Government Aid For Small Business

What Can Small Business Grants Be Used For

For small business owners applying for grant funding, it can provide a lot of advantages. Grant money is essentially free money for qualifying small businesses to develop and grow without the pressure of paying back a loan.

Some of the categories that small business grants can be used for include:

• Scientific research, or small business innovation research
• Research and development
• Business growth and development for small rural businesses and local grants
• Upgrading business technology
• Sector and industry-specific grants

There are also specific types of grants for small businesses that are offered for limited periods. This can include federal government grants such as Coronavirus Small Business Grants and Shuttered Venue Operators Grants that are also important to keep an eye out for.

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Libraries often work in conjunction with local Chambers of Commerce or business organizations already and may be able to connect you with experts who know the local lay of the land and help you find business grants specific to your community.

Small Business Grants For Veterans

Here are some small business grants for veteran-owned businesses:

• StreetShares Foundation: StreetShares is a foundation dedicated to supporting veteran entrepreneurship through educational content, networking and business coaching sessions. The foundation also runs the Military Entrepreneur Challenge, a competition open to veterans or their spouses for three grants between $4,000 and $15,000 awarded for its social impact on the military community.
• Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program: Similar to the 8 Business Development program, the SBA runs this program to help award federal government contracts to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.
• Boots to Business: The Boots to Business program is not a grant but a business education course offered by the SBA for transitioning service members interested in starting a business.

If you need more funding or these programs dont fit your needs, explore options for small business loans for veterans.

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Education And Training Programs

To ensure businesses have access to trained workers, governments provide free schooling for primary and secondary students, grants and loans for higher education and worker training programs. Governments often work with trade schools, community colleges and universities to provide free worker training.

References

Gender And Women Empowerment Unit

The Gender and Women Empowerment Unit of the Department of Trade and Industry manages the South African Women Entrepreneurs Network . SAWEN helps women overcome the obstacles that they still experience in business.

It compiles a database of women-owned enterprises, in order to help women help one another. It organises networking forums, facilitates capacity-building programmes, and lobbies and advocates for policies that support women entrepreneurs.

Contact the Department of Trade and Industry: 012 394-1606

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Consider Hiring A Grant Writer

Grant writing is an art, so consider hiring a grant writer if possible. A grant writer will know what kind of language to use to make your application stand out, which can make quite the impact when youre competing.

Its worth noting that grant writers can be rather expensive, so if youre strapped for cash you may want to hold off and consider taking some free grant writing courses instead.

Instead of taking out loans youll have to pay back, grants offer you the opportunity to earn money without going into debt. Before you start applying to grant programs, ensure youve covered all your businesss legal bases.

Good For: Community Businesses

The Caleb Brown Venture Capital and Consulting Project hosts a $1,000 grant aimed at promoting and nurturing young urban entrepreneurs with vision who plan to rebuild local blocks, neighborhoods, and communities by providing training and jobs to the next generation. The grant is open to startups and young businesses in urban areas. This contest is run every monthsubmit your application by the 15th to enter.

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Orlando Downtown Commercial And Residential Building Improvement Program

This Orlando program provides business grants between $15,000 and $120,000 for organizations that make improvements to buildings within the downtown Orlando Community Redevelopment Agency boundaries. This program encourages the reuse of vacant or underutilized properties and hopes to improve the appearance and support the long-term viability of downtown Orlando.

Reopening And Operating Safely

Weve provided resources to help you understand the requirements and best practices for workplace safety. These actions can help you comply with the rules and keep operating safely.

Access the Workplace PPE Supplier Directory to find supplies for your business.

Questions about impacts to your business?

Call the Stop the Spread Business Information line at .

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Search And Apply For Government Grants

To search or apply for grants, use the free, official website, Grants.gov. Commercial sites may charge a fee for grant information or application forms. Grants.gov centralizes information from more than 1,000 government grant programs. It’s designed to help states and organizations find and apply for grants.

• Email notifications – Sign up to be notified by email about new grant opportunities.

What Is A Small Business Grant

A small business grant is essentially free money given to a small business owner to help them launch, develop or expand their organization. Grants, unlike a loan, do not have to be paid back, but they often come with restrictions on how the money can be spent.

Just because a grant is free money, doesn’t mean it is easy to get. It takes a lot of time and preparation to apply for a grant, and they are highly competitive, so small businesses should only apply for grants they are eligible for.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners can seek a variety of grants, like private grants from corporations and government grants from federal, state, and local governments. Grants are also available for specific industries and demographics for example, if you are a minority business owner, there are several minority-owned business grants specifically geared toward you.

