Jovana is technical writer, editor and small business expert at Bizcloud. Bizcloud is a combination of site-blog, application and a service created to promote small businesses.
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Jan
25
What Should You Know About Grants for Small Businesses
Posted by: | CommentsIn this age of recession small business grants are required and needed more than ever.
The U.S. federal, state and city financial institutions are offering very attempting and affordable grants to non profit organizations and small businesses. But, before you apply for this kind of program for your small business financing, you might need some extra information in order to spare some time and not get disappointed later on.
A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States. That is not referred to the federal assistance or loans to individuals.
Keep in mind that grants from the federal government are mostly available to non-commercial organizations, non-profits organizations and educational institutions (e.g. education, medicine, scientific research…). Some of the federal grants are available for you but not directly- there are award grants that federal government provide to state and local governments in order to help them with economic development, and these are the grants you might be able to take advantage of in financing your small business.
State grants provide grants for expanding child care centers, developing marketing campaign for tourism or creating energy efficient technology. Often, these grants are not free money and need to be combined with loans or other financial sources.
Even though there are no direct grants for small business available from the federal government, many state development agencies offer direct small business grants and other types of small business assistance designed to help small companies owners to start and expand their business.
The federal government programs called small business grants don’t exist, but that doesn’t mean you should be discouraged. However U.S. Government agencies do award hundreds of millions dollars in grants for specific services, research and programs such as housing, transportation, energy, education etc. There are also some federal grants which target businesses owned and performed by women or minorities.
Grants.gov is official government website (and organization), where you can find all the information about this and see (and fill in) the application form. It was established as a governmental resource named the E-Grants Initiative, part of the President’s 2002 Fiscal Year Management Agenda to improve government services to the public.
They offer over 1,000 grant programs and provide access to approximately $500 billion in annual awards. More than 1,000 grant programs are offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies, and these programs fall into 21 categories (agriculture, arts, business and commerce, community development, health, education, regional development etc), few of them are available to individuals and none of them are available for personal financial assistance.
Still, lately grants.gov programs had much success helping individuals. They have surpassed 300,000 submissions for fiscal year 2009. Submissions have grown by nearly 50 percent over fiscal year 2008. In fiscal year 2008 there were a total of 202,366 application submissions for the entire fiscal year. Much of the growth experienced this year may be attributed to the Recovery Act, which resulted in increased overall website traffic and application submissions.
Due to the rapid influx of traffic and subsequent strain placed on the system, many challenges were presented this year. Grants.gov however have maintained the single electronic entry-point for accessing grants from all 26 federal grant-making agencies, providing a unified and streamlined process for finding and applying for all federal grant opportunities.
For more info visit www.grants.gov
Jan
18
What you need to know about the first time home buyer stimulus
Posted by: | CommentsPassed in the Spring of 2009, President Barack Obama’s stimulus package contains some good news for people who want to buy a home but think they aren’t able to. First time homebuyers can receive tax credits to help them get into a home. In addition to providing a tax credit, this bill also allows for grants for first time homebuyers that qualify. The hope is that this stimulus will help boost the economy by encouraging renters to begin buying. In addition to being a helpful bill for first time homebuyers, it will also help support real estate industries.
There is no pre-existing paperwork that you need to file in order to be part of this stimulus program. The tax credit is filed at the end of the fiscal year and if you qualify you’ll receive money back on top of your tax refund. If you end up owing taxes during that year, your owed amount will be deducted from your tax credit.
The first qualification for the program is that you can’t have owned a home within the last 3 years. If you are purchasing a home as part of a couple, neither one of you can have owned a home within the last 3 years. The purchase of your home must fall between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. The closing date of your home purchase must be within these dates. When you purchase during this year you’re eligible for up to $8,000 in the form of a tax credit.
If you purchased a home in between April and December in 2008, you may be able to qualify for another type of tax credit. There was a similar first time homebuyer stimulus bill that was passed in 2008 with slightly different qualifications. The 2008 tax credit had to be repaid, but the 2009 tax credit is yours to keep free and clear.
You’ll also need to meet income requirements in order to qualify for the tax credit. A single homebuyer can make up to $75,000 per year and still qualify. If you are buying a home as a couple, you can make up to $150,000 combined income. Individuals or couples who make more than this may be able to qualify for another type of credit based on another formula.
Additionally, you’ll have to keep the home that you buy under this program for at least three years after applying for the grant. If you end up selling before these three years are up, you’ll have to pay back the tax credit. You must live in the home that you buy as your primary residence. It goes without saying that the home must be within the United States in order to qualify.
Obama’s first time home buyer stimulus plan is a definite incentive to purchase a home, especially in this buyer’s market. Although the stimulus plan is designed to help buyers who were previously unable to purchase a home, you need to make sure that you can fiscally afford a home. Contact a real estate agent in your area to get started with finding a home to fit this program.
Joe Cline writes articles for Austin real estate. Other articles written by the author related to Austin Texas real estate blog and Austin real estate can be found on the net.
Jan
09
All About Grants
Posted by: | Comments“Education is expensive, if you want something cheaper, try ignorance,” this is one of the clichés that has ben well worn and said over a million times. But this cliché is a reality that painfully bites.
Nowadays, only a few numbers of students have parents who can really afford their education in college without placing excessive burden on their shoulders. The common scenario for youths today is working while studying at the same time, especially in college, working students as what they are termed.
Most often the academic performances of these working students’ suffer if they will not be able to manage their time wisely. But are we going to allow education to be exclusive only for the wealthy? The answer is, definitely not.
