Grants are a great way for non-profits and businesses to get funding for projects and for growth. However, there is a common misconception that there is a grant for everyone, regardless of their background, experience, project type, or the phase of their business growth. In this blog post, we will explore this myth and highlight some key factors. We will examine the grant landscape, focusing on grants for women-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned, and non-minority, male-owned businesses. Additionally, we will discuss the concept that grants are not emergency funds, and the importance of being “grant ready”.
Section 1: Understanding the Grant Landscape
There are over 86,000 grant foundations in the U.S., with the specific mission to help grow small businesses and non-profit entities. There is also over $1.2 trillion dollars in federal grants available each year. Grants can be broadly categorized into government and foundation sourced grants. In spite of the enormous federal funding and the vast list of foundations, the reality is that most grants have specific requirements to be met before an applicant is considered.
Federal grants are typically project-based grants, i.e., the government wants a specific project built, device invented, or research completed. Foundation-based grants, whether corporate or family-owned are mission-based, meaning, they are focused on specific missions such as helping women, minority, or veteran-owned businesses.
Foundation sourced grants are also commonly focused on the end recipient such as children, the poor, or those who live in economically disadvantaged areas. Other foundation grants focus on veterans, education, the elderly, and improving healthcare. Foundations with business oriented grants are typically less focused on the kind of work being completed than they are focused on who owns the business.
Government grants are commonly far larger than foundation-based grants, and commonly but not always have far more grant awards. They are administered by federal, state or local government agencies and have strict eligibility and usage criteria. In contrast, private grants are provided by foundations, corporations, or non-profits and may typically have more flexible eligibility and outcome criteria. Foundation grants are typically far less demanding than federal grants for types and amounts of documentation required to apply for a grant.
Section 2: Grants for Women-Owned Businesses
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of grants available to women-owned businesses. These grants are designed to support female entrepreneurs and encourage women to start their own businesses. Some of the popular grants for women-owned businesses include the Amber Grant, Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program, and Eileen Fisher Grant Program.
However, despite the availability of numerous grants for women owned businesses, competition for them is fierce, and can have higher thresholds than other grants. For example, some grants require that the business must have been in operation for a certain number of years or have a minimum annual revenue threshold. Some grants require fairly strict financial controls including board level governance, and audited financial statements. Therefore, while grants for women-owned businesses are plentiful in number, they are not necessarily accessible to all women owned businesses.
Section 3: Grants for Minority-Owned Businesses
Similar to women-owned businesses, there are grants available for minority-owned businesses that are designed to support and promote diversity in entrepreneurship. These grants are typically administered by foundations, corporations, or non-profits committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. Some of the popular grants for minority-owned businesses include the National Minority Supplier Development Council Business Consortium Fund, Huggies Brand’s Mom Inspired Grant Program, and the FedEx Small Business Grant.
While minority-owned businesses have a greater chance of accessing grants than general businesses, the eligibility criteria can still be challenging. For instance, some grants may require the business owner to be a member of a specific minority group or to demonstrate that the business is contributing to the development of a specified minority community.
Section 4: Grants for Veteran-Owned Businesses
Veteran-owned businesses also have access to grants, which are designed to support and encourage entrepreneurship among veterans. Many veteran-based grants include addiction recovery, access to health services, counseling, and job training. Veteran based grants are more prone to serve individuals wounded while on duty, including PTSD.
Veteran focused grants are often administered by government agencies such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) but are more likely administered by non-profit organizations staffed by veterans and committed to supporting veterans. Some of the popular grants for veteran-owned businesses include the SBA Veterans Business Fund, Street Shares Foundation Veteran Small Business Award, and National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program.
As with other grants, competition for veteran-owned business grants is intense, and the eligibility criteria can be challenging. For instance, some grants require that the business must be majority-owned by a veteran, while others require that the veteran must have a service-connected disability.
Section 5: Grants for Non-Minority, Male-Owned Businesses
While grants for women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned businesses are widely available, what about non-minority, male-owned businesses? While there are not as many foundation sourced grants explicitly for a business owned by non-minorities, non-women, etc., there are still many grants available; this is where a professional grade grant partner may be of value as they have a comprehensive set of search and filter tools, in addition to knowledge of where these types of grants may reside, and identifying mission alignment between the grantor and grantee.
Section 6: Be Grant Ready
In a prior blog, I’ve written about how to be grant ready, but to summarize, the following attributes are essential to be competitive for a grant whether for a small business or non-profit. These items include having the following five elements;
- pro grade logo
- website
- social media presence
- financial controls
- a growth plan, i.e., what would you do with a windfall of funds?
Conclusion:
While there are grants available for specific groups such as women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned businesses, the reality is that there is no grant for everyone in every state of grant readiness. Grants have specific eligibility criteria that must be met, and competition for them can be fierce.
Further, grants are not an emergency fund; if the business or non-profit is in dire financial straits, the grant may not arrive in time as they take from three to six months to arrive; if awarded. That said, there are grants for emergency financial purposes, but they tend to be in the $500 to $5,000 range. Those often have a shorter time to acquire but can still take sixty days at a minimum. Grantors want their gift to have maximum probability of impact for the longest term on a community or operation.
Therefore, if you are looking for a grant, it is essential to align the grantor mission to that of the grantee. It is also essential to have full compliance to the grant application package; it’s impressive how often application packages are incomplete, or they don’t align to the stated missions or objectives.
So, what is your grant story? We’d love to hear it. Drop by our website grantsforyou.org; we’d love to answer any questions and partner with you.
Warm Regards,Neil Reid