Every Way to Get Small Business Grants in 2021! [Local, State, and Federal Grants]

if you're strapped for cash or simply want to take advantage of free money that's available in grants then i'm going to give you every resource available to get money right now yes even if you're not hurting for money you may still want to take advantage of some of these opportunities so your competitors don't blow past you and leave you in the dust because they're taking advantage of it by the time i'm done with this video there should not be anything else for you to do but to get to work and start completing these applications at the right places don't watch any other youtube video on how to find a small business grant don't search for another keyword phrase in google because i've already done all of that for you and will give you everything that you need to know right now hi my name is sherman i'm a cpa and i own two companies that help small businesses specifically in this video i'm going to tell you exactly where i would go to find money for my business immediately i'm going to give you the most effective ways to find grants regardless of the time period and i'll also go over some of the hot grants related to the covid recession i'll tell you what you need to know in order to start applying and the most common mistakes that i see my clients make time and time again when they're searching for funding for their business now if this video helps you in any capacity please give this video a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel we're all about helping small businesses grow so with that said let's begin first of all what is a grant let's go ahead and get this out of the way a grant is simply a sum of money that is given for a particular purpose it is most commonly given by governments and sometimes other organizations now other organizations such as non-profits are very important here because the government frequently provides funding to non-profit organizations who in turn grant money to small businesses now many people ask me well what's the difference between a grant and a loan it's very simple a grant does not have to be paid back and a loan does now if you do not use a grant for the specified purpose you may be required to pay back the full amount and possibly suffer more consequence so only apply for grants that are specific to your business needs now that that's out of the way let's talk about the most effective ways to get grants generally the most effective way to receive grant funding is to start where you are start with your local city or county government then move up to your state and federal government local government grants are generally less competitive and also more intentional about serving small businesses in their areas so let's start with local government first now there are a few different places you can find local grants number one you can find them at your local small business development center number two you can find them at your local economic development authority and the number three you can call your elected officials offices directly to provide you with grant options now let's discuss all of these options starting with local small business development centers also referred to as sbdcs sbdcs are organizations that are funded directly by the government to support small businesses in addition to sbdc's the small business administration more commonly referred to as the sba may also have local chapters that address the needs of small businesses in your area as well to start just search for local sbdc's in your area and browse their websites most will have financial programs and assistance right on their website for example i live in atlanta georgia and when i search for atlanta small business development center this is what shows up i can browse their website for financial resources or call them directly now i strongly recommend calling these chapters directly as they may have access to grant programs that are designed specifically for your small business now let's move on to the second tactic which involves contacting your local economic authority most cities or counties have an economic development center in short these centers want to create better opportunities for people in their communities and what do you think is the best way to create those opportunities for people by creating jobs and they cannot create jobs without businesses which is why this is a great place to start to find business grants for your business these centers spend enormous amounts of time and money finding ways to attract businesses to just simply come to their communities they provide grants loans tax credits and so much more for businesses to come to their community they literally bend backwards to spur economic growth in their area this is practically why amazon virtually pays no taxes because of government incentives to bring their corporate business to specific areas so to find your city's economic authority just search google for your city's economic authority for example when i search for atlanta economic authority i find invest atlanta now due to invest atlanta i save over 100 000 per year in business taxes through their tax credit programs but i'll save that for another video my only point is this stuff is real so be sure to subscribe to our channel to learn every way to grow your business effectively anyway find your economic development authority view their programs and call them directly to find grants for your business now let's move on to the third tactic which involves calling on your elected officials directly as funny as it sounds calling your elected officials office is a hack that most for-profit grant companies use to find grants for their customers now here's the truth government spending in the united states represents one third of total spending in our country the government themself is a major contributor to the net worth of our country this is why corporations spend billions of dollars in lobbying so they can tap in to the government funds and incentives to grow their business now fortunately for small businesses there are already incentives set aside for you you just need to know where it is so to get to the point this is what you need to do first find out what district you're in you can do this by using a website that i found called openstates.org next just pop in your zip code to find elected officials that specifically serve your area lastly click the official's name and call them directly a representative from their office will normally answer when they pick up just say hi i'm a small business owner in your district i'm seeking assistance with obtaining grants and was hoping to gain some information about available grants in this area i promise guys don't be shy about this these people are in office to serve you your tax dollars are being used to fund these programs so as a citizen of that district you have every right to inquire on what grants they have available they will either help