Grants 2 get underway a business(FL)? Question: DOES ANYONE KNOW OF WAYS (THAT ARENT SCAMS ETC)

Question: DOES ANYONE KNOW OF WAYS (THAT ARENT SCAMS ETC) TO GET A GRANT IN FL TO OPEN A BUSINESS?
TRYING TO OPEN A RETAIL BUSINESS AND WOULD LIKE HELP OBTAINING INFO.
THANKS IN ADVANCE.

http://www.grants.gov is the US parliament portal for searching and applying for grant.

Don't know that you'll have much luck, grant aren't for starting for profit business, except under thoroughly specific circumstances. That being said, it can't hurt to look.

Answers:
It is hard to find grant to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal establishment and even private foundations hardly offer grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grant mean PAPERWORK - lots and lots of it, i.e. why a cottage industry of grant writers be born.

Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grant.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grant. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit activity.

Even if you buy books on "how to get grants" or chronicle that supposedly has information on grant -- all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA have, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is like peas in a pod - hardly any grant for starting a for profit business.

Even SBA does NOT give out grant. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html...

"The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grant to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a far-reaching variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does tender some grant programs, these are mostly designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business regulation, technical, or financial assistance. These grant generally support non-profit organization, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local government."

Here is a listing of federal grant for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business -- THERE'S NONE.
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show

Most of the federal grant are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved contained by transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program

Grants are also commonly given to non profit groups or organizations involved contained by training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs

For private grant, you may want to check the Foundation Center's Foundation Grants for Individuals Online. It's a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their orifice blurb only say that the database is ideal for "students, artists, serious researchers, libraries and financial aid offices." Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I pinch it they also don't have listings of private foundations who confer grants to would-be entrepreneurs.

http://www.cfda.gov
http://www.grant.gov
http://gtionline.fdncenter.org
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol66/grants.htm
http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html

low interest loans from SBA are more feasible
More question :