A grant is a monetary award by a government agency or foundation that has a specific purpose: education, business development, or nonprofit development. These are not loans and do not require repayment (unless you do not follow the guidelines for the use of the grant money). Many women and minorities are able to improve their lives by applying for and being given grant money.
School Grants
If you are a woman or a minority, there are many grants that can assist with college education. Resources as CollegeScholarships.org provide grant information beyond the basic national Pell Grant available to most economically disadvantaged students. There are specific grants for Hispanic, African-American and Pacific Islanders. The Hispanic College Fund is one of many nonprofit organizations seeking to increase the number of Hispanic people (and other minorities) getting a college education. Large corporations such as Xerox and AT&T also offer minorities and women corporate grants to be applied to secondary education.
Small Business Grants
Small businesses are the backbone of many communities but often shut down because of a lack of adequate funding for development. The Minority Business Enterprise/Women's Business Enterprise helps small minority businesses achieve their "fair share" of funding. The Environmental Protection Agency offers special programs along with the Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization. These grants help small disadvantaged businesses gain funding and also qualify for government contracts.
Depending on the sector your business is in, you may qualify for specific funding from corporations that seek partnerships with small business owners. GovernmentGrantsUSA.com gives a comprehensive list of foundations that provide minority business grants.
Grant Writing
In applying for a grant, you need to make sure you are creating a customized grant application to each company and foundation to which you are applying. The reason for this is because you need to make sure your application is pertinent to the specific guidelines of each place. Foundations grant money for specific purposes, and if you are not meeting this purpose explicitly you will not qualify for the grant. Many individuals and businesses actually qualify in practice but do not make it clear enough in the application. A business that builds playgrounds may serve the needs of physical education for children, but if it isn't clearly spelled out for a grant funding companies that will prevent obesity, then you will be disregarded before your application is turned to page two.
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