you or point you in the right direction you may also ask them for information about non-profit organizations that are also doing grants for small businesses oftentimes there are many more organizations that exist than just the sbdc or sba for example east cooper community outreach is a community-based non-profit in charleston south carolina they specialize in helping low-income people in their community obtain financial aid these are the type of organizations that you're probably not going to find searching on google but these are also the organizations that you can find by picking up the phone and calling your elected official's office and here's a major hack you can also ask them directly for a letter of recommendation to help you obtain specific grants yes elected officials can endorse your company to help you obtain funding now this does not guarantee that you'll get it but it surely does help but what do you think about these tips so far is it helpful let me know in the comments below if it is please help me out by hitting the like button below now let's move on to state and federal government grants state grants are generally more competitive than local grants but what do you have to lose at the end of the day this is free money available to people and as long as you fit the criteria there's no reason why you should not apply okay now here's how to get started first find your state department's economic development authority this follows the same exact process that i gave you for the local example when i search for georgia economic development small business grants on google it takes me to the exact page where i can view all the loans and grants available for my business do the same thing in your state and see what you can find once you find your state's economic authority don't hesitate to call them to get the exact information that you need i can't emphasize this enough pick up the phone and call these people remember they are here to help you now let's talk a little bit about federal grants then i'll tell you what you need to do in order to be successful in applying for these type of loans now federal grants like state grants are traditionally more competitive due to the amount of businesses applying for them but right now this has changed dramatically due to the covet recession we've seen the federal government support small businesses like they never have before an effort to stop small businesses from going out of business and for them halting job creation now the first place i recommend to find federal grants is sba.gov the sba is the only federal agency dedicated to small businesses and provide capital for them as well this is where the most popular federal grants are listed for small businesses this includes things like the paycheck protection program also known as the ppp loan and the eidl which is the economic injury disaster loan now i know what you may be thinking you might say sherman i want a grant i thought this was about grants not loans but wait before you do that here's the thing these programs work like grants if used correctly for example the ppp loan was essentially a forgivable loan if it was used for specific expenses like rent and employee salaries anyway read between the lines to make sure you fully understand these programs so to get started go to sba.gov view their funding programs and find programs that best suit your needs okay so at this point i've given you local non-profit state and federal options to secure grant funding now let's make sure that you're buttoned up correctly so that when you start applying for funding you have a good chance of getting accepted let's talk about what you need to have in my top tips for success before you start applying for small business grants you should have these things done first make sure your business is incorporated into an entity your business should have a unique employer federal identification number that shows that you own a real business secondly your business and personal taxes should be complete grant providers will want to know the current standing of your business including your income make sure your tax returns are up to date for the most recent tax period third your business books should be up to date in most cases you must provide your financial records for your business in order to qualify for certain grants they'll want this to make sure that you have an actual need for the money that you're requesting fourth you should be operating in a separate business bank account remember grants are only free if you use the money appropriately to make it easier for yourself to do your books and for them to audit you if funds are used correctly conduct your business transactions from a business bank account finally you should have a plan for the use of the grant funds if you're awarded grant money what will you do with it you should know this before you apply for grants they're going to want to know what your plan is for the money that they're giving you you can take this a step further by forecasting your financials based off of receiving the grant money show them what you're going to accomplish through the use of those grant funds for yourself and for your customers by tackling these items in advance you will have a better chance of obtaining grant funds quickly in short you're going to make it easy for grant providers to give you the money you need to run a successful business if you need help with any of these things like setting up a business entity filing your business taxes catching up your books or financial projections just contact us and we'll be happy to help you we do this every single day for our small business clients otherwise let's quickly summarize this video so you can get straight to work on applying for grants right away here's the recap first we tackle the question of what is a grad remember a grant is simply a sum of money used for a particular purpose as we discussed make sure you can clearly articulate what purpose you will use grant funds for when applying next we spent time discussing where to find grants we recommend generally starting at the local level with your city or county government find out who's running the show in your district call them and ask them where you can find grants then branch out into seeking state and federal grants lastly we discuss what you should have in order to be successful in your grant search you should have an incorporated entity completed tax returns up-to-date books and most importantly a plan on how you intend on using grant funds i hope you enjoyed the content of this video if you did please click the like button below and subscribe to our channel for more content on how to grow your business talk to you soon

Channel: LYFE Accounting

Views: 206,770

Rating: 4.9641724 out of 5

Keywords: small business grants, local grants, federal grants, state grants, small business funding

Id: E8aIrNs29ck

Length: 15min 24sec (924 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 26 2020