The Secret to Acquiring Business Grants

by: Michael Saunders

Since 2002, the federal government has been developing and implementing Grants.gov as a collaborative cross-government program focused on streamlining grants management for the Federal grant community.

Grants.gov is the one-stop-shop Website to apply for more than $400 billion in Federal grants.

Managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Grants.gov is one of the 24 E-Government initiatives operating under the governance of the Office of Management and the Budget (OMB). The Website centralizes grant information and electronic submission for more than 1,000 grant programs across the Federal government.

Business grants could be one of the most important financial tools that nearly all businesses would need. They may not be the single most significant support businesses could have, but they can get definitely help you start the business right.

Business grants refer to a particular amount of money that is being granted by the government to a particular business. Some people may have thought of it as a “free financial support” from the government, but they are not. That is because there is an equivalent effort, time, and sweat entailed when requesting for grants.

Moreover, not all businesses can avail of business grants. Even if the government provides business grants to support businesses, certain qualifications are required prior to the approval of the business grants.

Primarily, your business should be a not-for-profit organization or it should include an expansion of a new knowledge or technology. If your business does not fall under these categories, you are not qualified for a business grant.

However, there are some instances that the government may award business grants if your business can prove that it can develop a new technology for economic advancement or if you can meet the requirements. You need to accomplish all the prerequisites at an agreed period to get the business grant. If in case you failed to meet the deadline, your request for a business grant will not be approved.

Secondly, your business should have a business plan. If you think you can qualify for business grants, you should consider having a business plan as well.

Getting the first stage of the application is just the start of your journey. You need to create a business plan in order to guarantee the government that you really intend to develop your business and help the economy. In this way, you can show them that your business aims to develop a knowledge that will boost the country’s economy.

What most unsuccessful businesses failed to realize is that business plans are extremely important when establishing a business. Statistical reports show that more than 85% of unsuccessful businesses do not have business plans.

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Did you know?

Applying at Grants.gov can reduce your costs and the time required to find government grant opportunities and process your application. The site provides access to multiple grantors and reduces paperwork.

By downloading a grant application package, you can view it offline, giving you the flexibility to complete the application when and where you want.

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The Secret to Acquiring Business Grants
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About The Author Michael Saunders has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He edits a site on Government Grants for Women Owned Businesses and also edits HandsNet - A Human Services News Website.

Additional Resources

category - Small Business Grants

Small Business Administration's Portable Assistance Program
The Small Business Administration has established the Portable Assistance Program wherein they seek to provide grants to Small Business Development Lead Centers that provide services to small businesses in an effort to increase the success of small business establishments and their viability in certain communities where economic hardship is apparent and is attributable to the impact of a major disaster.

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Minority Business Enterprise Centers for Minority-Owned Businesses
The The Minority Business Development Agency has recently constituted the Minority Business Enterprise Centers (MBEC) Program wherein it aims to support minority-owned businesses by providing them with electronic and one-on-one business development services for a reasonably nominal fee.

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Program for Investment in Micro-Entrepreneurs Technical Assistance
The Program for Investment in Micro-Entrepreneurs Technical Assistance Program is designed to decrease the number of disadvantaged micro-entrepreneurs by helping them enhance their management capabilities, by way of providing them with technical assistance and training in the areas concerning activities that are associated with starting, expanding and growing their businesses.

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Getting Money to Start a New Business
Starting a new business can be an exciting venture -- unfortunately, it can also be quite expensive as well. In order to get the money that you need to get your business off of the ground, you might be...

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