Women entrepreneurs are just bettering their career lives and paths, having tremendous impact on small businesses around the globe. To continue to be profitable in this competitive world, raising funds is vital. However, when it comes to small business grants for women, most banks just turn away. In the end, it is even more harder to pay the loan back.

Though it is a great option for women who are seeking a financial support for their venture, small business grants for women aren’t exactly widely known or employed. Grants are essentially free money but they do have some conditions that need to be followed.

The grant application process

• The applicant should understand and find a grant that is eligible for her.
• Through their application and guidelines form this process can be determined.
• Try to fetch the same amount of grant by competing with other business.
• Once the grant is approved, the candidate must report how the money has been used.

The application process is little lengthy but at the end of the day, it is worth it. For a woman-owned business, it is better to search for grants at the states’ level. States offer grants in some proficiency for women-owned businesses. Each state’s website has a business sector where one can locate grant and funding opportunities for women and minority-owned businesses. A good example of this is on the business section of the state of New York, which lists incentives and programs for women-owned businesses. Check out your state’s website to find out what sort of small business grants for women are available for different businesses.

Government banks that offer small business grants for women

• Federal small business grants for women is an easy fit for those who are into the area of science, medical research, education and technology development. They don’t serve for women-owned businesses. but there are grants that help them to fund projects which empower women for their non-profit organizations. State and small business grants work much easier as federal small business grants are limited and more often very competitive. Grants from the state and municipal level are also an option. There are many grant programs tailored but one has to research specifics in their area to get the accurate grant program proposals.
• Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs are other initiatives to provide grants to small businesses that focus on developing departments like defense, agriculture and health and human services. The SBA facilitates have two competitive programs. All the SBIT grant opportunity details are given on their website here.
• Women’s Business Centers are another option and they have about 100 stations nationwide. The SBA sponsors are designed to support women entrepreneurs with access to capital and business development. Few of them like the California Capital Financial Development Corp grant money directly while the others support for small business plan grants after qualifying their government practices.
• Economic development agencies are almost there in every major city. The economic development agencies emphasize on supporting the local economy strongly. If in case they are not able to approve a certain amount of grant, they will point the applicant in the right direction to get the support accurately.
• Minority Business Development Agency of the USA: The Department of commerce aid minorities and women in stabilizing their business. Their website endows with a clear view in understanding the state agencies that serve for women-owned business funding prospect.

Private grants for women

• The Amber Grant Foundation honors $500 to one diverse woman/women-owned business every month. At the end of every year, one of the 12 grant winners would receive an additional support of $2,000. The process to apply is not so complex – one simply needs to describe the team what business you would like to invest in with the granted money and one has to pay $7 as application fee. The foundation’s advisory team emphasizes the winner of those women who are passionate about their business and how their story is.
• FedEx Think Bigger, the small business grant program is designed to encourage the applicants to share their vision to receive a partial amount of $75,000 awarded in grants. The judgment involves general public voting for the finalists, so the participants can also promote their business at the venue while garnering votes.
• Eileen Fisher Women-Owned Business Grant grants $100,000 to up to 10 women business owners each year. Eileen Fisher is a women’s clothing retailer. Women are considered to be eligible only when they make their business ownership at least up to 51% and the business must have been running leastwise of three years. More so, it must not eclipse $1 million in annual revenue and they are more focused to support those who operate on environmental or social changes.