How to Apply and get a Business grant As a Student: You Want to know how to apply and get a business grant for your business, right?
Boom!!! Here is a nice guide on how to apply and get a business grant for your business.
As an entrepreneur, you can apply for a business grant and get it very easily with this guide. So the guide is also a solution to those who are seeking to know how to apply and get a business grant.
With a business grant, you can run your business without thinking of how and when to pay it back as the grant is usually nonrefundable.
Starting a business may be very challenging as you need money to put things in place. But what happens if you don’t have the money? That is where the problem is and that is the reason why a lot of entrepreneurs have decided to let down their business plans.
Grant can be a very great solution to this kind of challenge. If you are facing this kind of problem, then applying for a business grant is the solution for you.
You will be able to understand how to apply and get a business grant after reading this article. There are so many more things that you will learn on this page
What you will learn on this page:
- What is a business grant and how does a Business grant works?
- The differences between a grant and a loan.
- How to apply and get a business grant
- Where to get a business grant.
- Top Best Business Grants you can apply for
- How to Select the Best Grants to apply for
- How much can you get from a grant?
- How to use money from grants.
- Best business plan for entrepreneurs.
What is Business Grant and How Does it Work?
Before I start guiding you on how to apply and get a Business grant for your business, I will love to tell you what a business grant is and how it works. That is to help clarify what a business grant is and how it differs from loans.
Understanding what a business grant is and how it works will help you with a good insight on how to apply and get a Business grant for your business without going through a series of disappointments.
What is a business grant? A business grant is non-refundable money given to entrepreneurs, companies, governments or other organizations by either government or nongovernmental sectors and such money is usually designated for a specific business.
A business grant is usually non-refundable money irrespective of how much the money is.
So you can apply and get a business grant is for your business after going through this guide on how to apply and get a Business grant for your business.
What is a Grant?
A grant is money given a designated for a specific purpose. A grant is a gift of will. Like I said before, the Business grant is usually non-refundable irrespective of how much the money is.
What is a Loan?
A loan is different from a grant because a loan is money given for a particular purpose or business which has to be refunded at a designated period of time with interest (extra money).
Note: Loan interest is usually calculated in a time range based on the rate of interest the loaner chooses to charge you the receiver.
The loan is not very advisable for those who are not sure of how fast their business will grow and a loan usually needs collateral before it can be given to anybody. Read more and get a loan here
Where to Get a Business Grants.
Business grants can be classified into two categories as Governmental and Non-governmental grants.
As an entrepreneur, you can get a business grant from any governmental or non-governmental sector that gives grants. Some of such will be listed in this article as you read on.
Government Grants:
This is a kind of grant given to entrepreneurs by government sectors or governmental organizations. Government grants may come from either the federal or state level.
Getting a government grant is not very easy because you have to demonstrate that you are an expert in a certain area of business and a plan of action in an application for a specific grant.
The government grant is mostly for those with high business skills who wish to pursue a particular area of business that lie in the public interest.
Government grants best go for entrepreneurs who are good at establishing sustainable businesses that will satisfy the interest and needs of the citizens.
Non-government Grants:
This is a kind of grant that is given by non-governmental. Such may come from a single person, company, organization etc.
There are so many other institutions, such as corporations and interest groups that also give grants for projects in line with what they know are profitable to the society and the entrepreneur.
Non-government grants differs a bit from government grants which are mostly given for projects that are in some sense, related to the public interest.
Non-government grants can be used for any kind of business that interests the entrepreneur.
How to Apply and Get a Business Grant
Securing a grant is not very easy because it mostly requires applicants to demonstrate expertise in a certain area of business and a plan of action in that will be a benefit to the general public.
Another big challenge about being qualified for a business grant is that the number of applicants are always many.
Sometimes, it takes the organization giving the grant a period of time to go through all the applications and to access their business plans and strategy before they can arrive at the qualified number of persons they want.
So how do apply and get qualified for a grant? See some of the solutions below:
1. make sure you are eligible before the application:
Grants are given on a qualification basis. Grant givers will always want to give their grants to the most qualified applicants. So make sure you meet the qualification and eligibility standards before applying for a particular grant.
