If you are looking to fund your small business enterprise, grants and crowdfunding may be good funding sources. Thus, if you are a lady that currently owns and operates a small business, you may find it best to apply for some of these grants as well as look towards crowdfunding to get these funds. This post reviews some of the sites you can apply for grants and those which can help you crowdfund.
Where to Find Grants
Regardless of whether you need public or private sources of funding, the following are some good platforms to begin searching for grant opportunities.
Grants.Gov
Grants.Gov is the largest United States government database on the internet. As of 2022, the site has more than 2200 grants that are active for application. This site will be helpful if you feel the need to get a federal grant. Thus, you can begin your search here.
IFundWomen Universal Grant Application Database
IFundWomen is a platform that helps fund women entrepreneurs. If you are looking to generate funds through crowdfunding and business grants, then this is the right platform for your business. The platform offers different types of grants, which include business partnerships and grants from crowdfunding. To find out whether you qualify for this type of grant, you can check for active grants and eligibility requirements.
IFundWomen has a unique grant application database, whose purpose is tailored to offer you grant opportunities. Upon submission of your application, they add you to their database, meaning that you will wait for feedback regarding whether you qualify for the grant or not. IFundWomen will then broker a grant, after which they match the criteria of this grant to their database. The platform then gives you a notification to apply if you match the program criteria. This means that you will not waste any more time on your application only to realize that you are not eligible.
Best Crowdfunding Sites for Small Businesses
Some of the best platforms to crowd-fund provide low fees, potential affluent investors and also create room for many types of campaigns. These sites have also proven to help projects meet their goals of funding. If you are looking to raise money for your business through crowdfunding, the following sites may come in handy.
Crowdfunder
Crowdfunder is a platform that enables investors and entrepreneurs to "meet". Crowdfunder is a community of more than 200,000 individuals and 15,000 certified investors. The site focuses on equity crowdfunding, meaning that you will need to provide a stake of equity stake in your business for you to get funding. Like a majority of other sites for crowdfunding purposes, Crowdfunder gives you resources that will help you to come up with the best crowdfunding appeal.
Wefunder
Wefunder has helped in the funding of over 450 startup businesses and helped raise more than $160 million. Unlike "Kickstarter" which allows you to sell products, Wefunder lets investors invest in your business with small ownership stakes. The site is only available to small businesses in the U.S. Wefunder may be what you need because the site does not charge any up-front fees and even offers you a chance of price matching should you find a better offer elsewhere.
Ready to Fund Your Small Business?
There are many other grants and crowdfunding sites catering to specific industries and products. Thus, do not despair in case you did not find an option that suits you in the list above. Take time to research on the type of funding that suits you the most and begin applying for funding for your business!
