I was told that i should be able to access grants without paying, anyone know how i do that?

Question

I am tryin to get a business started, a travel plaza to be exact. I have a grant proposal ready but i have no idea how to find these grants. I've been searching and they all seem to want money for a cd or some crap. Anyone know of any sites or anything that could help me out and what kind of grants should i be looking for?

Answer 1

There are a lot of scams out there promising you grants to help you start a business or pay bills or for whatever purpose. Beware. You may want to read the warnings FTC has issued against these "grant" companies:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/03/grantresources.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt134.htm

Here is also one of the warnings issued by the Better Business Bureau http://www.concord.bbb.org/tips_timesharescams.html

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 if you buy books on "how to get grants" or list that supposedly has information on grants -- all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is the same - hardly any grants for starting a for profit business.

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/mostrequesteditems/CON_FAQ2.html

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"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."
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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

Answer 2

At your state's web site you should be able to find info about grant opportunities from federal, state, and local governments.

Also check out the Small Business Administration - http://www.sba.gov/
The "services" and "local resources" tabs should provide a wealth of information.
Pay particular attention to the Small Business Development Centers; they are often affiliated with university business schools and provide a range of free and/or low-cost services to business starting out.

Note: Grant proposals almost universally require a business plan and proposed budget (not necessarily in minute detail) and the SBDC folks can help you prepare these.

Answer 3

The Government has a website for this, but I can't remember the URL and I am in an alternate browser. Why don't you do a search for gov.grants?