Sources for Funding a Small Business
Your
Wyoming small business needs money to start (or expand), operate after
starting, market and grow & succeed.
Practically all small businesses use borrowed funds for their ventures. There may be small exception.
This is what the U.S. Small Business Administration has to say about small business grants:
"We've all seen the headlines: "Millions in free government money
for your business." Late-night infomercials, reference guides and
websites promote the availability of grant money to entrepreneurs for
starting and expanding businesses. Sound too good to be true? It is.
The truth is that federal and state governments do not provide grants
for starting and expanding small businesses. However, the U.S.
government does offer a wide-variety of low-interest loans and venture
capital financing programs to help entrepreneurs start and grow their
businesses. In addition, some federal and state agencies award a limited
number of grants for very specialized business activities such as
scientific research and development."
Besides your local lender, other potential funding sources include:
State of Wyoming Funding Sources
Wyoming Innovations Network
From VentureWest.org:
Dedicated to fostering an environment that:
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Creates an atmosphere for technical and monetary growth.
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Develops a local, national and international voice for Wyoming's technology sector and entrepreneur community.
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Evolves to maintain a thriving diversified economy.
Wyoming Business Council (WBC) Loan Programs
From WyomingBusiness.org: For more information on any of the loan
programs listed on our site, contact
Ryan
Whitehead,
Business Finance Manager 307.777.2882.
Workforce Development Training Funds
The Wyoming Workforce Development Training Funds
The Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative
From the WSSI site: The Mission of the WSSI is to assist all qualified Wyoming small businesses and individuals in accessing the funding opportunities provided by the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs; ~$2 billion annually!
Wyoming Women's Business Center
From WyomingWomen.org: The Wyoming Women's Business Center
National Funding Sources
ACCION
Grants.gov
From Grants.gov: Grants.gov is your source to FIND and APPLY for federal government grants. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proud to be the managing partner for Grants.gov, an initiative that is having an unparalleled impact on the grant community.
National Venture Capital Association
From NVCA.org: The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) is a trade association that represents the U.S. venture capital industry. It is a member-based organization, which consists of venture capital firms that manage pools of risk equity capital designated to be invested in high growth companies.
Rockies Venture Club
From RockiesVentureClub.org: RVC is the Rocky Mountain Region's premier networking organization that connects entrepreneurs, service professionals, investors, venture capitalists and other funding sources.
SBA Loan Guarantee Programs
From SBA.gov: SBA provides a number of financial assistance programs for small businesses including 7(a), 504 and disaster assistance loans. Within this section, we’ll review eligibility requirements, SBA’s loan programs, surety bonds and the role of SBA, equity capital topics, special purpose loans, SBA partner topics and 7(a) lender programs. Though the SBA does not provide grants to help you start a business, included is information on organizations and sites that can assist you in locating special purpose grants.
Loan Preparation
Wyoming Small Business Development Center - Loan Preparation Assistance
Have one of our specialists, a former commercial banker, look over your information and give you suggestions for improvement from a lender’s viewpoint.
