Not ALL government grant programs are advertised. 

That's why some of the grant packages and programs are very valuable. They have found those resources that you will have a hard time finding on your own. The grant packages listed below have done all the work for you.
A few are:
 

Mathew Lesko

Free Government Money

American Grant Provider

Although billions of dollars are given away annually by Government Agencies and 30,000 + grant-making Foundations in the United States, Most Americans do not even know these Agencies and Foundations exist, or how to contact them!

Q. I’ve heard there is grant money available for small business owners.  Where can I find a grant for my small business?

Answer. Research.  Research.  Research.  (And then more research!)  The first thing you need to know is that grant research takes time.  You are (probably) not going to find a grant within an hour of looking.  You may not find one within a week, or even a month of looking.  The reason is that there are so many potential grant sources out there, and you’re going to need to spend some time to check each one, to see if you fit their criteria, find out their deadlines, their guidelines, etc.  To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, a couple of weeks ago I did some background research for another article I was writing, and out of curiosity, I googled “Small business grants” just to see what I’d find.  Guess what?  There were over 3 million hits!

That’s a lot of information - even if two thirds of those Websites were irrelevant, broken links or repeats, that’s still over a million sites for you to look at!  So, where do you look?

If you’re a professional member of Digital Women, you have access to a very comprehensive database right now, with links to more than 1,200 corporate foundations.  (If you’re not a professional member, then I recommend that you think about becoming one.  Having access to the database alone is worth the membership fee!)

Next, start locally.  Talk to the following organizations in your community:
Chamber of Commerce
Better Business Bureau
Small Business Development Corporation
Association of Government Office
Economic Development Office

When you hear about all of the grant money that our federal government is giving away to help small businesses, chances are, if it’s available in your area, these are the people who either know about it, or are giving it out.  Do you have a woman’s organization in your area?  What about a microenterprise lending group?  They also may be “in the know” about what’s available in your area.  And don’t forget your local librarian.  She/he is a great resource for information from writing a grant to who’s who in giving it away!

By the way, if you are low-income and disabled, check with your local Vocational Rehabilitation Office.  If you qualify for their program, you can receive a grant of between $6,000 and $10,000 to start or expand your business.  Each area has their own rules, regulations and requirements, but it’s worth checking into.

Here are some other great resources to help you find grants:
The Foundation Center
http://www.fdncenter.org/funders/
The Council on Foundations
http://www.cof.org/index.cfm
Foundations.org
http://www.fdncenter.org/grantmaker/
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
http://www.philanthropy.com
Small Business Development Center Website  (Check out the article on this Website if you’re interested in doing contracting with the government.)
http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/

I M P O R T A N T !

About Cheryl: Cheryl Antier is the president of "Dream Weaver Enterprises" a business and fundraising consultancy firm that specializes in helping you to "weave your dreams into reality".  She recently married for the second time, has three children at home and lives bi-continentally in Southern France and Southeast Utah.