Business Starting Grants

How do i go about filing a small business Grant?

I heard that since I am an ex-con I am considerered a minority and am eligible for a small busisness loan and or a grant. The only prob is I don't know how to go about filing, help please Thanx.

Public Comments

1. visit library for real answers.
2. Go to http://www.grants.gov for a list of government grants and how you can apply for them. However, there are no grants for a for profit business unless you are opening a daycare and then it is a minimal amount. If you need money, you will need to apply for a loan. No lender will talk to you unless you provide them with a valid business plan. Go to http://www.sba.gov , http://www.score.org or http://www.bplan.com for sample business plans and instructions on how to write a business plan. Then, go to http://www.score.org/ and in the upper left hand corner, enter your zip code. On the next screen, you will get information on the nearest SCORE chapter. Call them and arrange for a free meeting with a SCORE counselor to review your business plan and discuss various loan options available to you. SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). SCORE has 389 chapters in locations throughout the United States and its territories, with 10,500 volunteers nationwide. Both working and retired executives and business owners donate time and expertise as business counselors.
3. No, there are no federal grants for convicted felons. Excons are not considered as minority. You can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture. Even if you buy books on "how to get grants" or list that supposedly has information on grants -- all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs There is a non-profit organization called Prison Entrepreneurship Program which is described as "a Houston-based nonprofit organization that leverages the skills of senior business executives to constructively redirect these talents and equip inmates and former inmates with entrepreneurial training—enabling them to productively re-enter society." http://prisonentrepreneurship.org/ As for small business loans, felons typically find it hard to get one, even SBA. SBA adopts a "cautious" approach to lending to felons and oftentimes bases its decision on how serious the crime committed was and whether there is strong likelihood that the offense will be repeated again.