Saturday, May 26, 2007

Grant Programs For The Already Established For-Profit Business

Grant programs for the already established for-profit business do exist. For instance the Small Business Administration has a grant (not a loan) program that provides up to $100,000 in grant money to test the feasibility of a new product or service idea. What you are proposing would come under the heading of a service idea. If you do manage to get this grant then you are then eligible for the 2nd level of the grant which will entail bringing your service idea to the market.


You will have to prepare a proposal and budget that will have to be submitted. A quote from my notes follows "they favor well researched and well reasoned applications". It has been advised that people that want to apply for this grant research the program's funding priorities - meaning find out what areas they are leaning more towards - to better help them when they submit their application materials. Now some states such as Indiana will match the grant money that you do receive so of course this means that you will get double the grant money


Basically what this means is that you will have to prepare a proposal and budget for what it is you want to do. You can find out more about these grant programs from the SBA's website as well as finding the necessary forms and application forms that you will need to find out.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Still Think That There Are No Grant Programs Out There?

....One day I was driving in the car with my dad and I was talking about how I knew if I could just get the word out there my business would be successful. If I had more money for advertising I could try many different things. My dad started talking about a friend of his that was getting paid to write a book. I asked my dad if I could speak to this guy. One phone call later and I had learnt about the grant program. This grant program is a government funded scheme that pays ‘life support’ income to you every two weeks for a year while you run your business. I went to an information session, and two months later, having written a proper business plan, fronted at a panel interview and having been assigned a nice business mentor I was on the scheme for a year. I received just under $200 per week, which technically I was supposed to use to support me whilst I spent time running my business, but since I was still living at home with minimal expenses I could use the money towards marketing my dot.com business better. If you are an Australian and you would like to learn more about this program try googling for it. If you are not an Australian I suggest you hunt around for similar business start-up grants or sponsorship programs as they can provide much needed cash and business mentoring.......

Even My Own State Has Daycare-Related Grant Programs

Even in my own state of Pennsylvania the US Dept. Of Welfare has worked with a childcare grant program which awards grants to both for-profit and non-profit daycare services that will serve or agree to serve children from low-income families. The minimum grant award amount is $50,000! The maximum is $1 Million Dollars! Special consideration will be given to those that provide childcare services during non-traditional hours. Non-profits can also apply on the behalf of for-profits. Contact information is provided via regular snail mail address, phone and fax number and website.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Emergency Financial Need?

As one charitable organization puts it "can make sure that no hard-working person is ever forced to choose between taking a child to the doctor and putting food on the table...."

The majority of us have those emergency financial situations that pop up from time to time! An unexpected car expense, a costly repair or even just having enough money for food.......these kind of emergency financial crisis situations come up all the time and there are more than a few charitable organizations that want to help and they do help people by providing emergency financial funding for things like car repairs and medical bills. Last year one charitable organization provided emergency financial assistance to over 3000 individuals and families!

So maybe the next time that I tell you that there are charitable organizations that have emergency financial assistance programs available to those that have an emergency financial need - maybe you'll listen to me!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Uh Oh - The Government Has Did It Again!

The Social Security numbers of 38,700 people who received Agriculture Department grants have been posted on a government Web site since 1996, but they were taken down last week. Free credit monitoring is being offered to those affected. The security breach was only noticed last week and promptly closed, the Agriculture Department and Census Bureau announced Friday.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Starting A Home Daycare and Grants?

I am trying start a home daycare center and need grant money to help me out with my business. Could you please give me so(me) info on grants for small business for women, etc. I need an name and address so that I can write a proposal for a grant.

Sincerely, S~

Number one it is not as simple as writing a proposal. You have to know the guidelines and the requirements of each grant program you are applying to because no two will ever be the same. Besides there are many grant programs that let you apply online - not all of them but some of them - and that doesn't mean that you should not apply to those that don't have such capabilities - you should (and can) apply to as many grant programs that you are eligible for.

