For the most part, federal grants are given to organizations and non-profit organizations to achieve specific societal and social aims. This doesn't preclude them being used for business, but the best way to get federal grant money in this fashion is to apply for the grant in partnership with a non-profit, so that the non-profit can hire your company to do the work needed.
Exceptions to this are the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs, which are designed to foster research from small companies into solving problems various federal agencies want solved. SBIR grants are research grants, for the most part. You have to demonstrate that you have the capabilities to meet the problem. SBIR grants come in three phases ? phase 1 grants tend to be small, around $100,000, and are there for people to make proposals to win larger grant development processes. From the SBIR program's perspective, it's better to spend for 20 phase 1 grants and sort through the applicants for the phase 2 grants, to finally award two or three phase 3 grants to, to take the concept on to implementation.
Most Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants are given in technical fields, such as military training and simulation, medical research, and ecological remediation.
Other grants that can be had are educational grants, grants given to people of assorted ethnic groups and grants given to women starting small businesses. There are several grant giving agencies listed on the Internet, and, as always, a little library time can pay off for you.
Project grants are a category of grant given for the completion of a specific project. This is good for covering project development costs, but not the overhead of running a business ? still, if you're looking to supplement the income stream of your business, project grants are a good way to go about it.
Federal money for other functions related to business can be searched for at http://www.govbenefits.gov.
As you read up on individual grant programs, keep an eye peeled for restrictions on what you can use the funds for. You will have to provide an accounting of how the money was spent, and on what.
Make sure you take advantage of all of the grant programs the federal government offers. If these grant sources aren't used, they will disappear.
The first place to look for federal grants is the government, which provides the largest number of grants to businesses and other organizations.
An excellent and comprehensive place to begin your search for a federal grant is the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, or CFDA. This catalog offers 15 different types of federal domestic assistance, including formula grants and project grants.
The governments catalogue of Federal domestic assistence is a good free source of how to apply , visit http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.TYP_ASSISTANCE_DYN.show
The Application for Federal Assistance , standard form 424, is what you will usually use, although certain agencies may have other forms you will need to fill out as well. The CFDA also gives help with writing the grant itself, and explains all the parts of a grant proposal.
You should also check out http://www.Grants.gov. This website lists all types of federal grants that the government offers. It offers a search engine that you can use to find grant opportunities, and you can also download an application for writing a grant proposal here as well.
Another useful site is http://www.USA.gov . Here they list http://USA.gov for Nonprofits.
In addition to the government, another place to look for grants is foundations and non-profit organizations. There are a couple of great websites that offer a lot of information about grants available through foundations and non-profits. One is The Foundation Center. One especially unique and useful feature of this site is a listing, both in a book form and online version, of Foundation Grants to Individuals. This lists, all in one place, grants for individuals rather than non-profit organizations. There is a small subscription rate for the online service, and the book is available for purchase.
This is only a brief overview of the Federal Grant system and how it can help you
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