We often hear from entrepreneurs and small business owners who are seeking federal grants to support their activities.
The promise of “free money” to launch or grow a business is alluring. But, is there any truth to the idea?
In the following video, we address this question and provide additional tips for entrepreneurs and small business owners looking for government funding.
The video is based upon this blog post from our Exploring Eligibility series. We encourage you to share the video and help educate others about federal grant funding.
Grants.gov Community Blog 
In the immortal words of Gomer Pyle: “Thank ya, thank ya, thank ya!”
I cannot count the number of times I have told people during my free grant consultations that there is no such thing as a grant to start a business. I think some of the confusion comes about not only from those who profit from deliberate misinformation but when a non-profit acts as a fiscal sponsor and a small business is helped with grant funding.
Sometimes press releases from government agencies cause confusion as well. For example, when SBA releases its annual allocation to assist Small Business Development Centers, there has been confusion that a small business can get direct funding – cash in their pockets – to help their business. What they can receive is a ton of really good counsel from SBDC personnel at no cost to them but the headlines read something like “Small Businesses to get Millions from the Feds”.
Thank you for spreading the word and for these very helpful blog posts.
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I’m wanting to start a business I’m needing some Financial help is there anyone or any place that I can go to talk to in order to get this assistance with federal aid
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Hi Darlene, have you gone to the resources referenced in the video? Check out the Small Business Administration’s website as well as your state and local government offices for potential support of small businesses.
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