What Type Of Credit Do You Need To Get A Grant
However, youll likely need decent credit to get your business up and running in the first place before you can even apply for most grants.
Additionally, most grants require that your small business be in good financial standing, meaning that you dont have any unreasonable debt that cant realistically be paid back.
Distance Learning And Telemedicine Grant
The Department of Agriculture offers this grant program for small businesses and agricultural producers that are modernizing education and health in rural communities. Specifically, these business grants are an option if your company provides education or health services through telecommunications. Awards range from $50,000 to $1,000,000.
Centers For Advanced Technology Grants In The Buffalo Niagara Region
These small business grants are given out in the Buffalo Niagara region of New York to businesses that partner with a college or university on a research and development project that helps commercialize a technology and bring it closer to market. There are multiple grants available across the state.
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Is Government Contracting Worth It For Small Businesses
Yes!
With the support of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the official government organization for small enterprises, the government encourages small business entrepreneurs to work as contractors. They promote and protect the rights of every American small business by implementing policies and regulations, such as mandating that the federal agencies allocate around 20% of their total spending budget for government contracts to small business leaders.
Furthermore, the United States government is looking into further leveling the playing field so small businesses. In President Bidens recent statement, the federal government will implement various reforms to the existing policies, such as encouraging the federal agencies to increase their goals by 11% to create more opportunities for small business government contractors.
Business Grants For Women
On top of all the grants weve looked at so far, there are several grants and resources specifically for small businesses that are owned by women.
I encourage you to visit your local Womens Business Centers if possible, there are over 100 across the United States. They will be able to point you towards additional grant opportunities, or help you find alternative funding methods.
The Amber Grants: Each month, one small business owned by a woman wins a $1,000 Amber Grant. You will need to get votes to win, so it helps to have a strong social network. At the end of the year, the 12 grant winners have a chance to win the annual $10,000 Amber Grant.
The InnovateHer Challenge: This is a grant that is funded by the SBA for women entrepreneurs that runs every year. There are 3 winners, with first place receiving $40,000, second winning $20,000, and third being granted $10,000. Its a fairly prestigious grant that comes with a lot of publicity for the winners businesses as well.
To win, you first need to win a local InnovateHer challenge to qualify for the national competition. You can see the local locations on this map.
Any type of business is eligible to compete, but businesses that are geared towards women and their social problems typically do best.
Additionally, all 21 finalists are given a grant. The top 7 get a grant of $100,000, plus personalized business mentoring. The other 14 still get a $30,000 grant.
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How To Use Bc Bid
There are many different ways to browse through BC Bid. You can search all open opportunities, you can view them by product grouping goods, services and construction or you can search by organization. Another great feature of BC Bid is the e-Notification subscription service, where for $100 per year, BC Bid will notify you whenever an opportunity is posted that matches the profile that you created. This service can save you a lot of time and helps to ensure you dont miss out on a potential business opportunity.
What Are The Best Government Contracts For Small Businesses
Industry giants in different vital sectors such as health care and medical, construction, defense, and IT continue to dominate the government contracting field. But, that does not mean that they are the only ones who can thrive in this highly-competitive environment.
So to help the small businesses gain equal footing in the government contracting industry, the federal administration has implemented a special contract exclusive for qualified small businesses. This type of contract is called small business set-asides.
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Gsa Multiple Award Schedule Program
Aside from set-aside contracts, the Multiple Award Schedule Program of the U.S. General Services Administration is an excellent avenue for small business leaders to start selling to the federal government. This program, also known as the Schedule, is a long-term government-wide contract that connects government buyers to federal contractors.
The General Services Administration acts as a middleman where a contracting officer can access over 11 million discounted commercial goods and services offered by countless government contractors.
Small Disadvantaged Business Certification Program
The Small Disadvantaged Business Certification Program is one of two SBA programs targeted towards providing business assistance to small disadvantaged businesses. SDB certification pertains specifically to federal procurement. SDB firms are eligible for special bidding benefits. Also, SDBs increase their subcontracting opportunities with prime contractors who accumulate evaluation credits by subcontracting to qualified SDBs. As of October 2008, small businesses may self-represent their status as small disadvantaged businesses on the System for Award Management . Small businesses are not required to submit an application to the SBA for SDB status.
An SDB is a small business that is at least 51% owned and controlled by a socially and economically disadvantaged individual or individuals.
