Small business grant availability

Federal grants for small business start up and development

Unless your business involves the development of new technology or is a non-profit organization, the Federal Government does not offer any types of grants at this time. ( See alternative grant resources below)

The Federal Government does offer grants to programs that fall under the following categories:

Agriculture Arts
Business and Commerce
Community Development
Disaster Prevention and Relief
Education
Employment, Labor and Training
Energy
Environmental Quality
Food and Nutrition
Health
Housing
Humanities
Information and Statistics Law, Justice and Legal Services
Natural Resources
Regional Development Science and Technology
Social Services and Income Security
Transportation

You can find out more about these Federal grants by visiting Grants.gov . Grants.gov is a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs and access to approximately $400 billion in annual awards.

Alternative sources for small business grants

When searching for small business grants, you should start by looking at the state where your business is located. Many states have agencies designed to offer grants and other types of business assistance in order to encourage small business growth and development in their area.

Most states offer a Small Business Development Center. SBDC's are a nationwide network of sites, typically housed at colleges and universities, that provide training and advice to small businesses on all aspects of starting, financing and managing a company.

You can find a Small Business Development Center in your state by using the drop down below:

Other resources for finding small business funding and grants:

ACCION USA is part of ACCION International, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization operating globally, with the mission of giving people the financial tools they need to work their way out of poverty. U.S. ACCION Network is the largest of its kind in the United States, having disbursed over $154 million in small business loans to more than 16,000 entrepreneurs and has won the following awards: Presidential Award for Excellence in Microenterprise Development for Program Innovation (1998), One of America’s 100 best charities by Worth magazine (2001). Fast Company's Social Capitalist Award for “changing the world by using entrepreneurial genius to solve some of the most daunting social problems.” (In 2004, 2005 and 2006)

ACCION also offers an Online Small Business Loan Application

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