Key takeaway: Small business grants are free money given to small businesses by private corporations or federal, state, or local government.

Editor’s note: Looking for the right loan for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

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Who Can Apply For Sba Grants

SBA grants are available to business owners in a range of industries, but targeted toward businesses who have suffered because of COVID-19. Though not specifically a grant program, the SBA also runs programs that award federal government contracts to small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans or people of color.

Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the authors opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.

Role Of Government In Promoting Small Business

Related

• What Is the Job Training Partnership Act?

Helping small businesses start and thrive is a win-win situation for the government. Local businesses help support the tax base through businesses taxes and through the wages provided to employees. The possibility of workforce expansion and economic growth prompts municipalities, counties, states and the federal government to offer various forms of assistance, such as grants, research opportunities, beneficial legislation and worker training programs. To find out what services are available in your area, contact your state and local economic development offices and ask about business incentives in your area.

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Corporate Small Business Grant Options

Many organizations provide funding to small businesses in the form of grants. For example, the National Association for the Self-Employed awards one $4,000 grant every month to active members. Only members are eligible to receive these grants based on a needs assessment by the organization.

The credit card company, Visa, also offers grant money for small businesses, called the Visa Everywhere Initiative. The initiative provides funding to small business owners presenting innovative ways to solve payment issues. If you run a technology company that deals with payments, this could be a good funding challenge to explore.

Who Can Get A Grant

The federal government awards grants to organizations including:

• State and local governments

• Non-profit organizations

• Businesses

The intent of most grants is to fund projects that will benefit specific parts of the population or the community as a whole. What you might see about grants online or in the media may not be true. The federal government does not offer grants or free money to individuals to start a business or cover personal expenses. For personal financial assistance, the government offers federal benefit programs. These programs help individuals and families become financially self-sufficient or lower their expenses.

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Khula Enterprise Finance Ltd

Khula helps SMMEs to get loans from banks. It does not lend money itself. Khula also provides mentorship to entrepreneurs, helping them to manage their businesses successfully. The mentorship programme includes the transfer of skills on a face-to-face basis, the development of viable business plans, and pre- and post-loan services.

Contact Khula: 012 394-5560/5900 or 0800 11 88 15Website: www.khula.org.za

Gofundme Small Business Relief Fund

Crowdfunding company GoFundMe has partnered with partners to provide a COVID-19 relief fund for small businesses. Your business may receive a matching grant when you raise $500 through your own GoFundMe campaign, as long as you can verify that your business has been negatively impacted by the coronavirus. Funds must be used to pay business expenses or care for employees.

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Where To Find Business Grants

Below is a list of some of the most robust resources for finding grants that can aid your business:

• SBA.gov is one of the top places to search for grants. The government site is filled with various grant and financing opportunities.

• Grants.gov is the ultimate database for federal grants. You can search for grants by funding type, eligibility, category and agency. Be forewarned: Sorting through the database will require some effort, but the potential payoff is that you may find a grant opportunity that is perfect for your company.

• The Economic Development Administration administers grants for economically depressed communities to stimulate new jobs and commercial growth.

• Similarly, Small Business Development Centers offer local resources that can help your business.

In the wake of the coronavirus, there are resources, including federal and private funding sources, that are helping businesses cope with the drastic economic contraction that is affecting the world.

• Economic Injury Disaster Loans are administered by the SBA and can provide businesses with working capital to pay employees, rent and other expenses.
• In addition to government loans, companies like Verizon have created funds that provide grants to small businesses.

Avoiding Layoffs Rehiring Employees And Creating New Jobs

• Jobs and Growth Fund

  The Jobs and Growth Fund is a $700-million program that supports regional job creation and positions local economies for long-term growth. This includes up to $70 million dedicated to businesses created after January 2020.

  The Fund will help businesses and organizations that:
• support the transition to a green economy
• foster an inclusive recovery
• enhance Canada’s competitiveness through digital adoption to improve productivity and manufacturing processes
• strengthen capacity in sectors critical to Canada’s recovery and growth

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Small Business Enterprise Centres

These centres can help you start or grow a business. These centres offer:

• free consultations with a qualified business consultant
• internet and computer access for business research and planning
• review of business plans
• consultations through a lawyer or accountant referral service
• up-to-date information for entrepreneurs
• access to directories, trade indexes and books
• workshops and seminars
• guidance on licenses, permits, registration, regulations and other documents you need to start a business
• import and export information
• information on patents, copyright and trademarks
• mentoring and networking opportunities

Federal Government Grants For Small Business

In addition to COVID-19 assistance, the federal government offers additional grants for small businesses. The SBA, the National Institutes of Health and Department of Agriculture are among the federal agencies that fund small business grants.

