More Business Grants In 2010?

Everyone wants 2010 to be the year that the U.S. economy fully recovers. Because of this, the Obama Administration has already committed to adding more funding to various programs that will benefit small businesses.

It's very likely that business grant programs will get more funding too, but necessarily.

Business grants, while very helpful to entrepreneurs, are typically not required to be repaid. This is something that the federal government just may not be able to afford to do a lot of. SBA loans, for instance, help entrepreneurs but also help the government make small profits from the low interest rates that are charged.

Despite this, 2010 can still be filled with lots of grant opportunities funded by major corporations and their foundations. Every year, regardless of the economical climate, they give millions of dollars away for tax write-off purposes.

Secondly, local governments (city, state and counties) are not as bad off financially as the federal government is. These local agencies too give away money every year to entrepreneurs to strengthen their local communities.

Whether grant funding overall ends up being less or more in 2010, the key is to pay attention and be ready to move fast. Opportunities can come and go so fast, that by the time you become aware - the deadline has already passed.

Arizona Business Grants...Sort Of

This post would read so much better if the state of Arizona were actually giving away business grants in the form of cash. Instead, they're giving away grants in the form of a free, one-year membership to the Arizona Small Businesses Association (ASBA).

If you live in Arizona, your interest level may have just been shattered. However, it still may be worth looking in to. An ASBA membership has many benefits that can help local businesses - benefits that potentially can be better and bigger than a cash award.

For instance, members get access to the only guaranteed issue group health plan in Arizona (for groups as small as one); weekly networking opportunities; business education (via workshops and seminars); and more.

If interested, act fast. Free memberships to ASBA will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis until all grant dollars have been depleted.

For more details, contact Kristen Wilson at kwilson@asba.com or 602-931-4100. The deadline is December 31, 2009

Venture Capital and Angel Showcase Comes To NYC

FundingPost, a leading resource for venture capital and angel investor events, is hosting a special showcase in New York City on February 11, 2010. The conference, sponsored by Credit Suisse, gives entrepreneurs a chance to meet and greet with over 20 different firms that offer funding to small businesses.

The investors who attend the event are there to meet small business owners with unique ideas, business plans, and executive summaries. They will each of their own table set up for this purpose.

The concept is called a "Reverse Venture Fair" - where you go up and meet the venture capitalists and investors versus waiting for them to come and meet you. Previous events in California, Massachusetts, Washington DC and Pennsylvania were extremely successful.

According to FundingPost's web site, they are "the single largest venture exchange in the country." They have worked with more "real accredited angel investors, VC firms and entrepreneurs than anyone else."

If interested in attending their next event, visit:
www.fundingpost.com/breakfast/reg1.asp?event=163

You can also follow them on Twitter @FundingPost

Obama: "We Got More Money For Small Businesses"

A few days before Christmas, the Small Business Administration announced that it has a gift for small businesses. Apparently, there will be more funding allocated to support $4.5 billion in enhanced small business lending through February 28, 2010.

As part of the Obama Administration's federal stimulus package, the SBA received $375 million to increase the guarantee on its 7a loans to 90 percent from 75 percent and to waive borrower fees on 7a and 504 loans. The SBA plans to begin new loan approvals as early as Monday, December 28th.

SBA Administrator Karen Mills, comments, "This mean thousands more small business owners have access to the credit they need." She also said that she will continue to work with Congress to meet Obama's goal of giving small businesses more access to credit.

The additional funds came as a shock to many who thought 2009 would not produce any more financial assistance from the federal government. Typically, new business grant opportunities don't surface this close to the end of a year. However, government loan opportunities seem to be different - especially when they can contribute greatly to more jobs and a recovering economy.

White House Awards First Broadband Stimulus Grants

Nearly 50% of all business grants given away by government agencies are granted to companies who offer innovative services. Government officials, whether local or national, favor giving the funds to companies that can help the environment or enhance the use of technology.

Just this week, the White House handed out millions in funding to companies who specialize in broadband and telecommunications. The funds are to be used for various broadband deployment projects that will help create advanced networks to promote economic development, expand educational opportunities and improve the availability and efficiency of government services.

For instance, some projects will enable telemedicine to come to rural hospitals. Others will help distance learning to come to rural schools.

Specifically, the companies will be deploying regional fiber-optic rings to deliver gigabit broadband speeds, building open access fiber-optic networks, building new segments of fiber-optic middle-mile broadband infrastructure, and adding miles of backbone networks and middle-mile spurs to existing networks.

Pretty high-tech stuff, but if your company offers these services - the government needs you and is willing to pay you very reasonably.

Are SBA Loans Making A Comeback?

The status of SBA loans seems to change every week. One week, there's plenty to go around. The next week, there's not enough. One week, the interest and fees are too high. The next week, the interest and fees are waived.

Well, here's the latest: Several senate proposals are being introduced that, if approved, would increase the maximum loan amounts for SBA-backed loans and extend fee eliminations and government loan guarantees. Under these new proposals, fees for 7(a) SBA-backed loans would continue to be waived and the federal government would continue to provide 90 percent guarantees on loans.

Most importantly, loan limits would be extended. 7(a) loan limits would move from $2 million to $5 million, 504 loans would expand from $1.5 million to $5.5 million, and micro loans could expand from $35k to $50k.

Not a bad deal at all, if the federal government would actually approve the proposed changes. In fact, it would be quite contradictory if they didn't approve such changes - being that President Obama just recently addressed CEOs of the nation's banks encouraging them to loan more money to small businesses.

But politics is politics.

The Truth About Matthew Lesko

Matthew Lesko is best known for his late-night infomercials that encourage people to buy his books on how to obtain free money via personal and business grants. He has authored and published over 70 books, and has sold millions of copies. Two of his books are New York Times bestsellers.

Essentially, he is a researcher. On his web site, it mentions that he has appeared on Larry King Live, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Jay Leno, Letterman and The Today Show. While this has yet to be confirmed, he does appear to be legit.

His books, however, are nothing special. They are simply compilations of information you can find on your own on the internet or at the library. Despite this, buying one of his books can save you time and may be worth your while. However, don't expect to be blown away by the information inside. His books can be helpful, but likely you will feel that you didn't learn a lot of new stuff.

With all that said, use discretion as always - but the guy is legit and his books are resourceful.

Pennsylvania Launches Small Business Advantage Grant Program

The state of Pennsylvania is apparently making some simultaneous efforts to save both the local environment and local small businesses. The Department of Environmental Protection has officially launched the Small Business Advantage Grant Program.

The program allows businesses to apply for a 50% matching grant of up to $7,500 when they take action that save at least 20% a year in energy and/or pollution-related costs.

Applicants must be for-profit companies with less than 100 full-time employees; must be located within the state of Pennsylvania; and must be an actual legal business. LLCs and sole proprietorships qualify.

The program, while potentially helpful, has a very short run. It began accepting application in early December 2009, but the deadline is just a month later on January 15, 2010. Those who are interested in applying must move quickly.

In addition, funds are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more details, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us/enintech/cwp/view.asp?a=1413&q=503219