Do You Know about Grants.gov?

Grants.gov is a federal initiative that stores information of over 1,000 grant programs, providing access to a $500 billion pool of annual fund awards, including government grants for small businesses.  And if your small business doesn't know about it, you may be missing out.

The site defines a federal grant as "an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States".  It goes on to list grants provided by 26 federal agencies.

Who is eligible for federal grants?

Generally the grants are available to small businesses, government organizations, education organizations, public housing organizations, non-profits, and certain for-profit organizations as well.

Generally, what is considered a 'small business'?

• 500 employees (manufacturing or mining industries)
• 100 employees (wholesale trade industry)
• $6 million revenue (retail and service industries)
• $28.5 million revenue (general & heavy construction industries)
• $12 million revenue (special trade contractors)
• $750,000 revenue(agricultural industries)

What kind of grants are available?

Below is a sampling of grant categories and a few actual grants available in those categories:

Agriculture: Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers Training Coordination Program, Perscribed Grazing Management

Arts: NEA Literature Translation Projects Fellowships, FY2011, Conservation Project Support

Community Development:  Wildfire Risk Reduction for Rural Communities

Education: Technology and Media Services for Individuals With Disabilities--Research and Development Center on Digital Images and Graphic Content in Accessible Instructional Materials CFDA 84.327B

Energy: Recovery Act Funding for Expansion of Infrastructure for Higher Ethanol Blends

If you are interested in learning more about government grants for small businesses, check out Grants.gov.

Related Resources:

• Grants.gov