Get Government Grants For Women

If you are a woman who runs an established business or you are new to this whole idea but want to start your own business, you will probably need funding and may be looking for a grant to help you on your way. Grants, in general, are available from both Government and private sources. Grants are preferable to loans as they do not need repaying, but calling them ‘free money’ can make them seem free and easy, which they are not. The money issued in relation to a grant must be used only for the specific purpose of the grant and the Government or private foundation will probably expect something in return for the money it has parted with. This may be indirect through improvements in regional economies or direct through the use of the technologies developed. Government business grants also impose strict reporting requirements so if you are a lucky recipient you must keep detailed records in case of an audit. So “Where can I get small business grants for women?” you will no doubt be asking yourself.

Womens business grants from Government

This is not going to be the answer your want to hear but you cannot get Government grants for women for starting a business or to cover operating expenses. They also do not provide special grants for women. Unfortunately there are many people trying to sell you something that will tell you that such grants do exist. Just hang onto your money though as they are scamming you. To obtain funding for these needs, you will need a small business loan.

The Federal Government does of course issue grants but these are generally only made to non profit organizations, educational institutions and state and local Government agencies. For profit businesses do get a look in occasionally but the majority are large companies and they never receive grant funding for starting their business or for day to day expenses.  Only if you are a small, high tech, innovative business do you stand any chance of receiving grant funding through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program.  With these programs you can win a grant to undertake scientific research as part of the Federal Government’s R&D efforts.

Whilst the Federal Government does not provide small businesses with grants, you may have more luck with state economic development agencies who want to encourage and assist entrepreneurs. Federal Government gives grants to state and local Governments to assist them with economic development, the monies from which are then passed onto small businesses in some cases. Depending on the state you live in you may come across some business grants being offered through state and local programs, although these are generally given to projects involved in community support. These can include grants for expanding child care centers; creating energy efficient technology; and developing marketing campaigns for tourism. Again these are unlikely to be free money as you may have to match the funds awarded or take out a loan to combine with the grant.

Womens small business grants from private foundations

Foundations typically fund non profit charitable, educational, scientific, religious, literary, or cultural organisations. On the most part they do not make grants for women in small businesses that are profit seeking enterprises, however if your for-profit business encompasses a strong social mission you may find access to low-interest loans offered by a few foundations.

Where to find women’s business grants

The best resource to use when looking for a grant is the Small Business Loans & Grants Search Tool which helps you find financing for your small business in the form of loans and grants from both Government and private sector bodies. It asks you a series of questions about your business and its needs and then provides you with a list of financing options that may be suitable.

States allocate a part of their budget to economic development. Grants covered by these budget allocations are usually listed on their respective websites. The websites for each state can be found here.

Grants may be even more geographically specific, such as those issued by your local city or county. Check their respective websites to see if any are available in your area.

A complete resource of privately funded grants for business is impossible to find. As such you will need some guideance as to where on earth to start looking for this elusive funding. Here are some tips:

• Try your local Small Business Association (SBA) office. They do not offer grants but may know of smaller grants that are not advertised on the internet as well as industry specific business grants.
• Other grants can be found by trawling the internet, although this can be difficult due to the number of spam sites that promise a lot and achieve nothing other than relieving you of some money. If you do try some online searching put your search terms in quotes and try and be more specific by including your state, city or business type as well as ‘small business grants’. We came up with the following grants from a brief search of this type:

1. American Association of University Women – This foundation offers private funding for graduate women.
2. The Amber Grant - The Amber Foundation Grants helps women entrepreneurs find money to start a small business that is usually home based or online. Grants of $500-$1000 are issued to be used to upgrade equipment or pay for a website or similar small but essential expenses. The grants are not repayable although recipients are encouraged to pay it forward and help others they meet in the future.
3. Idea Cafe’s Small Business Grants – The Idea Café is keen to help small businesses so they make grant awards to deserving entrepreneurs. Their application process is quick and easy so it is worth a shot. They are currently offering $1,000 to the most deserving small business owner, who is willing to take their business to the next level.
4. FundsNetServices – A resource of many grants for women’s programs.

• Read your local business newspapers and magazines. Do not expect to find grants advertised but you may glean the information from interviews with local businessmen or gossip columns.
• Talk to your bank manager as he may know if his other customers have secured grant monies.
• Ask your accountant for the same reasons as your bank manager.
• Join a local business group if you are not a member already. Sometimes these groups offer their own grants or just networking with other members may elicit some valuable information.
• Do not dismiss grants that have expired as many are awarded annually so sit tight and wait until the new grant is issued. It may also be worth contacting the grantor to see if they have any other grants that you may be eligible for.
• Consider your business association if your industry has one as they sometimes issue their own grants.
• Talk to friends and family – they may have useful knowledge you would not expect.

