about grants?

Question

I was wondering if I would be able to get a grant at 17.

I would use the money to start a small video production company.

I've already started and gotten paid for get togethers, birthday parties, etc.

I'm know that the government doesn't just give away money. But next year I'm starting college...and what I'm doing now pays more than working at McDonald's or something like that.
So if I could get better equipment by then I could work thru college without struggling so hard.

Answer 1

Grants aren't hard to FIND, but they can be extremely difficult and time-consuming to GET.

There are essentially only 5 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.

Most of the 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 your City Hall for details.

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

And, there are some minority organizations that provide grants ... La Raza and the NAACP sometimes do.
http://www.nclr.org
http://www.naacp.org

Private companies sometimes help fund start-ups, especially if they think they will see some benefit from it. These are very difficult to find, but can sometimes be the easiest to get.


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.