2. Apply on time:
Some grant givers may want to use a “first come first serve” criteria in giving their grant. So always stay updated about any grant you are interested in and apply immediately they open room for application.
We can also update you on that. So always visit us from time to time for new updates on that or use the comment box below to request daily updates from us.
3. Write a good business plan if you are requested to do so:
Let the business you are planning to put your grant into be a reasonable one. No one will give you money to invest in what he or she knows is not profitable.
So always look for a very profitable business and suggest the business that you will do if you are given a grant.
3. Be prepared for any Exam or Interview in case it comes up:
Some grants may require applicants to be interviewed or to sit for a particular exam. So have this in mind and always get ready for it anytime you go to apply for a grant.
4. Follow up after Application:
This is one of the mistakes people do. Don’t just sit back and wait for a letter to be sent to your doorpost. Make sure you make inquiries always about all the grants you have applied for.
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- Grants for Business and Students 22021
- Scholarships for University and College Students
- How to Study in the USA for free
Top Best Business Grants Apply for 2021.
Now that you have learned some other things about business grants, let me take you deeper to the top best business grants that you can apply for.
Below are some recommended top best business grants for entrepreneurs:
Available Corporate grants for businesses.
- FedEx’s Small Business Grant
- Lending Tree
- National Association of the Self-Employed (NASE)
- Fundera’s The Zach Grant:
- Idea Cafe’s Small Business Grants
- Walmart Foundation Grants
- Wells Fargo Community Giving Grants
- AT&T Aspire
Government Grants for Business:
SBA sponsors 3 different grants as follows:
- Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) – for research-based businesses with commercialization potential.
- Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) – similar to the SBIR program.
- State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) – to small businesses involved in exporting.
You can contact the SBA’s Office here
- SAM.gov Grants- formerly known as the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
- Challenge.gov
- Department of Agriculture (USDA) Grants
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Grants
- Department of Education Grants:
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Grants:
- Economic Development Administration (EDA):
Available Business Grants for Women
- The Amber Grants
- The Innovate Her Challenge
- The Eileen Fisher Community Partnerships Grant
- Cartier Women’s Initiative Award
- Open Meadows Foundation Grant Program
- Tory Burch Foundation Fellowship
Available Business grants for Veterans
- The StreetShares Foundation
- GrantWatch: GrantWatch only give daily updates on newly available grants for veterans.
Available Business grants for Minorities:
Other Available Business Grants You can Try.
- 100,000 Strong in the Americas
- Eugene Applebaum Dare to Dream Grant Program
- Global Innovation Exchange Funding Database grant program
Available Business Grants for Nigerians and Africans
- Bank of Industry (BOI)
- Diamond Bank BET Programme
- Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP)
- YouWiN Connect Nigeria
- GroFin Fund
- Lagos State Employment/Entrepreneur Trust Fund (LSETF)
7. AYEEN Financial Grants a.k.a Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs (A.Y.E)
How to Select the Best Grants to Apply for
- Go for trusted grants. You can make inquiries about their previous programs.
- Go for Grants that you surely know you are qualified for.
- Go for grants with a huge payments that will be able to drive your business to its success.
How much can you get from a Grant?
The amount of money you can get from grants is not specific because that fully depends on how much the grantor is paying.
So to know how much you can get from a particular grant, then you have to make a personal search on that with reference to the particular grant you are searching for.
How to use money from grants.
The only way to use grant money is to invest the money in businesses that you know are highly profitable. Don’t use grant money to buy commodities that will not bring any profit.
If you don’t know how to invest your grant then you should give the money out as a loan to other entrepreneurs and make interest from it.
I have a very nice and interesting guide that will help you to make a very good business plan that will yield so much profit within a very short period of time. See the guide here
What you should take away.
People or governments give grants as a means of empowerment which is aimed at so as to help the entrepreneurs to get to a level in which they can empower others.
So invest any money given to you as a grant very well and also empower others to invest in their dream businesses.
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