When In Williamsburg

We often receive calls asking if we have any grants available, and though we currently don’t have any, we thought we’d offer you a good place to start. 

First, know that google is your friend. Typing in general terms such as “grants” or “small business grants” can be helpful, but even more specific terms mentioning the type of business, location or project type may give you even better results. 

A quick search for “small business grants” yielded a top result of SBA. The Small Business Association is a great resource for entrepreneurs and business owners who are just starting out, looking to expand or may be in between. They have various loans and debt relief programs, and they also have grants as well. There are different grant programs for general purposes, as well as COVID-19 relief programs, but a big thing to note are the eligibility requirements. 

There is some work that has to be done before you can qualify for any grant or a loan. Typically people like to know what you can bring to the table before they award or lend anything. While it may seem like a pain, it’s necessary for them to know the facts about how  their investment is being used. 

Preliminary actions, such as registering with the System for Award Management (SAM), having a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and having a business plan are pretty standard requirements and a good place to start before applying for loans or grants. Neither of the applications cost money, but they can take time. So, we recommend taking these first steps before you even begin searching. 

  Note that the options for loans and grants are not limited to SBA, and that each lender, awarder, and application process have their own requirements. So, be sure to do your research. 

To give you a starting point, though, we’ve linked to SBA’s page on Grant programs and eligibility, as well as a printable version of full the terms and conditions for SBA grant programs, which is also available on sba.gov.