them if they are talking about getting money for a commercial venture or for a non-commercial organization.
If you are looking for funding for a qualifying organization, then you may wish to take a look at the Federal Government’s grant webpage: Grants.Gov.
In my work as a grant researcher I have to tell you that this is simply not true! All one has to do is to look at the grant programs that are on the government's website to see that they do indeed have grant programs that are open for small and for-profit businesses to apply for. There are even some government grant programs that are open for ALL to apply for - which includes individuals as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd while it is true that some of the government grant programs require matching funds - that requirement doesn't apply to ALL of the government grant programs.
Another thing that you haven't posted about is that it is not only the government that provides grant programs. Indeed I have blogged about many a grant program outside of the government that is for those that want to start their own business.
A recent daycare-related client of mine received over 10 pages of grant information from me about grant programs that her for-profit daycare might be eligible to apply for and not one of them had the "matching" fund requirements.
I think the whole topic of grants and grant programs is very big and includes many variables and I just don't think that there is any one person who knows all of the ins and outs of it - it is just too big!