That is why education grants benefits and opportunities exist. The purpose of this is to help the students to sustain their college education by generating educational funds though minimal.
Grants unlike scholarships are based on the students’ specific need, if not a combination of needs and merits.
However, before you get this privilege, you have to be assured that you are eligible for the opportunity. Basically, the process of grants benefited both the students and the institutions that are using that grant money to develop the curriculum, employ new faculties, and construct new facilities.
The difference of grants to the scholarships and students’ loans is that it is given to the benefactor without any expectation of repaying it. Grant is a monetary gift. Scholarship on the other hand, is awarded according to the academic merit though it is also a monetary gift.
However, the students’ loans really differ among the three privileges. Students’ loan is the sum of money being borrowed by the student to finance his schooling with the agreement to repay it after some time with the corresponding interests.
The awarding of grants may come in general categories, or it may also be awarded to students who are pursuing a specialized degree program, like mathematics or business, or to various degree levels, such as Bachelors, Associate, Doctoral or Masters.
Also, grants may come originally from different sources: college and university, public and private organization, and federal state.
Since grants are specially meant for the financially unprivileged, certain grants exist for the deprived, underrepresented minorities and students. There are also some cases wherein the grant money is exchanged for professional service after the graduation. This is common to those taking up health care professions. The main purpose of this is to keep trained professionals in medically underserved regions.
Grants are particularly taken up by the adult students to return to college or to college programs that will direct them in reentering the place of work.
This is usual since college does not anymore require for the traditional age, specifically between 18 to 24 years of age. Americans nowadays are becoming more and more practical in considering several chances to receive a degree. And this modern perception has driven adult students to flock into colleges without the fear of public scrutiny unlike before.
The world today is requiring skillful and sharp new set of labor force for them to be able to join the flow of the competitive market. And for the applicants to be credible for these characteristics they must present a college diploma.
Hence, having a college degree is really vital.
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Dec
31
Learn More About Queensland First Home Buyer Grant
Posted by: | CommentsThe Queensland government has created an excellent incentive for first time home buyers to act now and get into a new home. Despite the rather gloomy housing market, the Queensland government’s First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) program strives to help first time home buyers get into a home, while stimulating the property market at the same time. Mortgage brokers Brisbane are well aware of the program, and an even newer boost is making this program all the more promising. The combination of these two great programs makes it more affordable than ever before for people in Queensland to get into their first home. The current program runs from 1 October 2009 to 31 December 2009.
Details Of The Boost -
Under the terms of the initial deal, first time home buyers received up to $7,000 for existing homes and up to $14,000 for new homes. The boost – which any qualified Brisbane mortgage broker would be quite familiar with – would essentially double that amount. In other words, first time home buyers could receive up to $14,000 for existing homes and up to $21,000 for brand new homes. Those figures are certainly quite eye catching and undoubtedly helped many people make the plunge into home ownership for the first time.
Those who missed out on that 30 September 2009 deadline, though, can take heart: the new phase of the program runs until 31 December 2009. Acting now is obviously key. Those entering into contracts after 1 October 2009 can still take advantage of the program, although the numbers have been halved. Still, $3,500 toward an existing home is great. Until the end of the year, when combined with the First Home Owners Grant, buyers can receive savings of up to $7000. Time is flying by, though, so acting now is imperative. If you’ve been thinking about buying your first home, now is definitely the time to do so in Queensland.
Additional Benefits Of Home Ownership -
In addition to taking advantage of the excellent offer from the Queensland government, owning your own home brings many other distinct advantages to the table. Most importantly, you will no longer be paying off someone else’s mortgage. You will be able to paint your walls, put up new fences, install an air-conditioning unit or perform any other renovations without having to obtain approvals from the landlord. Every mortgage payment that you make is a payment toward your future when you own a home, and it is also money in the bank. With the amount you will save through the offer from the Queensland government, that savings will be jump started in a truly appreciable and remarkable way.
Ask mortgage brokers Brisbane such as Brisbane Financial Services and work with them to figure out if you qualify for the government’s great offer. Your Brisbane mortgage broker will be able to look over your information and help you take advantage of it.
Dec
30
All About Free Government Grants
Posted by: | CommentsEach year the federal government awards approximately $140 billion in federal government grants. Unlike a personal or business loan, a federal government grant does not have to be repaid. There are no credit checks so individuals with less than favorable credit history can take advantages of the awards. Likewise, organizations with partners who may have undesirable credit may also apply. In addition, there is no need for collateral or a security deposit to be presented. United States residents and legal residents are eligible for federal government grant awards.
One of the largest recipient groups for federal government grant awards is women and minority owned businesses. There is over 1 billion dollars set aside each year to help a woman or minority owned business start up. Women businesses alone are allotted $20 billion in federal government grant award money. In addition to this, money is set aside to be utilized by selected woman and minority applicants for educational purposes. This can include going back to school or enrolling in college for the first time.
The federal government grant awards are allocated for educational purposes as well. For the purposes of a college education, the Pell Grant and the Stafford Loans are available grant programs. The current allocation amount for these awards is approximately $5 billion. The federal grant education program further breaks awards down into the undergraduate and graduate categories. This will entitle approximately 9 million people access to a higher education this year alone.
One of the keys to obtaining a federal government grant award is in the writing of the proposal or application. Leaving an application area blank or not filling it in completely could delay a grant application by a few weeks or more. Federal government grant awards are readily available to individuals and organizations. The only requirement is a little investment in time and research to find the grant program that suite the needs of an individual or organization in need of financial assistance.
Written by Justin Maeston. Find the latest information on Government Grants as well as Free Government Grants