Business grants- How to apply

The investment sum, output capacity and the company’s profits decide the size of a business venture. An enterpriser may or may not have enough funds to set out his own business venture or develop an existing one. In such a condition, the choices available are to either obtain a bank loan or to apply for a government grant. While a bank loan needs to be repaid with high values of interest, business grants are not required to be paid back to the government.

A business grant is basically a sum of money received by an individual to start a new business venture or to facilitate the smooth running of an already existing one. To figure out how to apply for a business grant can be rather an annoying job and a confusing one too. There are no advertising whatsoever from the United States government regarding the kind of grant or the sum of the grant offered. While any legitimate United States resident is eligible for this grant, there are certain qualifications to be fulfilled before applying for business grants. Grants are given for the companies to start, for elaboration of an existing business venture and also to bail out companies which are financially weak.

In order to obtain a business grant, some steps are to be followed. You need to first assess your business to verify if you are eligible to apply for a grant and if yes, the certain category you need to apply under. If you do not qualify for a grant, then your application may be rejected. Your business proposal should clearly state the purpose of getting the grant. Grants for private demands are not encouraged and thus you need to register the company to reinstate that the grant is for business purposes.

To apply for business grants, you must take an application form from the agencies that offer the grants. As the process is tedious and long, applying online would be an easier option as it saves time and also increases your probabilities of receiving the grant. The procedure online is really user friendly and it gives you a step by step guide by providing you with an FAQ section. An online grant request is given a Financing Opportunity Number which is has to be quoted during application and also for registering on the Central Contractor Registry.

The most serious part is to write your business proposal. The proposal should be kept simple and should cover all the questions that may be presented by the grant commission. The project undertaken must be concisely described in the proposal and should be a realistic one. Details about the purpose, goals and finances must be distinctly stated in the proposal. You can look for help from the local branch of SBA or SBDA in drafting the business proposal.

To acquire business grants, it is obligatory to present all the required papers. If your documentation is incomplete, then, even a good project proposal will not get the grant.

Government Grants are available to everyone. However, the Government does NOT come to you. You have to take action to apply for grant kit and claim this free money.