READ AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS

Government announcements are extremely serious and should be taken that way. Government funding for research purposes is a privilege, not a right. The dates are firm and cannot be changed for any reason; the required forms are necessary; the signatures are necessary. Read the rules and save yourself a lot of irritation later because without following the instructions to the letter, you will not get approved.

WRITE CLEARLY

You have to remember that reviewers tend to correlate bad prose with bad science. This means that if you write badly, you will not be taken seriously. Who would invest their money in a person who seems oblivious to reading and writing?

HAVE SOMEONE REVIEW YOUR PROPOSAL

You will miss the obvious problems in your proposal because you are too close to them. It is better to have someone that you trust to review your proposal so that you can get an objective opinion.

This rule should be obvious, but we create an incredible number of misspelled documents without even thinking about it. Remember that reviewers have a tendency to correlate bad spelling with bad investments.

CLEARLY EXPLAIN WHAT YOU PROPOSE

You have to remember that the reviewer is not inside your head. What you intend to do with the money has to be as clear as possible to them as it is clear as crystal to you. Have someone you trust review your proposal for clarity. The harder a reviewer has to work to understand your proposal, the more annoyed they are going to get. Annoyance is not going to work in your favor.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BIG PICTURE

This means that you have to place your work in the larger context of your field. You need to able to look ahead and then project what you see to the grant agency.

BE CHARMING

Don't write a grant with an attitude problem. It is an interesting fact of getting on the reviewers nerves rarely a good idea. You want the reviewers to think of you as a honest person that they can trust to do right by their money. You should really think of it as a job interview in that you have to show your best foot every time you speak to people.

USE AN EASY TO READ FONT

This is an easy thing to day. If your work is so important that you need to use teeny fonts in order to get all the information within the page limit, then you are seen as writing with an attitude. Reviewers are annoyed when they need to use a magnifying glass to look right into you.

If you are looking to open a business of your very own, you are not alone. Every year more and more people make the decision to stop working to make other people rich and to start their own businesses. For most of them, having the start-up capital that is needed is harder than one might think.

Small business grants are often a hot topic with new business people with a small amount of money and access to capital. We have all seen the many media claims about "Free Government Grant for Small Business." It seems all too easy to get these days.

Of course, if it were really that easy, all you would have to do is find a government small business grant to apply for, apply and before you knew it you would have the money to grow your business.

Most U.S. government departments, like the Department of Commerce, do not provide any grants for help in starting a small business. Grant programs are available through state programs and other groups as well. The grant programs are often awarded to people in fields such as medicine or education, and they all have specific eligibility criteria.

The process of finding a small business grant program to apply for and reviewing the requirements to getting is very time consuming. After conducting a two-week search for a medical publisher, I found the requirements to be very specific and difficult to meet.

Eligibility can be based on your location, and your business’ sales revenue to the application date, years in business, sex, race, and even for the purpose of funding.

If you want to take a look at the small business grants available, the best place to start is the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). The CFDA lists thousands of grants from all government agencies for free. Many business grants will be geared towards minority business development or rural business opportunity grants. Do not overlook the other assistance programs available such as equipment and training.

If you do find a small business grant program that is available for your business, you will need to be ready to go through a lengthy, approval process. With today’s funding cutbacks and the high amount of competition you will want to be prepared for it by following these quick tips:

If you find that you are willing to go through the steps that will be needed in order for you to get your grant, then this will be your comprehensive guide to making it happen. After this book you will be fully equipped to not just applying for, but getting the grant that you need.

In this guide you have learned to:

you have learned everything that you need to know in order for you to get the grant of your choice. All you have to do now is apply for it.