Getting government grants is a long and tedious process and has a lot of red tape. You can find current government grants on the Federal Grant site at http://www.grants.gov and you can view the type of software (http://www.clienttrack.com) used for community service organizations and/or governmental agencies. This software can be used for other businesses as well.

The client track software is used by most governmental and community service organization to interact with each other and know what services had been rendered or not. It is also used to see how much funds private investors / funders will donate to the organization.

Example: ABC Community Services helped Jane Doe with her utility bills. Jane Doe then went to XYZ Social Services for assistance with her utilities. Because ABC Community Services and XYZ Social Services uses Client Track, they are able to see that ABC Community Services helped Jane Doe with her utilities and therefore XYZ Social Services will decline her application.

This allows XYZ Social Services to help someone else and when it is timed for a second round of funding, both ABC Community Services and XYZ Social Services will receive grants because they helped all people they could without double dipping.

Also, it is easier to obtain funds if the organization is non-profit and it takes approximately 1 yr to obtain the status of 501c3.

It is also advised that you visit your local SCORE office (http://www.Score.org)for more information and sit in on some of their classes.

What you won't find at grants.gov is grants for a typical entrepreneur to start a small business. Period.

If you can navigate your way through the maze of links and pages you'll discover that grants are for very specific organizations not for me and you to start a business.

Sylvia
http://businessplanmentor.com
Business plan and start up resources

You are correct. It is hard for an individual or small business to receive government grants. Grants are very hard to get period. You will see many advertisements stating you can receive a grant as an individuals which isn't true. You must have a business and having a sponsor helps alot especially if your organization is non-profit.

The government has a lot of red tape. If a small business owner can get one or two non-profit sponsors, it could make the process a little bit easier. Having a sponsor does not guarantee that you will receive free money.

There are some companies that offer small business loans (www.commercialhelp.us) with no collateral, no documents but requires at least a 700 credit score, in some cases they will go as low as 680. If your credit score is lower than 680, you can use a credit partner such as a spouse, family member or trusted friend.