Can a citizen of the US get a grant for a business for free?

Question

I was told , by an immigrant, that he got money for his business, home and car from the US gov't and did not have to pay back anything. Could this be true?

Answer 1

I am an immigrant and not once have I been offered by the US government free money for business, home and car. That guy is definitely pulling your leg.

It is hard to find grants to start a business -- whatever race, color or gender. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK - lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.

Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.


Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html

"The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments."

Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business -- THERE'S NONE.
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show

Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs

I suggest you read the following books to get ideas of how to finance your business:

Financing Your Small Business http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1572484500/powerhomebizguid
Small Business Financing: How and Where To Get It http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0808007386/powerhomebizguid
Financing the Small Business: A Complete Guide to Obtaining Bank Loans and All Other Types of Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580626815/powerhomebizguid
The SBA Loan Book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158062202X/powerhomebizguid
Angel Capital : How to Raise Early-Stage Private Equity Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471690635/powerhomebizguid
Financing Your Small Business (Barron's Business Library Series) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764124897/powerhomebizguid

Answer 2

Highly unlikely. He might have gotten some refugee assistance money that he didn't really need (with a large family, it could be a nice chunk of change), so he used it to start a business. He could also have gotten that money from the CIA for services rendered or from the FBI as a part of witness protection package...

Contrary to popular opinion, the U.S. government does not give out grants to buy houses or start businesses (with some exceptions that have to do with disaster recovery). If you want to see what the U.S. government grants really are, visit http://www.grants.gov/

Answer 3

The Master is proper- we cannot manipulate in which our tax bucks are getting used. Brian could also be right- you'll be able to refuse to pay taxes, however you can get royally screwed through the IRS. We cannot win. One day, we will be able to eventually get bored stiff and who is aware of what's going to occur. One day, I checked out my telephone invoice to discover an further tax to fund public colleges. I should not have a tuition-age little one, however sooner or later I will. Why must I have got to pay for the illegals' youngsters to be expert? Here, the colleges are shedding academics, chopping artwork and tune categories and extracurricular events for the scholars on the grounds that the state does not have sufficient cash to fund them; nevertheless, they discover the cash to fund the ESL categories and to rent extra bilingual academics. That's bull!