Number 2 you have provided very LITTLE information! Do you have any kind of business plan in place? The one thing that I can truly say about all grant programs is that they are going to want to know WHERE and WHAT the grant money will be used for. So that means you will have to have some kind of plan in place! You should start with a basic form outlying your plans and expenses (at least for the first year). This information can be found on the Internet. Once you have found and compiled this information for your own specific business plan then you can start to look for the grant programs that you are eligible to apply for. Every person/business/organization that is applying for a grant will have their own specific needs and there are just too many possible grant programs out there to just start listing them which is something that I will not do if you are not a client! There is just too much work that is involved when finding grant programs that one is eligible for. Will your daycare be a for-profit, non-profit or a combination of both? Will you be serving low-incomed families? What will your hours be? What will be the age range of the children that your daycare will accept? What programs will you be offering the children? What about meals? Etc.,,,,,,,,, These kinds of questions have to be answered before ANY grant programs can be investigated. Once you start finding these grant programs yourself you will see and know the time and effort that it takes to find these programs. That is why it is done for clients only. Every client of mine has to fill out a basic questionaire so you should take a look at these questions because they have to be answered in order for you to get started looking for the grant funding programs that you may be eligible for.

Lastly there are also a number of entrepreneurial grant programs out there. These kinds of programs are for those that want to start their own business whether it be a daycare, a restaurant or even a film company. Some are specifically geared towards minorities, women and/or both. There is even one grant program that provides grant funding to help people fulfill their dreams! So when you start looking for these programs on your own don't just limit yourself to "daycare" grants. Find as many as you are eligible to apply for and then apply for them.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Beware of Grant Scams!

Here is a link to a previous post that I made on another one of my blogs

Beware of Grant Scams!

A very good warning sign is if these companies guarentee that you will get the/a grant. If they say this then you should be wary of them because winning a grant award can't be guarenteed. Your grant application has to be reviewed and if it best meets the objectives of the grant entity awarding the grant then it is more than likely that you will get the grant money.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Matthew Lesko? My Opinion?

I don't think that you will like my opionion of Matthew Lesko because it is a favorable one.

According to his bio he started out finding grant programs for businesses. When he saw the number of available grant programs out there and the number of people that were eligible for them he decided to tell people about them.

I see that his suit of question marks gets made fun of alot but he has said himself that he used that tactic so that more attention would be drawn to him and to what he was saying about government grants - and it has worked!

I have also read about the allegations that have been brought up against him both legally and vocally.

But as someone that does this kind of thing for a living I can definitely agree with him that there are many grant programs out there that people are eligible for but they don't even know about them.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Questions Asked And Answered

Hello,

I somehow ran into your site while doing a research on grant program for child care centers. My husband and I would like to begin the process, however we want to do this the right way and go through the process. Do you do consulting and if so, how much do you charge? We are more than willing to do the leg work, just don't know where to start!



It depends on what you mean by consulting. My general practice involves getting the preliminary answers from my clients. For a look at the questions that have to be answered please go to:


Questions That Have To Be Answered When One Is Looking For Grant Programs That They Are Eligible For!


Once I have adequate answers to these basic questions then I can start finding grant and funding programs that the person or organization may be eligible to apply for. All the grant and funding program information is then forwarded to that person. That way they can decide whether or not they want to apply to the grant or funding program themselves or whether they want to hire a grantwriter (be it me or someone else) to do the grantwriting for them.

Friday, May 11, 2007

I Got Another Call From A Woman That Wants To Start A Daycare In Her Home

Firstly, for all of you that are thinking about starting a daycare in your home please take a look at my Daycare Basics 101 page. It has a list of questions that you should ask yourself when you're thinking about opening a daycare business in your home. The same questions will also apply if you're thinking of opening a daycare business outside your home.

Number 2 - This page also has a contact link to my email address where you can email me to ask any further questions. What I don't understand is why this woman would call me instead of sending me an email. Other than the clients that I already have, most of the other calls that I get basically all ask the same question and that is "What kind of grants are available to me so that I can start my own daycare business in my home?" This kind of question is not easily answered and that's why I created the Daycare Basics 101 website. Each and every one of my clients has to answer a specific number of questions before I will even attempt to find any grant programs that they may be eligible for. If you take a look at my daycare website you will see that I list at least three grant programs that can be applied for if you are thinking of starting your own daycare in your home. All of those grant programs listed have certain eligibility requirements which means that not everyone can apply. And those are not the only grant programs that are out there for people that want to start their own daycare business whether it be inside or outside the home.

