Minority Owned Business Grants – Starting or growing a business is not always easy, especially when you are lacking capital assets. Therefore there are always people who are looking for a way to fund their business. Unfortunately, you can’t really rely on the Federal government for this kind of thing.
The government does provide billions of money in the form of various grants, but most of them are provided for education and welfare for people in need, including development of underrepresented people. But in terms of business grant, in general there are no currently no general, women owned or minority owned business grants that are aimed for personal financial assistance.
Minority Owned Business Grants Available
So if there are no pure minority-owned business grants, are there any other possibilities? Fortunately, the answer to that question is yes, there are. Below we have made a shortlist of several possible financial assistances for your business, which are:
The Individual Development Account or IDA is basically a grant that comes with a special requirement. The IDA is quite similar to a bank account, and business owners are encouraged to save their money in the IDA. Interestingly, you get a grant with the same amount as your IDA saving. But your revenue should be under $50,000. The grant policy varies from states by states, so check your local Individual Development Account administration office.
Another grant-like source for business comes from the Regional Investment Board. This capital assistance comes in the form of forgivable loans. What is a forgivable loan? It is a loan that you don’t have to pay back, as long as you do all the requirements correctly. This usually includes hiring and training up to 5 employees. As much as $5,000 is available for every employee. To apply, please contact your local government office and ask about the forgivable loan opportunity.
For those who have bad credit history, you will face difficulties getting a loan from the bank. If this is your case, you may want to contact the US Small Business Administration to seek for a solution. They have information about micro loans that support women and minority owned businesses. Sometimes, it is also a good move to make a call to your county and state office to learn whether they are offering their own microfinance program. But, if you are a Muslim, stay away from loan with interest rate, its forbidden in Islam.
We would also like to list the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). Now although they are currently not offering a specific grant program, they do have a bunch of other support programs that aims to improve the minority owned businesses in various States. They offer various services, including helping these owners to gain capital help from lenders, applying grant, etc.
Others
Last but not least, we would like to give you some information about several competitive minority owned business grants coming from corporate and foundations across the United States. They are:
- The FedEx Small Business Grant Contest (6 winners to get $50,000)
- The National Association for the Self Employed (NASE) Growth Grants Program (grants for part time help and computers)
- The Dare to Dream Grant Program (for students who wants to start a business)
- The Miller Lite Tap the Future Business Plan Competition (for minority owned business to empower urban communities)
If you search a bit more, I’m sure that you find more minority owned business grants available.
PS: For Muslim, please avoid interest rate from bank! It’s Riba!
References :
- Minority-Owned Businesses – https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/launch-your-business/register-your-business
- Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) – http://www.mbda.gov/
- Images: mwfpress.com
