Fedex Small Business Grant Contest
The FedEx Small Business Grant Contest provides a top prize of $50,000, along with funds towards print and business services. The contest will be reopening on February 16. In the past, it has been open to for-profit businesses in operation for at least six months with no more than 99 employees. Read the full rules and eligibility.
to learn about what youâll need to prepare to enter.
Grants For Specific Industries
Some industries are at an advantage when accessing business grants. Small enterprises that deal with agri-food or seafood sector qualify for up to $250,000 in funding. These businesses need to come up with new export markets or get into existing export markets.
However, for you to be eligible, your company needs to have annual sales of $50 million. Also, your business needs to contribute a percentage of the project costs and have a ready export market after conducting market research.
The Center of Excellence in Next Generation Networks offer financial support for businesses. Nonetheless, your business needs to be dealing with security, Software Defined Network, Internet of Things, Cloud, or Network Transport to qualify for this grant.
Leicester Business Growth Grant
This grant project supports small and medium-sized enterprises that have been trading business-to-business for at least 24 months in Leicester and Leicestershire who are looking to grow or develop their business. Grants from £2,000 up to £25,000 are available providing 35 per cent towards the cost of capital projects . A business adviser is provided to support applicants throughout the process.
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Patagonia Corporate Grant Program
The corporate grant program at Patagonia gives between $10,000 and $20,000 of funding to innovative nonprofit organizations that work to preserve and protect the environment. Read the grant guidelines for more details on whether your small business meets the requirements.
when youâre ready to apply.
Student Grants By Callaghan Innovation
Student Grants give your business access to fresh talents and ideas and boost your R& D capability while helping undergraduate and postgraduate students to gain and develop technical skills in a commercial environment. There are three types of student grants:
- R& D Experience Grant is a 10-week internship during the students summer break or at the completion of the students study. The student is expected to help your organisation with an R& D project.
- R& D Fellowship Grant provides funding support for students undertaking a PhD or master degree, which is aimed at solving a technical or scientific problem for your business.
- R& D Career Grant is an internship designed to provide 6-month employments for recent PhD or master graduate students.
Business Training and Advice Grant can help you with developing a business plan, training in business skills, advice and project reports. You may be able to get a Business Training and Advice Grant if:
- either:
- you or your partner are getting the main benefit, or
- you qualify and have applied for the main benefit
- youre getting New Zealand Superannuation or a Veterans Pension as a non-qualified partner
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One Time And Renewable Grants
The one time and renewable grants are provided to small business owners who may be eligible as a direct form of payment by the Ontario government, to help you cover the costs of your small business.
Generally speaking, the one time grant and the renewable grant are two different types of grants
The one time government grant is provided once to help you as a small business cover your business expenses.
Depending on the type of expenses, these grants may also be renewable, each quarter, or each year.
Most of the renewable grants will be focused on going green, providing training for your employees, or hiring staff.
To see if you Ontario small business qualified for any one time or renewable government grants, you can speak to a Ontario funding expert via the Small Business Startup Platform.
Orkney Islands New Business Start Up Grant
Orkney Islands Council fund the New Business Start Up Grant and can give you £500-£1,500. The main condition is that applicants must be developing a new start-up business and build a full-time sustainable enterprise.
The council is looking to target tourism, food and drink, renewable energy, lifeline local service providers and community-based social enterprise companies. Franchise businesses are also eligible.
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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 you’re competing.
It’s worth noting that grant writers can be rather expensive, so if you’re strapped for cash you may want to hold off and consider taking some free grant writing courses instead.
Instead of taking out loans you’ll have to pay back, grants offer you the opportunity to earn money without going into debt. Before you start applying to grant programs, ensure you’ve covered all your business’s legal bases.
Best Startup Business Grants
The first step toward getting a startup business grant is finding the one best suited to your businesss needs. Not only does narrowing down the grants that are right for your business make the application easier, it increases the likelihood of you receiving the funding you need.
