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People often call or visit the Small Business Development Center
asking about grants or "free money" to start their business.
They may have read or heard about this free money, and how easy
it is to get, through late night talk shows or in some obscure publication.
In most cases, this information is incorrect and misleading. In
other instances, it is close to a scam, authors or promoters of
these programs will ask readers/viewers for money to receive additional
information on "grants and free money." After purchasing
the additional information individuals often find they have received
photo copied lists of companies to appeal to for money, or information
on grant writing that is already freely available to them through
programs such as the SBA or SBDC.
The SBA and SBDC organizations do not provide grants of “free
money” for starting or developing a business. Although there
are some grants available, they generally are targeted towards specific
groups, specialized organizations, or activities.
The SBA provides a few grants, but they are awarded to organizations
to provide specific technical assistance to aid the small business
owner. These grants may be targeted to non-profit organizations
or educational institutions. The SBA has funded grants and contracts
to help small businesses develop and maintain a drug-free workplace.
These awards went to non-profit organizations and Small Business
Development Centers (SBDC) who had demonstrated the ability to assist
in the effort.
An example of such an SBA grant would be the Small Business Innovation
and Research Grants (SBIR) are coordinated through the SBA but are
provided by other federal agencies including the Departments of
Health, Education, or Agriculture. Information on the SBIR program
can be obtained at http://www.sba.gov/SBIR
For those organizations that do obtain grants, the money is not
totally "free." While grant money does not have to be
repaid, those who receive the grants can not spend the money
as they please. There are strict rules and requirements concerning
how the money can be spent, what percentage of the money can be
used for certain purposes and a host of other regulations. These
requirements must be complied with or the consequences could be
dire.
To sum it all up, there is really no such thing as "free"
money.
CATALOG OF FEDERAL
DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE
"The online Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance gives
you access to a database of all Federal programs available to State
and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally-recognized
Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the
United States; domestic public, quasi-public, and private profit
and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups;
and individuals." http://www.cdfa.gov 7/23/03
The General Services
Administration (http://www.gsa.gov) publishes a Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance twice each year. It is a basic reference source
of Federal programs and assists users to identify programs and obtain
general information on Federal Assistance programs. The Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) is published twice a year
and is also available online at http://www.cfda.gov
HOW CAN THE NCTC/SBDC HELP YOU WITH YOUR FUNDINGD NEEDS?
For reliable, free assistance contact the NCTC/SBDC for a business
consultation appointment. The SBDC staff and Certified Business
Development Specialists are here to help guide, new and existing
entreprenuers, in exploring their business options and potentials.
Contact the SBDC office nearest you.
NCTC/SBDC
1525 West California Street
Gainesville, TX 76240
940-668-4220
nctcsbdc@nctc.edu
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