Grant Competitions for Small Businesses

By: Radio Biz Coach Margaret Jackson ¦ AM1220 KDOW ¦ https://businessontheedge.biz

Grants

are competitive processes; they are not taken lightly or submitted carelessly. Do your research and provide a solid response. Use your business plan as a tool to respond to the grant opportunity. The business plan is an excellent ally to growing, developing, financing, and sustaining your business. Before you apply for the grant, read the entire grant before responding. Read the requirements to determine if you qualify to apply. If not, can it be remedied to qualify? If you are not eligible, quickly move on to the next grant opportunity. Do not miss the grant submission deadlines, and watch out for the different time zones. You may have to submit two or three hours earlier. Try to submit your grant the day before its due date. Give yourself time to submit the grant. It will remove the stress of submitting at the last minute. Enough said, don’t miss it.

Here are some 2023 Grants to put on your radar,

1. The Amber Grant https://ambergrantsforwomen.com/all-grants/

WomensNet founded the Amber Grant in 1998. It was established to honor the memory of Amber Wigdahl, who died at 19 years old. She had dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. The Amber Grant is a monthly grant competition awarding two $10,000 Amber grants to women entrepreneurs monthly. It has four types of grants, the Monthly Amber Grant, the $25,000 Annual Amber Grant, The Quarterly Startup Grant, and the Qurterly Non-Profit Grant.

2. National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) Growth Grant https://www.nase.org/become-a-member/member-benefits/business-resources/ growth-grants

NASE has awarded nearly $1,000,000 to small business members since 2006. The business development grant is worth up to $4,000 and can be used for marketing, advertising, hiring, expansion, and other business needs. You will need to be a member to apply.

3. Grants.gov

Grants.gov is a database of federally sponsored grants open to small business owners. Remember to read, read, read to determine eligibility. Federal grants are challenging to navigate the submission process. Use the self-help tools and resources to maximize your experience. The grants in this database are massive and challenging to win. Hire a seasoned grant expert and writer to help navigate you through federal grants. Only recommend attempting with an expert. https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/home. html

4. FedEx Small Business Grant Contest

FedEx has gained a stellar reputation as a solid small business supporter.

The FedEx Small Business Grant contest is open to active FedEx business account holders operating over the previous six months by the contest’s start. You cannot get an account and not use it to try and apply for this contest. It must be a legitimate active FedEx business account. It is an annual contest. Watch for the 2024 contest announcement. In the meantime, visit FedEx’s website and read the tips and experiences of the 2023 winners to get an edge on the competition. FedEx awarded ten 2023 Small Business Grant Contest winners a $30,000 Grand Prize. https://www.fedex.com/en-us/small-business/ grant-contest.html

5. Visa Everywhere Initiative Competition

It is a competitive grant targeted toward startups and fintech small businesses innovating payment and commerce challenges for consumers and businesses.

The awards range from $10,000 - $50,000. Prizes will also go to regions around the globe, North America, CEMEA, LAC, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Watch out for the dates for 2024.

https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/everywhere-initiative/initiative.html#Prizes_a72e

Finding grants is similar to a treasure hunt. You have to map it out, search for it, and dig it up on the Internet to locate them. Learn from your grant submission experiences; they will guide you to new grant opportunities and strengthen your responses to compete vigorously. The grant journey is exciting and held with much anticipation of winning. Please do not get discouraged by the losses but learn from them. Adjust your strategies as needed and keep track of your submission with a funding spreadsheet of your grant submissions. If you do the work and invest, you will win some and still do the work; you will lose some. You can improve your hit rate the better prepared you are when submitting and learning from your losses. Who will win the grant? The person that wins submits a grant that competes vigorously against every other submission in the contest. You want that to be you.