where would you go for grant info?

[greenoak]

my son thinks we should try for a grant....lots of newbies get them why not us....
we might fit into...rural,local manufacturing , bringing business to our town, small business....fAMILYbusiness...
any ideas on where to start the search? any ideas on the likely hood of getting one? dh thinks it would be good to use for tv ads , becasue it brings so many to our town....
thanks

[KristineS]

Women's Business Grants has a state by state listing (http://www.womensbusinessgrants.com/grantsforwomen.shtml) of grants. I'm not sure how current it is, but it might be a place to start.

You can find federal grant listings at grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/).

The Small Business Administration (http://www.sba.gov/financialassistance/) has grants too, or at least appears to have them.

I've never dealt with any of these places, but that should give you some things to start with.

[greenoak]

thanks i will pass it on....

[Harold Mansfield]

My only suggestion would be to seek out someone who is experienced or specializes in the paper work. A few years back I ran across a girl that did all of the paperwork for her research department at UNLV and she emphasized to me the importance of having a professional prepare the paperwork and that it was a huge determiner of who gets consideration and who gets tossed before it's even read.

Most times she knew (within reason) their chances just based on exactly meeting the criteria and how to emphasize that in the language that they were looking for, who else was applying, how much was available, and the other preparers at different Universities that were submitting.

She told me that most submissions don't even make it the right desk or get read because the paperwork is not prepared correctly, so in her eyes, getting a grant was easy because she knew the system and what they were looking for.

So apparently, having the paperwork in order to their specifications is a big deal and how they weed through tens of 1000's of submissions.

[KristineS]

I think what eborg said is something to definitely consider. I know there is a whole career category that consists solely of writing grant proposals for companies. If you are serious about getting grants, it might be worth seeing if there is an expert in your area.

[greenoak]

I SO AGREE...and i think we have someone wtih a lot of skill in that area on staff already.......sounds kind of mind numbing to me...but i wont be doing it.....

[Business Attorney]

I would start with the Indiana Small Business Development Center for your region. They should be aware of most grants across a wide range:

North Central ISBDC
401 East Colfax Avenue, Suite 120
South Bend, IN 46617
Phone: (574) 282-4350
Fax: (574) 236-1056
Website: Business Mentoring, Counseling & Training provided by North Central Small Business Development Center (http://www.southbendbcg.com)

I would also contact the Fulton County Economic Development Corporation:

Fulton Economic Development Corporation
822 Main Street
Rochester In. 46975
PHONE: (574) 223-3326
FAX: (574) 224-2329

In my experience, the local development corporations are more often focused on bringing in plants with a sizable workforce. Also, they often don't have the expertise in house that a regional SBDC has. The one in Fulton County may be different, so it is worth a conversation. Even if they don't have the staff to help you, they may have information and compiled resources that may be easier to use than trying Internet searches.

[greenoak]

thanks a lot...i will try the southbend office..... you are right the local fedco is all about big factories...
ann