Our Approach:
Choosing the best business grant comes down to three things:
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Alternatives To Business Grants
Business grants may not always be available or suitable for your business. But the good news is that there are alternatives to business grants out there, such as:
Equity finance This is when you sell a share of your business in return for finance. Some equity finance schemes, such as the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, offer up to a 50% reduction in income tax on investments made in new businesses up to £100,000. Businesses have to be less than two years old and have fewer than 25 employees.
Soft loan These are similar to grants, but are actually loans with lower interest rates and more generous terms than can be found via other lending routes. Backed by the government, the Start Up Loans scheme offers personal loans of up to £25,000 with a 6% interest rate and access to free business support and mentoring.
Apply For A Start Up Loan For Your Business
Apply for a government-backed Start Up Loan of £500 to £25,000 to start or grow your business.
Unlike a business loan, this is an unsecured personal loan.
Youll get free support and guidance to help write your business plan, and successful applicants get up to 12 months of free mentoring.
on the Start Up Loans website
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Arrow: Supporting Innovation In The North East
If your business innovation aim is to develop a new product or service, access new markets or gain market share, Arrow can provide access to academics, innovators and experts to help you innovate within your business.
Arrow can offer up to £10,000 of match funding. The 50/50 funding partnership with your SME will let you buy services or equipment from third parties for:
- Proof of concept and validation
- Survey and feasibility testing
Medilink Solstice is aimed at businesses in the life sciences sector who are based in the Leicester LEP area.
Youve got three grants to choose from:
- Innovation Support Grants
- Med Tech Trials Grants
- Specialist Networking Grants
Where To Find Government Grants For New Businesses
Government grants are available for UK businesses, as well as via the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies, and from the Scottish Parliament. If youre starting a UK business, begin with the useful Business Finance Support Finder. The Welsh government has access to a similar list of grants at its Business Grants website. Enterprise Ireland has access to funding for small businesses up to larger enterprises, while the Scottish governments Funding Opportunities website provides access to over 600 grants and funding options.
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How Do I Qualify For A Small Business Grant
Each grant has specific qualifications youll need to meet in order to apply. Its important to review these first so you dont waste your time applying for grants you arent eligible for.
Some may require you to be in a certain industry. Others may require you to be in business a certain amount of time or be generating a certain revenue. You may have restrictions on how you use the funds.
The Key Disparities That Separate Startups And Small Businesses
The truth is that there are a variety of definitions for what qualifies as a small business, and its mostly based around revenue status, years established, how many employees a business has, and thus accessibility to relevant funding options.
As a general guideline, here are four distinct ways that small businesses differ from startups:
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The Usda Rural Business Enterprise Grant Program
The USDA’s mission is to help improve the economy and the quality of life throughout America. Their team offers grants to increase job opportunities and stimulate economic development. Services include healthcare, first responder services, water, electric, and communications. Most recently, they enacted a small business enterprise grant program assisting rural small business owners.
- Award amount: Varies.
- Where to apply: For more information, visit their website.
Premises Improvement Grants Pendle
At present, theres only one grant available through Pendle Borough Council: Premises Improvement Grants.
These grants provide assistance of up to 50 per cent of eligible costs, up to a maximum of £3,000 . It applies to eligible buildings which are occupied by commercial users and are located within Pendle and town centre boundaries. It also covers redundant commercial properties within and immediately adjacent to the town centre planning boundaries.
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Before You Apply For Any Grants Or Funding
Its exciting finding a small business grant or loan.
As a business owner needing the funding, you may be quick to just want to apply and get it over with to get the money. BUT, before you apply for any Ontario government small business grants, loans or any sort of funding there are a few things to know and have prepared.
Your business plan is one of the most important things you can have when applying for any government of Ontario grants or loans.
Why?
Well, your business plan is your resume it is how a funding agency determines if you have a good business idea if you know how to explain yourself which will directly translate into knowing how to run the business. If you are asking for money from the Ontario government, they want to ensure that you are a good fit.