Socially disadvantaged individuals are those who have been subject to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias within American society because of their identification as members of certain groups. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Subcontinent Asian Americans, and Native Americans are presumed to quality. Other individuals can qualify if they show by a “preponderance of the evidence” that they are disadvantaged. All individuals must have a net worth of less than $750,000, excluding the equity of the business and primary residence. Successful applicants must also meet applicable size standards for small businesses in their industry.
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Certifications And Why You Need Them
In various different aspects of government contracting, there are certifications designed to increase opportunities for different types of groups. One in particular is women-owned businesses. The federal government has this certification for women-owned businesses called the SBA 8 Women-Owned Small Business Program, which is a self-certification for women who own and control their businesses. In order to qualify, the business needs to be 51 percent owned and controlled by women .
I want to focus on why the certification is important. Typically the federal government has awarded a little less than 5% of all government contracts to women-owned businesses. The purpose of the certification is to create an environment where women-owned businesses are more visible and have greater access to government contracts. Thats one aspect.
City and state governments have similar programs. Look at the landscape. I use New York as an example. Look at the number of government contracts that are awarded. Studies have shown that contracts have not been equally dispersed to minority- and women-owned businesses. Having the certification makes us visible so to these agencies that we can compete for government contracts.
This A Big Step Toward Leveling The Playing Field Said One Advocate
The White House announced on Thursday more actions to help small businesses get involved with federal contracting, particularly by increasing agencies accountability and transparency.
President Biden announced in June he seeks to double the share of contracts that go to small, disadvantaged businesses by fiscal 2025 as part of his administrations goal to narrow the racial wealth gap. Also on November 18, the administration released an outline of its presidents management agenda that prioritizes creating more opportunities for underserved entrepreneurs and all businesses in the federal marketplace. The new actions build on these initiatives.
The federal government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world, buying everything from software and building construction to financial and asset managementmaking its procurement a powerful tool to advance equity and build wealth in underserved communities, said a fact sheet from the White House. Despite this, less than 10% of federal agencies total eligible contracting dollars typically go to small, disadvantaged businesses, a category under federal law for which Black-owned, Latino-owned, and other minority-owned businesses are presumed to qualify.
OMB will also ensure agencies small business contracting offices have direct reporting lines to senior leadership.
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Build A Strategy For Ontario Government Funding
Ontario businesses can access grants and loans through federal government funding, federal funds targeted at businesses in northern Ontario and southern Ontario , and Ontario provincial government funding. There are many sources of funding, which makes strategic planning critical to funding success.
Companies should build a government funding strategy that uses funding programs to reduce the cost of strategic projects. One of the best government funding tactics to use is stacking together different types and sources of funding. This can significantly improve the scope and success of projects. Please note that multiple federal or provincial programs cannot be stacked only one federal and one provincial funding program may be used per project.
Are You Qualified For A Small Business Set
The SBA considers different factors to determine whether your business can be regarded as a small business. These factors vary depending on your industry, but usually, your business size is the crucial factor.
To determine whether your business is qualified for a small business certification, you can use this Size Standards Tool by SBA. To use this tool, input your NAICS codes and state your number of employees working for you full-time and part-time.
Furthermore, the SBA also has different contracting assistance programs to help small businesses in certain socio-economic classes.
What are SBAs government contracting assistance programs?
The government recognizes that not all small business leaders have equal opportunities. And that is why government agencies give preferential consideration in evaluating bids of small disadvantaged businesses that qualify for SBAs small business programs.
So to ensure that your small business has access to every opportunity available, here are some of the government contracting assistance programs you should be aware of:
Women-owned small business
For industries where women-owned small businesses are discriminated, the government sets aside specific contracts. Furthermore, the federal administration tightened the restrictions on some contracts to give economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses better chances of winning federal contracts.
Small disadvantaged business
Service-disabled veteran-owned small business
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Qualifying For Contracting Opportunities Set Aside For Small Businesses
The federal government spends approximately $500 billion in contracts every year and the current law requires that 23 percent of these dollars be awarded to small businesses.
To qualify as a “small business” you must be a for-profit business and fall below the maximum size determined by your company’s NAICS code based on average annual revenue.
- 511210 Software publishers – $38.5M maximum / annually
- 541511 Computer software programming services – $27.5M maximum / annually
Additional sub-classifications for small businesses
Companies with certain designations may also qualify for sub-classifications, such women-owned small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, firms located in HUBZones and service disabled veteran-owned small businesses. You can learn more about these at the Small Business Administration.
Women-owned small businesses can determine eligibility and register at
Small Business Research Programs
Research funding is available for small businesses engaged in scientific research and development . The National Institutes of Health manages two competitive programs that aim to increase the participation of small business in federal R& D and to increase private sector commercialization of technology developed through federal R& D:
- Small Business Innovation Research external icon: allows small businesses to explore their technological potential while offering the incentive to profit from its commercialization.
