If you are looking for funding for an existing or new for-profit business, you may find that it is more difficult in finding and getting grant funding. Government grants are generally (though not necessarily always) given to non-profit organizations for programs and services that benefit the community or the public as a group.

The first place that you should look for government grants is the U.S. Government's www.Grants.gov Website. This site will help you to be able to electronically find and apply for the various different grant opportunities from all Federal grant-making agencies.

You can also look for information on the different types of grants and the government agencies that make grants. Also, you can sign up to receive instant notification of future grant opportunities in your inbox. You can also take a look at the Government's Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), which hosts a complete listing of various Government grants and other types of help that is available.

Here is where you can get information on grants by Category and Topic Area or you can search the Catalog by key words etc. if you find it easier that way. If you find a particular grant that interests you, make sure that you carefully read the section on Eligibility Requirements to find out if you would be qualified to apply for that particular grant.

You should also know that most government grants are not available all year-round. That means that you can't apply for most of them at any time that you feel like it, you can apply for them only when they are announced by a Government agency.

When an agency makes their money available for a grant, it usually puts an announcement in the Federal Register which is published every weekday. Here's where you can find the Government's Most Recent Grant Announcements.

Grants that are offered to individuals are generally given to them for educational support (financial aid), the arts, and various other types of research, although some agencies will give away grants to individuals for other purposes.

Getting a grant is hard work. You should never be fooled by advertisements and promotions that state that you can get free cash just by writing a letter. There is a lot of competition out there for grant funds. If you want to be successful in getting a grant, you must provide the funding agency with a very good proposal that explains your objectives and also offers a plan and a detailed budget plan for your activities.

Grants are only free in that you do not have to pay back the money. However, if you are awarded a grant you may be required to provide progress reports, program evaluation, and/or financial reports to the government agency that gives you the grant.

There are a good number of business grants out on the market today and the table below points all of them out. Knowing which one to apply for will help you to choose the grant that you are most likely to get approved for. This table was provided by http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/funding_program.htm. If you visit this site you can get special information about each grant and their specific requirements.

Research Grant Programs
R01	NIH Research Project Grant Program (R01)
R03	NIH Small Grant Program (R03)
R13 & U13	NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (R13 and U13)
R15	NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) Grants - (R15)
R21	NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award (R21)
R34	NIH Clinical Trial Planning Grant (R34) Program
R56	NIH High Priority, Short-Term Project Award (R56)
New Investigators Program
K99/R00	NIH Pathway to Independence (PI) Award (K99/R00)
Multiple Principal Investigators
Multiple PIs	Multiple Principal Investigators web page with associated funding opportunities.
Research Supplemental Programs
Diversity Supplements	Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA)
T32	Institutional Research Training Grants (T32)
T35	Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants (T35)
F30	Individual Predoctoral Awards For M.D./PH.D. Fellowships (F30)
F31	Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Minority Students (F31)
F31	Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Students w/Disabilities (F31)
F31	Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31)
F32	Individual Postdoctoral Fellowships (F32)
F33	Senior Fellowships (F33)
Research Ethics and Training Grant Programs
T15	Short-Term Courses in Research Ethics (T15)   (Note: Program Announcement expired March 13, 2004)
T90	Training for a New Interdisciplinary Research Workforce (T90)   (Note: RFA application receipt date was March 10, 2004)
NIH Career Development (K) Awards
K Kiosk	Information about NIH Career Development Awards
Small Business Awards
SBIR/STTR	Small Business Funding Opportunities Web Page
Other Programs
BECON	NIH Bioengineering Consortium (BECON)
BISTI	Biomedical Information Science and Technology Initiative (BISTI)
Ethical Issues in Human Studies	Research on Ethical Issues in Human Studies
IDeA	Institutional Development Awards (IDeA)
PECASE	Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) Program with listing of NIH Recipients since 1996
Roadmap	NIH Roadmap Initiatives
S07	Human Subjects Research Enhancement Awards (HSREA)

Unless you are loaded with cash, chances are that you will need some financial help in order to get all of the things that you will need to start your business. This section is going to help you to get all of the things that you will need to do in order to give yourself the best chance at getting the funding that you will need. It will be a long one.

First of all, you are going to have to plan out your business ideas and goals so that you can create an effective business plan. It is going to be your business plan that will inevitably decide if you are able to get the funding that you need. You can start by using these tips that will help you to develop your plan for writing the business plan that you will need.