If you are currently in search for a government subsidy for small business financing, you must know that these financing opportunities are available only to for-profit and non-profit organizations that are active in specific sectors and carry out certain types of activities such as education, agriculture, research and development in medical sciences, environmental research or certain areas of the energy sector. The reason for these restrictions is that the subsidies are funded from the money paid by taxpayers, and therefore the businesses that receive such financial help must be organizations the activity of which is in line with the grantor agency’s policy and objectives. If your start-up or small business is active in one of these specific areas, here are a few tips about how to find grants and how to apply for free money.
The SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and the STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) are the two programs offered by the government for subsidizing small business endeavors. The SBIR is a joint effort by various government agencies including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Transportation, to mention just a few of the participants, and it proposes to provide funding for small businesses or to organizations in the critical and difficult start-up phase, provided that the business enterprise fulfills certain very stringent conditions of eligibility. The STTR program provides subsidies mainly to help small businesses form partnerships with larger research institutes.
The first task is, of course, to identify available programs of government subsidy for small business development purposes. Use the websites of federal agencies, the central government data base or the websites of the programs mentioned above – they are all very easy to find, all you have to do is to enter a query into your internet browser. The websites provide not only information related to the available programs, but also guidance related to the application process, so make sure you have a look at all the relevant pages, not only the home page and the section where you can find the programs.
Once you have identified programs that your enterprise can be eligible for, make sure you read the program description very carefully. Most, if not all programs require candidates to provide a description of their business activity and of their future development plans. Most probably, you will be required to submit documents related to your company as well. and most come with their own customized forms to be filled out as well.
Take care to provide accurate details about your business activity and your company and also make sure to review and proofread your summary very carefully to avoid any spelling errors or other similar issues. Another very important aspect to pay attention is the application deadline – there are many great small businesses and start-ups out there that will compete for the same government subsidy for small business development and you must bear in mind that formal criteria are just as important to match as the contents of your application.