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We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
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At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Our banking reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — the best banks, latest rates, different types of accounts, money-saving tips and more — so you can feel confident as you’re managing your money. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Maybe you’ve got a great idea for a new business but don’t have the cash to get started. Or you own a small business but lack the money to expand or franchise. You can always borrow money—, for instance—but another option is “free money” in the form of small-business grants. Here’s how to get in on the action. Small-business grants an overview
Small-business grants are available from the government—federal, state and local—as well as from large corporations. Many grants have highly specific application requirements, such as demonstrating how your business will benefit the country or community. That doesn’t mean you need to be a charity: the benefits could be local job growth or developing innovative technology. And some grants aim to boost businesses owned by minorities or women. Federal small-business grants
Federal grants are the largest—on average more than half a million dollars each—but also the most restrictive. Generally, federal government grants only fund research and development that is deemed to benefit the country, such as medical or technological innovation. If your small business fits that profile, the place to start are the websites of the program (SBIR) and the program (STTR). Both are administered by the U.S. (SBA). Beyond high-tech R&D, some federal grants target small businesses engaged in conservation efforts. For example, the Department of Agriculture provides grants and expertise for small businesses in the field of forestry management. State and local small-business grants
State and local small business grants are more focused on job creation than R&D, which means they’re accessible to a wider range of companies, and often provide startup and expansion incentives. For instance, Douglas County, Ore., will sell you cheap land in a new industrial park to relocate your small business, and provide credits toward the purchase price of $5,000 per new job created. Looking for the best business credit card? Check out our offers. Many local grants are indirectly paid by the SBA through its Growth Accelerator Fund, which supports entrepreneurship grant programs in many states. Once your company is in such a program, other doors open to larger grants. One recent example is My Home Pro Network, a business-to-business digital marketing platform that participated in Maine’s Top Gun small-business competition—then went on to score a $100,000 grant from Connecticut’s Department of Economic Development. Every state has small business development centers; here’s a list maintained by the SBA. Finally there are grants from large corporations, which view supporting small businesses as good public relations. Often the winners of these grants are companies that benefit the environment, serve minority communities or are owned by women. Every year, Federal Express awards 10 grants of up to $25,000 each. The grand prize winner in 2017 was a women-owned Denver company that makes urban bags and accessories from military surplus tents. Free money What s the catch
Small-business grants can be hard to find. There is no single “clearinghouse” of information, so you’ll need to spend time doing research or hire a professional grant writer to do it for you. The website of the has a job posting board. Many grants have strings attached, such as the requirement to hire a minimum number of new employees or to use services provided by the grantor corporation. Expect plenty of paperwork and presentations. And many local grants are awarded through pitch competitions, so you’ll need to be comfortable delivering fast-paced “dog-and-pony” shows while fielding tough questions. In short, free money is like the proverbial free lunch—not so cheap in the end. But if you’ve got the right stuff, the rewards are out there. SHARE: Bankrate.com Related Articles