Grants for small businesses are probably not going to be easy to find, but with some research and perseverance you could be lucky and pull it off.

Over Zealous Advertising

We Can Help You Easily Obtain Free Grant Money Fast!

Get The Money You Need Now… To Finance Your Dreams.

Have you seen these types of claims on TV, online or in direct mailings? Free Government money they promise is available to you for clothes, home improvements, to clear your debts, to start a business or any number of other things that you might need money for.  All you need do is apply for these Government grants for women. Of course these companies are hoping to sell you a list of where to apply – they may even promise to customize it to suit your specific needs. Sometimes they will even promise you a full refund if your grants are not approved.

Unfortunately when you write to apply for these goverment grants for women that appear on your list, you are likely to hear back that you have been given misinformation. You will then try to contact the company that sold you your ‘free money from the Government’ pack and they will have either disappeared or will point you to the fine print where the conditions of refunds are so difficult to achieve that you will never get your money back.

Of course not all companies offering to assist you with obtaining federal government grants for women are scammers. To ensure you find a reputable one you should heed the following advice:

• Be cautious of anyone who guarantees that you will get a grant, especially if they want paying up front for their service.
• Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if they have received any complaints about the company you are thinking of signing up with.

Is It True? Is There Free Money Out There?

In short yes but your chances of being eligible are minute. Limitations will apply covering where you live, how much you earn and what you want the money for, just as examples. Most free Government grants for women are given for education, arts or scientific research.

Tracking down a Government grant for women is a lot more tricky than you may have been led to believe. There are plenty of companies out there trying to reel you into their scheme with the promise of free money. But the truth of the matter is that free government grant money is not that easy to come by and to find a grant suitable for you will take a lot of time, effort and research.

The good news is that you do not need to buy one of the books, CDs or courses being advertised to you as all the necessary information is freely available to you online, at your library or by calling the right people. If you don’t have the time to spend researching and compiling this information yourself, then these other resources may be useful to you.

Remember that if you do happen to find one of the federal grants for women suitable for your circumstances you still need to know how to go about applying, to offer yourself the best shot at success.

If you have been researching what is available in the way of Government grants for women starting a business over the last few years, the chances are you will have come across some fancy seminars promising you great information. The testimonials sound great and the thought of free money from Government, pulls in entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs, but this free money does not exist. If you listen carefully to the many testimonials you will not hear how the money was received. Most times this will have been via small business loans for women – a loan hardly being free money.

Seminars, software, books and all the other ways people are trying to relieve you of your money only contain information that is freely available online or in a public library.

Common sense should tell you that only perhaps close family will give you free money with no strings attached for you to begin your dream and start a for-profit business. If the Government did it, they would soon run out of money and be lynched by the taxpayers. So if you are looking for Government grants for women starting a small business that will be run for-profit you might as well stop now and move onto looking for loans. If you are wanting to run a non-profit organization that will benefit the public or local community you will have more luck.

Of course there is always a grain of truth to the ‘get free Government grants’ claim.

There are a few highly specific grants for women starting a business available which come with many restrictions. An example would be where the small business agrees to set up in a poor area to provide work for the local community.  Other opportunities arise where small businesses are trying to research promising new technologies. These are again very restrictive and tend to only be obtained by the technology geniuses amongst us. Finally in the unlikely event that your ‘business’ is a non-profit organization, then there may be some point to looking for a grant. Other than those, there are no Government grants for starting a business.

Most new businesses can be started with not too much money, say $5,000. Borrow from relatives or use your savings. You could even consider Government loans for women or other financial resources but don’t get caught up chasing the rainbow – concentrate on being an entrepreneur.

If on the other hand you have an established business there are some specialized Government grants available. If you search on the Government Grants website you will find the options available. If you find one of interest make sure you are eligible to apply from the details given before you waste your time filling in the application form.

Even when you do find a suitable Government business grant, it is not just a question of writing a letter and waiting for the check to come in the post. There will be many other people competing for the same grant, so you will have to win by being more suitable than the others. To do this you will need a well written proposal that covers what you hope to achieve with the money as well as a plan and a budget for how it will be spent.

If you are the successful recipient of the grant, the work may not end there as you may be required to send in details of your progress periodically to the funding agency. If you do not think you are capable of going through this process alone, there are professionals out there who specialize in getting Government grants for women starting a business who can guide you.