2010 January | Hookum Up Trailer Deals

Catering Concession
What grants are available for a 29-yo man in debt, and wanting to start a new business in Alabama?

I am a 29 year old white male, unemployed, partially handicapped, with ~10k debt, and an interest in repaying those debts and starting a small business as a specialty bookseller and game store owner. My target is the capital tri-city area of Alabama (Montgomery, Millbrook, Prattville, maybe Wetumpka.) I would cater to the net-addicted, the dice and paper gamers, online gamers, with a side interest in miniatures and card games. Maybe a little concession as well, but certainly not as a business focus.

So, a netcafe streamlined for gamers, and bookstore and gaming hub. Certainly a business not yet saturated in this market, with good demand, and with Prattville expanding rapidly, it’s clear the commercial market is good.

What grants can I get to put these goals in motion?

It is hard to find grants to start a business — especially for the type of business you want. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for starting a for-profit business.

One possible exception is for companies developing or exporting agricultural goods, including food and forest product. Another exception could be the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/sbir/index.html , which fund the research and development of technological innovation that meets specific government needs. Alas, your type of business does not fall in the SBIR or STTR programs

Your best bet actually will be from the states if they offer grant programs for disabled (or any other special interest groups — minorities, women, disabled, veterans, etc). Or check with non profit organizations if they offer grants. The Michigan State University has a list of grants for the disabled, but most of them are for scholarships or given to non profits, and not for disabled starting a business http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3disable.htm

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/mostrequesteditems/CON_FAQ2.html

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

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

Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business — .
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show . Or search CFDA for grants for disabled – I don’t see anything for starting a business http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.SEARCH_BY_KEYWORD_RPT.SHOW_PARMS?p_redirect_url=PORTAL30.wwv_component_control.show%3Fp_module_id%3D11235569921%26p_mode%3D1%26p_back_url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F12.46.245.173%252Fservlet%252Fpage%253F_pageid%253D3%252C22%2526_dad%253Dportal30%2526_schema%253DPORTAL30%2526p_render%253DLIST%2526p_otype%253DAPP%2526p_octx%253DCATALOG.CFDA_APP%2526p_action%253D%2526p_caller%253DPORTLET%2526p_domain%253Dwwc%2526p_sub_domain%253Dappexp%2526p_rpth%253D54_APPLICATIONEXPLORER_998762%2526p_orderby%253D6%252Bdesc%2526p_request%253D%2526p_min_row%253D1%2526p_max_rows%253D49%2526p_page_number%253D1

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

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in 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

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