GRANTS 

We've all seen the headlines: "Millions in free government money for your business." Late-night infomercials, seminars and websites promoting the availability of grant money to entrepreneurs that are starting or expanding businesses. Sounds too good to be true? ......It is!

The truth is that federal and state governments do not provide grants for starting or expanding small businesses. However, the U.S. government does offer a wide-variety of low-interest loans and venture capital financing programs to help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Some federal and state agencies award grants for very specialized business activities such as scientific research and development. 

Federal and state grants are only available to support non-profit organizations, lending institutions, and state and local government programs that provide technical and financial assistance to small businesses.  If your business is one of these organizations, www.grants.gov provides grant opportunities available from federal agencies. 

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce and is the only federal agency created specifically to foster the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses in America. 

Noza is a private organization that has a searchable database containing 26 million charitable donation records.  Charities access their database and search for prospective donors for their organizations.

Remember federal and state government agencies do not award grants for starting, managing and expanding small businesses.