Where can I go to receive government and private funding/grants for a new business?

Question

It will be a two-person partnership
Both are women
Both are in the minority group
Both are currently college students

Answer 1

There are essentially only 4 sources for grants. A little known fact it that you do NOT have to be a non-profit to get a grant, regardless of what others tell you ... I've helped for-profits apply for grants.

Federal grants are called Small Business Innovation Research grants. These are given primarily for some new innovation. You can find out what's available at:
http://www.sbirworld.com
There is also info on this site about how to apply.

Some cities offer grants to small businesses if they will locate in the downtown area, for the purposes of building up downtown traffic. Check with City Hall.

There are some governemnt grants for minority businesses. You can find info at:
http://www.mbda.gov

Finally, private foundations offer grants. You can get a list of most US Foundations and private grant sources at http://www.foundations.org/grantmakers.html.

Answer 2

Government grants are for specific reasons like researching a cure for something. You would need to write grant proposals and submit them to which ever agency you would think would fund your program. If you are blind there is a blind vendor program where they will set you up in federal buildings. Other than non profit I don't know what kind of companies would get grants since it would compete with businesses without grants.