where is the best free site to search for grants?

Question

i am helping a friend do research but every site i come to is wanting cash. I live on a limited income and want to do some research for them

Answer 1

To search online you can seach the federal and state government sites for state and federal offices of the
Small Business Administration and the Department of Economic Development for grants or monies available for business development.

However the Federal Register posts all RFP (request for proposals for federal grants) for the federal government. You can google "Federal Register RFP and the current RFP's will come up. However all may not show up so you can go on the Federal Register website. Most RFP's are for state, city, county governments or non-profit organizations, technology and defense firms. Some are for women and minorities but may be administered through the local .

The Foundation Center has a website that lists all the foundations that give grants as well as their specifics area of interest and giving. Since there (might?) be a cost online, it is best to go to the local branch of the Foundation Center in your area. You can find your local branch on the website. Searching and locating grant monies is free, at all branches of the Foundation Center, including going to the actual Foundation Center in Washington DC. It is well worth a trip.. Most branches are in local libraries. Once again the grants are allocated for non-profit organizations, churches and church ministries. However if you are savy some non-profits will do a "flow through" where you write the grant and they use their non-profit tax status on the application and the grantor awards the grant to the non-profit who in turn gives it to you. Sometimes the non-profit will do it for a small fee written into the grant proposal budget and sometimes they require nothing.They will take their fee off the top upon reciept of the grant check. They also may decide to administer the grant monies and make sure you manage the grant money properly. Sometimes not. However it MUST BE indicated on the grant application or proposal that it is a "flow through". In most cases it is best to contact the individual foundation's office and get pre approval for the "flow through". Churches can also do a flow through for you, but most tend to oversee the allocations of the grant after they give it to you as well as most need to know the purpose and character of the grantee. They may also disburse your grant in payments to see if you management properly. Either way, you will at the end of the grant period need to present written accounting of the grant as well as an accounting of whether the intended purpose of the grant was accomplished.

This is a more effective way of getting funding for a start up or expanding new business. There are millions of dollars granted to each state to be given to non profit microenterprise organizations to be given to disadvantaged aspiring entreprenuers as well those with poor credit, or for those needing a microloan under $35,000 to start a business. Contact your local microenterprise agency in your area.

AEO and its members have defined microenterprise as a business with five or fewer employees requiring $35,000* or less in start-up capital. AEO estimates that there are over 20 million U.S microenterprises, which represent 17% of all private employment in the U.S. In addition, microenterprise represents a path from poverty to financial security for many low-income individuals.

* Loans of $35,000 and under are known as microloans.

Microenterprise Development Industry
The estimated 600 microenterprise development organizations (MDOs) operating in the U.S. exist to support disadvantaged entrepreneurs as they start or expand their businesses. MDOs can increase the chance of business success by bridging the gap between disadvantaged individuals and the tools they need to start and grow successful businesses. With the help of AEO services, MDOs offer business training, technical assistance, access to capital, and other services to entrepreneurs to assist them in realizing their dream of business ownership. For many low-income entrepreneurs MDOs represent the only opportunity to access the capital and business tools necessary for business start-up.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 2

Depending upon where you live you can find grants through your local government. In Upstate New York certain towns have WEB sites that tell a prospective home buyer about grants that are available for certain city areas. The grant may be 10,000 and you may have to live in the house for a certain number of years. This grant is to help you get into the house but the repair and renovations are expenses that you must bear. Assistance in Utility bills are available through you local utility if such a program exists in your area. Again in Upstate NY such a program does exist and you would have to call your local utility company. I am unaware of any assistance for home repair or assistance with mortgage payment. You are wise in avoiding the scams - they are everywhere on the WEB. You may live in an area where such grants are available through your local government. I hope I helped you some

Answer 3

It is hard to find grants to start a business. 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/mostrequesteditems/CON_FAQ2.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

For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center's Foundation Grants for Individuals Online http://gtionline.fdncenter.org . It's a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for "students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices." Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don't have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.

Answer 4

http://www.grantgate.com From what I have seen on this site so far it is completely free.

Answer 5

www.grants.gov

This is the ONLY official government website

Answer 6

www.grants.gov
www.cfda.gov