The website also says that you should have a business plan. This is going to be necessary because any organization that is going to award you grant money is going to want to know that you are serious about what you are doing!

So it is not as simple as just asking me about what grant programs are available to start your daycare when I don't even know the specifics of the kind of daycare it is that you want to start. Grant programs just do not work that way!

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

My Very 1st (Professional) Grant Client Was.......

Although I was doing grant research and grantwriting before I even knew that people did it professionally my very first client was a single mother that was looking for financial help. She was raising two children alone, plus she was going to school and she was doing an internship in her field of study plus she wanted to start her own business. I found 4 programs that she was eligible to apply for. One was a grant program from an organization that was specifically interested in helping single mothers continue with their education. They provide financial help to help pay back student loans. They also have other financial grant programs to help single mothers. Another grant program that I found for her was from another foundation that had grant programs to help people out financially. The third grant program that I found for her provided grant awards to minorities who wanted to start their own business. The fourth program that I found for her was a program that provided financial assistance to students.

Now these were just 4 grant programs that I found for her. But that didn't mean that she didn't qualify for more because she did! What stands out the most is that she was continuing her education in a certain field of study and I have since come to find out that there are many more grant programs that she is eligible to apply for.

If you are a single mother that is looking for financial grant programs to help you, you should know that there are lots of grant programs out there that you may be eligible to apply for. Even though some would consider this kind of financial assistance a "hand out" a lot of these grant programs exist simply because they want to help people make a better life for themselves. And the people who are most serious about wanting to change their life for the better stand the best chance of being able to get a grant (or two, or three.................)

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Are There Any Grant Programs For Home Improvement?

Are there any grant programs for home improvement(s)? The answer is yes. For example I live in a historical area called LaMott. Because of its historical nature property owners are eligible to apply for a $25,000 grant to make improvements on their property. This grant covers all types of improvements including inside and outside of the property. If you live in a historical area you should check and see if this grant program is available in your area.

Grant programs for home improvements aren't just limited to properties in a historical area. If you are disabled or handicapped and need some improvements made to your home there are grant programs available. If you are a vetern who is disabled then there are grant programs for you too.

There are also grant programs for those that need repairs relating to heating and plumbing. I know of a grant program that exists that will evaluate your heating system and make repairs. If your heating system can't be repaired then you will get a new heating system installed at NO cost to you!

Monday, May 7, 2007

Grants For An Emergency Financial Need

Believe it or not there are actual grant programs for those that have an emergency financial need. These kind of emergency financial needs can include receiving money to pay a car repair bill, paying a rent or mortgage payment and even an emergency medical bill.

But please keep in mind that you have to be able to prove your financial emergency. Usually this will require you showing proof - such as a bill or statement - of your emergency financial need. You may also have to submit an application as well. But if your need is genuine then you should have no problem with this. I have seen payments made to landlords, mortgage companies, heating bill companies, car repair places and even payment made to a moving company. However please remember that you will have to apply to these programs and unfortunately just applying to them does not mean that you will automatically get the money. Your request for money has to be submitted and reviewed just like all the other applications that have been submitted. You don't automatically get the money just because you apply.

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Are There Any Grant Programs To Help Start A Business?

Are there any grant programs to help start a business? The answer (of course) is YES! But there is a "but" here. It will depend on the type of business that you want to start. I know of programs that award cash awards of $20,000 and over to people that want to start their own business. Most of these programs involve you submitting a business plan. You have to be serious about what you are doing and more importantly you have to show them that you are serious about what it is you want to do.

On my Daycare Basics 101 page I mention two programs that people can apply to if they want to start their own business.

You should also check your own state's website to see if they have any grant programs that will help you to start your business. There is even a program for veterans that want to start their own business.

Please take a look at my Grant Basics 101 page and look at the list of people that have actually received grants.