One place to start your search for federal government small business grants is grants.gov, a comprehensive database of funding opportunities from federal agencies. It might be a good starting point, but the breadth of the database may make it a bit unwieldy, too. Here

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Jack Daniels Pitch Distilled

Jack Daniels hosts an annual pitch competition with the goal of inspiring entrepreneurs to surface the next big idea. Small business startups can apply and if accepted, theyll pitch their ideas at the Pitch Distilled event to a group of business owners. The winner of this pitch contest will win a $5,000 prize, plus advice and guidance from the panel of judges to help make their idea a reality.

Types Of Small Business Grants

There are several types of grants, and you may only be eligible for certain ones.

First, there are grants offered by the government. This includes entities like the U.S. Small Business Administration and more niche departments such as the National Institute of Health, which will have industry-specific requirements for applicants.

Then there are grants offered by private companies. These may be more general and open to a wider base.

Some grants target specific groups, like women or minority entrepreneurs or veterans.

Currently, we also have grants aimed to help those negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

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What Are Small Business Grants

Small business grants are minimal amounts of seed money given to entrepreneurs to build upon their business. Grant money is considered gifted and is not required to be paid back.

Most grant programs are established by government entities or private businesses wanting to help others succeed. Grant programs are typically given by federal, state, corporate, or nonprofit organizations.

Small Enterprise Development Agency

Seda supports the growth of small business. People can go to Seda for help to start a business or, if they already have a business, to make it stronger and more profitable. There is a Seda branch in each district municipality. These branches offer:

• information, advice and referrals
• business assessments and business mentoring
• technical support
• business linkages

In addition to helping individuals in business, Seda has a special focus on co-operative enterprises, where a group of entrepreneurs share the profits and responsibility of a business.

Contact Seda: 012 441 1000Business Information Centre: 0860 103 703Website: www.seda.org.za

How to write a business plan

The first thing you need to do is state clearly and specifically what your business idea is. Very simply, you need to say what you intend doing, how you plan on doing it, when you plan to do it and why you believe you will succeed. In the process of doing that, you need to do some research into whether your idea and your plan will really work. Your business plan should cover four main areas:

Important advice:

• Work out how big your market is .
• Is the market growing or not?
• List all the factors about your business that will bring you success .

Look carefully at your situation and make a list of the following:

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Eidl Loans And Grants

In addition to the Paycheck Protection Program, the CARES Act provides relief to small businesses through SBAs EIDL program, which traditionally provides operational liquidity to small businesses in disaster areas. EIDL Emergency Advance will provide an immediate advance of up to $10,000 grants to eligible businesses, which will not have to be repaid. These changes are in effect through the end of 2020.

The SBA has resumed accepting new EIDL and EIDL Advance applications.

Things to Know About EIDL Loans and Grants

Program Eligibility

The CARES Act expands eligibility for EIDL to businesses, private nonprofits, and cooperatives with fewer than 500 employees, as well as small businesses currently recognized by SBA. Sole proprietors, independent contractors, and some other self-employed individuals are also eligible. The statute broadly expands EIDLs scope to better account for the COVID-19 outbreak by treating emergency declarations under the Stafford Act as a trigger for EIDL eligibility. During this or a similar crisis, the SBA Administrator can, at their discretion, designate what states or subdivisions have suffered sufficient economic damage to justify small businesses in those areas receiving EIDL loans.

EIDL Emergency Advance

Submitting an Application

EIDL Emergency Advances Money Usage

EIDL and the Paycheck Protection Program

Funds received under the EIDL program would be counted against any forgiveness an applicant receives under the Paycheck Protection Program.

Live Your Dream Award

Each year, the Live Your Dream Foundation grants $2.1 million in educational funds to women. This foundation focuses on passionate women who have survived sexual violence or other traumatic events. They offer programs and funding that help women build confidence, advance their careers, and overcome unexpected situations.

• Award amount: $1,000$16,000
• Where to apply: Applications open from August 1 to November 15 at this online portal.

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