This article will provide you with some ideas for acquiring that seemingly elusive grant money for small businesses.
One option is investigating state and city grants. While there are few for-profit small business grants available directly from the federal government, many state development agencies offer direct small business grants and other types of financial assistance designed to encourage and assist entrepreneurs in starting or expanding a small business. States have an Economic Development Office or a Department of Commerce that you can contact to get information about grants in your state. Also check with your city’s downtown development authority (DDA) to see if there are additional financial incentives for having your business located centrally in your city. This is especially a good idea if your downtown is experiencing a growth burst or conversely if your city is experiencing a recession – in both cases most DDA’s will work hard to make their city more attractive to small businesses to get them to move in and stimulate the local economy.
Another option for getting government grants is aligning your for-profit business with a not-for-profit organization. For example, say you want to start a small private security company and you promise to provide free security for your daughter’s school events (dances, sporting events, etc.). These types of partnerships can allow the organizations that supply you with grant money to write their gifts off as tax breaks. Which in turn gives you the edge when competing with other small businesses for grants. Foundations and other philanthropic groups want the ability to write off their grant gift to you. It’s winning situation for everyone: you get the money you need for your start-up company, a worthy cause gets something that they need, and the grant-givers get a tax break. However, I am simplifying the process for the sake of this article, check out my article attached to the bottom and I’ll walk you through how to do this step by step.
Here’s another idea for you entrepreneurs; sometimes a small business sets up a 501(c)3) and can control the funds given to it by appointing the Board of Directors. This makes you eligible to apply for government grants. There are some specific ways this must be done, but it can be done with a little guidance.
By: Chad Bin Kimball