Your business plan will explain your business model, your growth strategy, marketing plan and will clear up your funding needs so that they are easily understood.
To prepare a business plan, you can use the Business Plan Builder Tool.
Most funding agencies will ask for financial projections as well. This generally includes a 3 year financial plan, including a balance sheet, cash flow statement and a profit/loss document that will further show a funding agency your financial preparedness plan.
If you are unsure how to prepare your finances, you can get help from an expert.
Advice For The Application Process
If you plan on applying for any funding or support, it is common that they will ask you to submit in-depth details about your business. Whether that is via video, written application, poster or face-to-face interview, heres how we recommend you prepare:
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Greater Manchester #seedifferent Sme Apprenticeship Support Grants
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority have launched these grants for SMEs in Manchester who have a wage bill of less than £3m.
Grants of £3,000 may be offered to businesses that dont pay the Apprenticeship Levy, are based in Greater Manchester, and who havent employed an apprentice in at least two years.
Cash Flow Supports For Businesses Impacted By Covid
Businesses that have been negatively affected by Covid-19 can avail of government supports to help in areas such as paying staff or getting their businesses online .
Check out our blog on Cash Flow Supports For Businesses Impacted By Covid-19 for more information on the supports available. If your business needs accounting or compliance advice during this time, please reach out to our Client Services Team today. Were here to help!
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New South Wales Government Grants
The New South Wales government offers various business grants to start-ups, but the most notable ones include:
- The Minimum Viable Product Grant : The MVP grant provides up to $25,000 funding for start-ups that are yet to bring in any revenue to progress from a proof of concept stage to an MVP stage. The grant is available year-round for startups across all industry sectors, and you can apply online, with assessment usually taking 8 weeks after submitting your application.
- Building Partnerships Grant: Once you have a minimum viable product that is tech-based that you own the rights to, and your start-up is generating revenue, you can apply for the building partnerships grant to help you with customer and market acquisition.. Eligible businesses can receive a maximum grant of $100,000.
Alternatives To Grants For Startups
A grant likely won’t cover all of your startup costs even if you qualify. You might want to consider these alternatives if you need funding to start a new business.
- Crowdfunding can help cover the cost of developing a new product or opening a new storefront by raising money from your community.
- Roll Over for Business Startups allows entrepreneurs to take advantage of a tax loophole and tap into their retirement savings to cover startup costs.
- Business loans can finance growth costs after you’ve established your new business and it can be difficult to qualify for a low rate in the first few years.
- Personal loans are loans based on your personal finances and can cover those first few months of expenses. Usually you need excellent credit and another source of income to qualify.
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Capability Development Vouchers From The Regional Business Partner Network
This is a great scheme in which business owners can get access to essential business and training services.
Your business may be eligible for a voucher which can provide up to 50% off these services
Youll need to meet with one of the Regional Business Partner advisors first and come up with a plan with their help.
If they determine that your business could greatly benefit from further training, they may issue you with a Capability Voucher, which can then be used with registered services.
This is an ideal grant for a startup business that will set you off on the right foot with some professional expertise and advice.
Check out this link for more details.
Best Corporate Grant For Startup Growth: Fedex Small Business Grant Contest
Grant amount: $15,000-$50,000
FedEx offers one of the best-known small business grants. Developed to support businesses looking to grow this is a great grant option for businesses looking to scale their small business. Twelve contestants are chosen to receive grant money, with the first place winner earning $50,000 and $7,500 in FedEx credit.
Unlike other grants with formal application processes, the FedEx small business grant only requires a one-minute video, a logo submission, photos that capture your businesss personality, and a short profile to enter.
To apply for a FedEx business grant, you need to meet the following criteria/eligibility requirements:
- Applicants must have been in operation for over a year.
- Applicants must have less than 50 employees.
- Applicants must have been using business shipping services within 12 months of applying.
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