An individual, business, church, or any kind of organization looking for any type of grant has a long, daunting task ahead of them. Researching for a personal, business, or educational grant can be difficult and stressful because of all the different factors that go into applying for a grant. Looking for grants requires narrowing down what kind of grant will be most helpful and applicable to you, as well as making sure that you or your organization are eligible for a specific grant. For example, if you are a business owner looking for a business grant, you must research the who, what, where, when and how of that specific grant.
It can be overwhelming to inquire about the who, what, where, when and how for every single grant you may stumble upon, so here are a few tips to help learn more about each category.
Entity Seeking Funding: Every grant available can fall under the category of an individual, business or nonprofit grant. Educational, housing and personal grants are all qualified as individual grants. Business Grants are geared to businesses looking to start, expand, complete new research, revitalize areas, etc. Grants that help humanitarian efforts, improve communities, and help the environment are classified as nonprofit grants.
Specific Categories for Qualification: Individuals who belong to specific groups such as women, senior citizens, veterans, minorities, etc. Being a part of one of these groups may help improve your chances of receiving a grant or being eligible for more grants.
Main benefiter of Grant: The organizations and foundations that are providing grants to individuals and businesses often choose the winner based on who they believe will help accomplish their goals as well as their own. These groups look for someone who will be successful themselves, along with benefitting their organization.
Allowable Usage of Awarded Funds: Nearly every grant available has very strict rules and regulations regarding how the awarded money can be used. This is one of the most important things to look for when researching individual grants to make sure that if awarded the grant funding it will still be applicable to you or your group. If you don’t note this when looking into a specific grant, it could result in a waste of time and no awarded grant.
Current Phase of Business: Business owners should create a business plan prior to applying for business grants because it could help them receive grant funding. Different business grants may be tailored to different steps in the process, such as startup, expansion and research. Noting what phase you are in may help you receive grant funding, as well as be potentially eligible for more opportunities.