- Small Business Technology Transfer external icon: enable R& D collaboration between small businesses and research institutions to stimulate technological innovation.
Visit the SBIR/STTRexternal icon website to learn more about these programs and how to apply.
For additional information or questions about small business opportunities at CDC, contact the CDC Small Business Contacts or email .
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Office Of Small And Disadvantaged Business Utilization
We advise the Secretary of the Interior on all matters related to small business and collaborate with leadership throughout the Department to maximize opportunities for small businesses in our acquisitions. Our Director reports to the Deputy Secretary and receives administrative support from the Office of Policy, Management and Budget. We implement policies, procedures, and training programs for the Department to emphasize our commitment to contracting with small businesses. Our mission also includes outreach to small and disadvantaged business communities, including Indian economic enterprises, small disadvantaged, women-owned, veteran-owned, service disabled veteran owned, small businesses located in historically underutilized business zones areas, and the Ability One Program.
Opportunities For Small Businesses In The Government Market
strategy, government relations, US
The US Government is the single largest purchaser of goods and services in the world, and its annual goal is to award 23% of its prime contract dollars to small businesses. For fiscal 2018, that amounted to over $120 billion in small business prime contracts. Federal agencies accomplish their small business contracting goals in part through mandatory small business set-asides. If an agency contracting officer determines that at least two small businesses are capable of providing a required product or service at fair market prices, then regulations require that the contracting officer set that opportunity aside for award to a small business. US Government prime contractors also have small business subcontracting goals, implemented through mandatory small business subcontracting plans. State and local governments, too, have small business contracting goals, preferences, and set-asides.
The US Government also funds R& D through special programs reserved for small businesses. One of the better known and successful of these is the Small Business Innovation Research program, the purpose of which is to promote technological innovation and incentivize commercialization of that technology. Eleven federal agencies participate in the SBIR program, including the Departments of Defense, Energy, Education, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, as well as NASA and the National Science Foundation.
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Certifying As A Specific Set Aside Type Is One Of The Easiest And Fastest Ways To Differentiate Your Company For Small Business Contracts
Although the overall small business utilization goal is 23%, the government further breaks this goal down by set aside type. In addition, they set a minimum contracting goal of 3% to 5% for each type. The government allows only only designated set aside types to bid on certain opportunities. As a result, this tremendously reduces the number of bidders.
8 Program
Lets start with the golden goose, the 8 Program. Its the golden goose because contracting officers can actually GIVE contracts to 8 companies without competition. And, they frequently do!
Although there are other requirements and caveats to be approved for this program, one of the following must own the company:
- African American
Woman-Owned Small Business
Being a woman, guarantees your company to be certified as a Woman-Owned Small Business .
Two X chromosomes guarantees WOSB certification. However, Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business designates a more selective set aside. The term economically disadvantaged is a loose term. This simply means that the owner has an adjusted gross annual income below $350,000, a personal net worth below $750,000 and personal assets less than $6,000,000.
Veteran-Owned Small Business
HUBZone
Reducing Your Competitive Field
Applying for one of these set aside categories has the potential to significantly reduce your competitive field!
Government Sources For Small Business Grants
There are a wide variety of grants from the government from both the federal and state level.
Grants.gov: The first place all small businesses should go to look for a federal grant. Its a database of thousands of grants with powerful filters that will help you quickly narrow down the results to grants that you have a good chance of getting.
Small Business Administration Grants: The SBA mainly helps small businesses find conventional means of funding .
But they also have a few grant programs, targeted specifically at businesses involved with research or exporting.
Here are the primary grants they sponsor:
Some are focused on rural businesses, but not all of them are. Check the eligibility requirements for each program youre interested in to see if you qualify.
National Institute of Standards and Technology Grants: This is where the NIST lists their grants. They are intended for small businesses involved with science or technology in some way. You can either find the currently active grants here, or through Grants.gov.
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A Federal Procurement Policy Co
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Executive Office of the President and the Department of Energy are co-hosting a two-week crowdsourcing campaign to identify the most promising actions to address barriers faced by underserved groups that prevent them from full and equal access to federal procurement opportunities.
Click HERE to register and participate in this campaign!
Join the campaign at any time November 8 19 to vote and comment on actions the government should take to address rectify inequities in the federal marketplace. Your contributions will help shape plans and solutions that dismantle obstacles embedded in the federal acquisition system and promote equity in federal procurement activities.
